Final warning for Falmouth wrong way cyclists

9:00am Tuesday 19th February 2013 in News

Cyclists are being warned again they will receive a fixed penalty ticket if they |are caught riding their bikes the wrong way through Falmouth’s town centre.

Despite previous warnings by the police, some people still flout the one way streets and ride against the flow of traffic.

The matter was raised by town councillor, Oliver Cramp, who had a near-miss with a bike rider.

Addressing Sgt Gary Watts at a meeting of the town council last week, Mr Cramp said: “I stepped back for a car coming up from the car park and there was this man on a bike, who I never heard – I very nearly stepped in front of him.

“He managed to avoid me and had to get off his bike. It was lucky he didn’t go right into the car.”

Sgt Watts said: “We now prosecute, giving a ticket to every person that comes through.

“We cannot be there all the time, but when we see it, we deal with it and are dealing with it robustly.”

Comments(11)

Lord Barrington Forbes-Smythe says...
10:17am Tue 19 Feb 13

Not this old chestnut again!

This story underlines how, until the council starts 'thinking outside the box' and helps to come up with a solution for cyclists who obviously need to travel that way without having to ascend Falmouth's steep hills, this problem is going to rumble on and on.

It seems like they are content to carry on vainly trying to penalise cyclists who are caught going through there: are they waiting for bicycle numberplates to become compulsory, so they can introduce bike speed cameras and fine the cyclists till kingdom come? Or might they actually consider trying to come up with a progressive scheme now?

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ucsweb says...
10:49am Tue 19 Feb 13

As someone who has been hit by one of these idiots the sooner they stop the better.
And if something could be done about the ones that cycle around after dark without lights, wearing dark clothes and nothing reflective, weaving on and off of the pavements and all over the roads, even better.
This minority of idiots are giving the law abiding cyclists a bad name and it is only a matter of time before someone is injured or worse killed!
The law is not optional.

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Wave says...
11:44am Tue 19 Feb 13

In the last 2 days I have seen about 5 people on bikes wheel the wrong way very close to me as I didnt know they were there until past me. The thing is they were doing the "i'm not riding the bike" position, standing both legs on one side, with one foot on the pedal. They still go faster than walking pace and can hit someone.
So i'd like to know, in legal terms, if this counts as riding a bike or not?
I'm sure it does.
Anyway I think even walking a bike the wrong way should be illegal, unless they are carrying it off the ground.
Otherwise motorists would be allowed to push their cars forwards the wrong way down streets...Maybe they can!

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Claudius says...
11:03pm Tue 19 Feb 13

LBFS .isnt that a little like me saying I wish to travel around the town at 50mph and rather than fine me the council should think outside the box and come up with an alternative plan to allow me to speed , rather than me just sticking to the law ?

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Wave says...
12:18am Wed 20 Feb 13

The solution would be to pedestrianise the town, then there would be zero bikes to worry about. Or cars.

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Lord Barrington Forbes-Smythe says...
8:34am Wed 20 Feb 13

Claudius, not really, because unlike your "road hog's charter", cycle use is sustainable and environmentally friendly and is being promoted by all forward-thinking governments and is in turn supposed to be being promoted by local councils... so wake up Falmouth Council!

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GrahamHarris says...
9:22am Wed 20 Feb 13

LBFS, I must also tell you that cyclists don't seem to have a problem with steep hills anyway as, yesterday, I witnessed a cyclist going UP high street!!

Yes, this is a one way road too!! She was going up the hill alternating between the road and the pavement, thereby endangering everyones lives!!

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Lord Barrington Forbes-Smythe says...
9:29am Wed 20 Feb 13

Graham, well I am one cyclist that does have a problem with hills, as my advancing years and irregular cycling these days mean I tend to have to get off and push on all but the most gentle of gradients.

That person you saw does sound very irresponsible though and I know there are quite a few cyclists around who make questionable choices like that.

But when all's said and done, they are still far less likely to harm someone else than car drivers.

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GrahamHarris says...
9:41am Wed 20 Feb 13

Im not sure, I can appreciate that cars are obviously more likely to cause injuries/deaths, but this is a question of ''the unexpected''.

If someone is walking through the town centre facing the traffic as it were, if there is nothing coming, one would just amble across the road without a care - if there's then a cyclist coming the wrong way, there could be a collision with dire consequences. Certainly if I walk across between the shops I only look for traffic from one direction - why should I look anywhere else?

Is it going to take a little old lady to be knocked off her feet before people realise the dangers?

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Lord Barrington Forbes-Smythe says...
10:01am Wed 20 Feb 13

I personally look both ways before walking across due to the unpredictable habits of other pedestrians (darting one way or the other, suddenly stopping, etc.)

But if anyone is coming along there on their bike, they need to be doing so at a snail's pace, taking full responsibility for being able to stop for pedestrians and not relying on the pedestrians seeing them at all. That's what I would do as a cyclist. If they don't and hurt someone, they should face the full consequences.

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molesworth says...
10:51pm Thu 21 Feb 13

I remember two way traffic along the street and no one complained about bicycles then. I think that this country has a strangely aggressive and negative attitude to cyclists generally, whether they're breaking the law or not. Personally I think it would be rather nice if vehicles were banned from driving through the main street - oh they are. There's that bollard which works a treat. Not.

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