Is it legal to cycle whilst using phone?

[sulav38]

I came across this amazing sight of a fixie guy riding a bike without brakes with no hands and using phone.. video here>>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsqzkhaGx8I

It is definitely illegal to ride without front brakes on the bike but what about using phone while cycling? Although it is wrong if caught can a cyclist be prosecuted?

[whoof]

There doesn't appear to be a specific law relating to cycling whilst using a phone but it would constitute careless cycling.

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q604.htm

There may also be a Darwinian law that comes into play if practiced regularly.

[mjr]

There doesn't appear to be a specific law relating to cycling whilst using a phone but it would constitute careless cycling.

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q604.htm

There may also be a Darwinian law that comes into play if practiced regularly.

No, it could lead to careless cycling, as the link says, but it's not certain it would.

Prosecute the fool for an unroadworthy cycle, not the phone.

[Cyril Haearn]

Throw the book at him, prosecute for several offences
I have taken to singing 'Mae hen wlad fy nhadau', the Welsh national anthem, as loudly as possible if I find myself near a telephoning PoB, that should disturb them

[mjr]

Throw the book at him, prosecute for several offences
I have taken to singing 'Mae hen wlad fy nhadau', the Welsh national anthem, as loudly as possible if I find myself near a telephoning PoB, that should disturb them

Why? What harm are they doing you? I ring my bell rather loudly if they're cycling at me or in a way that will conflict with me (or maybe someone else) unnecessarily, but other than that, I let them be.

[Cyril Haearn]

Telephoning while cycling is obviously dangerous to others, the rider is not in full control of the machine
I hope my singing is so bad it shocks them into dropping the phone which smashes on the ground

Needs to be nipped in the bud, one sees plenty of teenagers on the phone, doubtless they do not reform when they start driving

[drossall]

The specific legislation prohibiting use of mobile phones was framed to apply to motorists, so it does not apply to bikes (same for speed limits, at least on public roads). However, the requirement to be in proper control of your vehicle applies. It was argued, when the phone legislation was introduced, that the new law was actually unnecessary because using a phone violated the older one.

[mjr]

The specific legislation prohibiting use of mobile phones was framed to apply to motorists, so it does not apply to bikes (same for speed limits, at least on public roads). However, the requirement to be in proper control of your vehicle applies. It was argued, when the phone legislation was introduced, that the new law was actually unnecessary because using a phone violated the older one.

Can you find that in Hansard, please? I didn't.

I don't need two hands on the bars all the time. I have no vital controls on the left side. Gears and primary brake are on the right hand. I've ridden for a couple of miles with only a punnet of strawberries in my left hand, bought from a rural French vending machine, although I didn't need to signal any left turns during that. I bet many here take a hand off the bars to get a drink, faff with clothes, flip the route sheet or prod the GPS.

Now, looking at the screen too much is a different kettle and almost certainly careless cycling.

[thirdcrank]

The specific requirements applying to the drivers of motor vehicles are in the con& use:-

Being in proper control

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/198 ... n/104/made

Using a hand-held phone

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made

AFAIK there's nothing similar for pedal cycles.

[Ivor Tingting]

I came across this amazing sight of a fixie guy riding a bike without brakes with no hands and using phone.. video here>>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsqzkhaGx8I

It is definitely illegal to ride without front brakes on the bike but what about using phone while cycling? Although it is wrong if caught can a cyclist be prosecuted?

See it all the time with numptees in Cambridge weaving all over the place. Generally young males, shirtless and tattooed, but also quite a few girls as well. I hope they meet something very hard or sharp. Would serve them right.

[pwa]

Driving a motor vehicle whilst having a phone in hand was not specifically an offence until a law was passed to make it one, so no, it is not specifically an offence to cycle while phoning. I'd suggest it is daft to do it, though.

[brooksby]

I came across this amazing sight of a fixie guy riding a bike without brakes with no hands and using phone.. video here>>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsqzkhaGx8I

It is definitely illegal to ride without front brakes on the bike but what about using phone while cycling? Although it is wrong if caught can a cyclist be prosecuted?

See it all the time with numptees in Cambridge weaving all over the place. Generally young males, shirtless and tattooed, but also quite a few girls as well. I hope they meet something very hard or sharp. Would serve them right.

Shirtless and tattooed girls? Gosh, that Cambridge is liberal, isn't it?

[Cyril Haearn]

What about Oxford?
Using a phone while cycling certainly should be illegal

[mjr]

What about Oxford?
Using a phone while cycling certainly should be illegal

But why? It seems pretty harmless, unlike phoney driving. Is it because you want fewer cyclists?

[Mike Sales]

What about Oxford?
Using a phone while cycling certainly should be illegal

But why? It seems pretty harmless, unlike phoney driving. Is it because you want fewer cyclists?

When I smoked roll ups I once made one as I rode along. Two taboos scorned at one go.