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Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 31 Jul 2019, 10:36pm
by pga
The Highway Code states that all dogs on shared routes with cyclists should be on short leads. A pity few seem to have read the Highway Code.

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 31 Jul 2019, 11:09pm
by Bonefishblues
pga wrote:The Highway Code states that all dogs on shared routes with cyclists should be on short leads. A pity few seem to have read the Highway Code.

That's good advice. Our dogs are on short leads when we are sharing. Sometimes I let the lead extend and the short lead becomes longer when we aren't actively sharing.

It doesn't need the Highway Code to help sensible adults get along with each other, it just needs sensible adults to behave sensibly :D

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 1 Aug 2019, 10:27am
by skyhawk
Bonefishblues wrote:
pga wrote:The Highway Code states that all dogs on shared routes with cyclists should be on short leads. A pity few seem to have read the Highway Code.

That's good advice. Our dogs are on short leads when we are sharing. Sometimes I let the lead extend and the short lead becomes longer when we aren't actively sharing.

It doesn't need the Highway Code to help sensible adults get along with each other, it just needs sensible adults to behave sensibly :D



It also is law that dogs in cars should be restrained and it is illegal to have them lose ESPECIALLY in the front, few owners care about the LAW

Rule 57 of the Highway Code states: "When in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves, if you stop quickly. "A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars."

Are dogs allowed in front seat of car UK?

Police reply.... There's a legal obligation for dogs to travel safely and we advise they are not in the front of the car. ... We advise securing a dog behind the front passenger seat and NEVER behind the driver in case they get hold of clothing etc. and cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle

AGAINST THE PAW Not buckling up your pet in the car could land you with a £5,000 fine and invalidate your insurance
Millions of drivers are risking huge fines by not restraining distracting dogs, cats, rabbits and even hamsters in the car

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/3681931 ... ng-charge/

Especially with so many drivers like me with dash and tailgate cameras ;)

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 1 Aug 2019, 10:35am
by Bonefishblues
The Law? Highway Code advice, which could be used in evidence as someone was prosecuted for another offence, but not 'the law', shirley?

...as indeed the article states:
And while disobeying the Highway Code doesn't carry a direct penalty, drivers could be pulled over by police and fined up to £1,000 for driving without proper control if their pet distracts them.

That could be stepped up to failing to drive with due care and attention (careless driving) which carries a maximum fine of £5,000 and nine penalty points if the case goes to court.

In extreme cases, the incident could also result in a driving ban and a compulsory re-test.

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 1 Aug 2019, 2:05pm
by skyhawk
'the law', shirley

And don't call me Shirley :) :) :) as said in Airoplane :)

https://youtu.be/hmJiZ8VcfD4

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 9 Aug 2019, 4:08pm
by gaz
Interesting encounter today with a dog called Blue.

Shared use riverside track, approaching slowly I ring my bells so the owner and dog can be aware I'm coming. Owner stops one side, Blue is on the other and decides to ignore her owner's calls and approach me with some enthusiasm.

I stop. Blue takes a sniff, tries to take a lick, gets a little pat from me for her trouble. Owner is apologising and a little embarassed, I tell her not to worry. She takes hold of Blue by the collar.

I set off and almost immediately realise that Blue has either been released or has escaped and is following. I stop.

Blue, now yapping her enthusiasm, grabs my shoelaces in her teeth and begins pulling, undoing them. Owner continues to be apologetic. I assure her that I'm not in a rush as I begin re-tying my shoe. Blue is circling and yapping, darting away from her owner's attempts to grab her collar again. Owner resorts to taking a dog treat out of her bag, Blue isn't interested and continues avoiding her grasp, circling and yapping.

All of a sudden Blue is distracted by a stick that she has found on the ground and bounces off with it down the bank towards the river. Owner and I both agree this is the moment for me to ride off. The distraction doesn't last, the owner tells me to keep pedalling and ignore Blue who is running alongside my back wheel and gaining.

I put on a brief spurt of speed, but can't really hammer it as there's someone walking towards me on the path ahead. Once past them the path widened into an open area, allowing me to accelerate and chance a glance behind.

Blue finally seems to have lost interest, either transferring it to the pedestrian I've just passed or being satisfied that he'd chased off the threat to his mummy.

Dog walkers can be strange.

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 10 Aug 2019, 6:19pm
by Cugel
gaz wrote:Interesting encounter today with a dog called Blue.

Shared use riverside track, approaching slowly I ring my bells so the owner and dog can be aware I'm coming. Owner stops one side, Blue is on the other and decides to ignore her owner's calls and approach me with some enthusiasm.

I stop. Blue takes a sniff, tries to take a lick, gets a little pat from me for her trouble. Owner is apologising and a little embarassed, I tell her not to worry. She takes hold of Blue by the collar.

I set off and almost immediately realise that Blue has either been released or has escaped and is following. I stop.

Blue, now yapping her enthusiasm, grabs my shoelaces in her teeth and begins pulling, undoing them. Owner continues to be apologetic. I assure her that I'm not in a rush as I begin re-tying my shoe. Blue is circling and yapping, darting away from her owner's attempts to grab her collar again. Owner resorts to taking a dog treat out of her bag, Blue isn't interested and continues avoiding her grasp, circling and yapping.

All of a sudden Blue is distracted by a stick that she has found on the ground and bounces off with it down the bank towards the river. Owner and I both agree this is the moment for me to ride off. The distraction doesn't last, the owner tells me to keep pedalling and ignore Blue who is running alongside my back wheel and gaining.

I put on a brief spurt of speed, but can't really hammer it as there's someone walking towards me on the path ahead. Once past them the path widened into an open area, allowing me to accelerate and chance a glance behind.

Blue finally seems to have lost interest, either transferring it to the pedestrian I've just passed or being satisfied that he'd chased off the threat to his mummy.

Dog walkers can be strange.


I hereby award you a small shiny gong for your good efforts at dog-entertaining, which is basically what humans are for. Just ask my collies.

Cugel

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 12 Aug 2019, 7:04pm
by ambodach
Today on Sustrans 78. Medium size dog running loose with no lead and male owner on mobile phone. Dog makes a run at my ankle, possibly not with evil intent but I don’t know and owner ignores. Evade the brute which then runs in front of me and has a go at my front tyre. Cue loud swearing and declaration that the brute will get killed if this persists as I am not stopping. Owner cuts his phone call and acts all injured innocence as he calls the dog in. I continue cycling as I am not interested in confrontation. Besides he was younger and bigger than me.

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 23 Aug 2019, 12:41am
by pga
I was sorry to see that I have offended one or two of you yet again by daring to suggest that some dog owners need to obey recommended codes of behaviour. I stand by my remarks. We can get anarchy otherwise. Respect is a two way thing.

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 11 Sep 2019, 2:30pm
by Lookrider
It was impossible to talk to her as she just ranted, so I kept quiet. As far as I know there are no by-laws that require a lead on the path, but there might be. Assume there isn't.

I am always extremely careful when kids and dogs, and horses are on a path/road, and I am very safety conscious. I'm 66 years old.[/quote]

I am one dog owner and cyclist
There was an extract in our local paper several months ago about the huge amount of paid dog walkers up on our local hills
And the article was about a hill walker getting concerned about this
In the article our council authouruty stipulated that in our area the following bye laws ( I assume) were in force

A dog lead must not be longer than 1 and 1/2 meters
You cannot be in charge of more than 4 dogs at any one time

I was unaware of this and I guess many others are,, however it all makes some sense
I am at a loss how shops are allowed to sell these reel leads if they are not (legal) in our authority area
I am no lawyer so please no interagation of me
Regarding the possible insurance type claims,, I assume that all readers who post on here are members of U.K. Cycling, so I guess if this happens to you whilst your on your bike then the insurance you have with UK cycling will hopefully help

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 11 Sep 2019, 3:13pm
by pete75
skyhawk wrote:AGAINST THE PAW Not buckling up your pet in the car could land you with a £5,000 fine and invalidate your insurance
Millions of drivers are risking huge fines by not restraining distracting dogs, cats, rabbits and even hamsters in the car

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/3681931 ... ng-charge/

Especially with so many drivers like me with dash and tailgate cameras ;)


Especially with so many drivers like you who are Sun readers... :lol:

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 16 Sep 2019, 12:32pm
by NetworkMan
pga wrote:I was sorry to see that I have offended one or two of you yet again by daring to suggest that some dog owners need to obey recommended codes of behaviour. I stand by my remarks. We can get anarchy otherwise. Respect is a two way thing.

Exactly.

I have been cycling a Sustrans shared use path roughly twice a week for 17 years to do the shopping. During that time I have come off about four times, on each occasion due to lose dogs. Each time I had slowed to around walking pace. Sometimes I've pointed out the Highway Code advice but mostly just got abuse in return so I don't bother any more. All the stopping and starting to cope with the loose dogs does get wearing, especially when one gets older and the shopping can weigh 10-15 kg.

That's all, I'm not get drawn into any arguments - it's just not worth it!

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 16 Sep 2019, 12:35pm
by mjr
NetworkMan wrote:I have been cycling a Sustrans shared use path roughly twice a week for 17 years to do the shopping. During that time I have come off about four times, on each occasion due to lose dogs. Each time I had slowed to around walking pace. Sometimes I've pointed out the Highway Code advice but mostly just got abuse in return so I don't bother any more. All the stopping and starting to cope with the loose dogs does get wearing, especially when one gets older and the shopping can weigh 10-15 kg.

That's all, I'm not get drawn into any arguments - it's just not worth it!

Indeed. I wouldn't confront the negligent owners. I'd just video a few, report them to the dog wardens and maybe carry/fit some defensive tools. Can you get mini-cowcatchers for bikes?

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 16 Sep 2019, 1:24pm
by Tangled Metal
robing wrote:I think cyclists are getting worse like the rest of society. Sense of entitlement, like they can do no wrong. Their the same with their kids.

FTFY!

Can you spot the way you assign a whole group moniker for what us very much a minority of people carrying out an activity is unfair? You probably, quite rightly, complain about mass media collectivising people who ride bikes as " bloody cyclists" but a very many times us cyclists do that with dog owners. But it's ok, I have had dogs so I'm not prejudiced.

Re: Dogs off lead on shared use path

Posted: 17 Sep 2019, 4:18pm
by robing
Tangled Metal wrote:
robing wrote:I think cyclists are getting worse like the rest of society. Sense of entitlement, like they can do no wrong. Their the same with their kids.

FTFY!

Can you spot the way you assign a whole group moniker for what us very much a minority of people carrying out an activity is unfair? You probably, quite rightly, complain about mass media collectivising people who ride bikes as " bloody cyclists" but a very many times us cyclists do that with dog owners. But it's ok, I have had dogs so I'm not prejudiced.

Cyclists as a rule don't foul everywhere, don't bite people, don't pee up tents, don't jump up at strangers, joggers etc, don't garrotte people with an invisible flexi lead across a cycle path. All things I have witnessed or have happened to friends .