Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Cut_in
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Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by Cut_in »

Today I was riding to work and the A road I go along was gridlocked because of road works reducing the road at 1 section to 1 lane with lights. There is no cycle lane on this road and I saw 5 other cyclists go on the path to clear all the traffic, so I followed suit. I asked another cyclist who was on the path if this was legal, and he told me that next to a busy congested A road cyclists are allowed to use the footpath but have to be at a slow speed to avoid a collision with a pedestrian. Is this true? By his cycle gear and very expensive bike, he was a very experienced cyclist so I kind of believe it is true.
snibgo
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by snibgo »

If it is an ordinary footpath alongside a road, and not marked out as allowing bikes, then riding a bike on it is illegal under the 1835 Highway Act.
tatanab
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by tatanab »

No it is not true. What he probably meant was that police are advised not to fine a pavement cyclist who is behaving reasonably.

Never judge a book just by its cover. There are many people out there with very little experience but riding fancy kit because they can afford stuff they've read about on the internet or in cycling magazines. An example - last winter I was told be a pair of riders, both riding quite good kit, that roadwork traffic lights do not apply to cyclists :roll:
Cut_in
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by Cut_in »

tatanab wrote:No it is not true. What he probably meant was that police are advised not to fine a pavement cyclist who is behaving reasonably.

Never judge a book just by its cover. There are many people out there with very little experience but riding fancy kit because they can afford stuff they've read about on the internet or in cycling magazines. An example - last winter I was told be a pair of riders, both riding quite good kit, that roadwork traffic lights do not apply to cyclists :roll:

So if I ride resonably on this path I won't get in trouble? I'm saying this because a colleague of mine who was stuck on the same road arrived 45mins late for work and the roadworks are due to last 10 days and I don't want to be stuck in traffic for ages.
tatanab
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by tatanab »

Cut_in wrote:So if I ride resonably on this path I won't get in trouble?
Will not cannot be guaranteed; may not is the answer. I assume your colleague was in a car, but on a bike you can filter through gaps and the delay will be very much less. However, pavement riding is not going to do a lot for the public image of cycling.
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meic
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by meic »

No, we can not say that. It is illegal and you could well be given a ticket. However it is very unlikely that that will happen. In some areas it is more likely than others, I would be very, very surprised to get a ticket for riding on the pavement on my local A roads.
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TonyR
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by TonyR »

Case law says you are probably OK to do it if you consider it to be safer for you. The relevant case is Kotula v EDF Energy Networks (EPN) Plc where someone cycling illegally on the pavement to avoid a busy road fell off in some streetworks and was hit by a lorry. The judge in the case said (my emphasis):

43 In my judgment, this piece of road was dangerous for all but the most experienced, traffic fast, confident and dominant of cyclists i.e. the ‘serious' cyclist as Mr Ibbotson puts it, as opposed to the ordinary prudent cyclist using a cycle to go to work encumbered with his cycle rucksack.

44 In my judgment, although it is illegal for cyclists to use the pavement (unless it is specifically sanctioned by a local authority for shared use), when weighing up the danger to himself (cp danger to pedestrians) it was a reasonable decision by the Claimant to ride on the pavements in this area rather than the road in the context of the duty of care owed to himself to take reasonable care for his own safety whilst cycling. In my judgment, although illegal and potentially negligent in any action vis a vis a pedestrian, it was not “blameworthy” in terms of negligence in contributory negligence.


The case was heard in the High Court and therefore sets a precedent for the High Court and lower.
Adam S
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by Adam S »

it was not “blameworthy” in terms of negligence in contributory negligence.

That's the precedent. You can't extract that decision and use it to provide a defence against a ticket for cycling on the pavement
fuerzatriana
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by fuerzatriana »

Careful - that particular analysis in the case you quote was only on the question of any contribution to the loss suffered by the cyclist in a civil case for negligence. It might be of some help in any criminal case, as long as it was relevant to the charge, but it would not be binding.
boliston
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by boliston »

my daily commute involves about a mile along a busy ring road that has a wide pavement and only a few peds on it, less than 5 over a mile on average. it's not marked as a cycleway but has more cyclists than peds and i've used it most days for the last 6 years and not been "booked" yet. you would need to be pretty brave to bike on that road!
Mark1978
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by Mark1978 »

It's illegal, however given that many such pavements are routinely designated as shared use paths, and the fact that many cyclists regularly use them, I doubt you'll ever get into trouble for it.
Mark1978
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by Mark1978 »

boliston wrote:my daily commute involves about a mile along a busy ring road that has a wide pavement and only a few peds on it, less than 5 over a mile on average. it's not marked as a cycleway but has more cyclists than peds and i've used it most days for the last 6 years and not been "booked" yet. you would need to be pretty brave to bike on that road!


I regularly use a crossing of the A690 dual carriageway that's meant for pedestrians, much safer than using the one for cars because there's always a queue and cars zipping in and out constantly. I've suggested to Durham Council they officially designate it for cyclists and apparently it's gone on their list for considered works.
MartinC
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by MartinC »

Cut_in wrote:............So if I ride resonably on this path I won't get in trouble? ..........


If you're really worried about this you could get off your bike and wheel it along the footpath.
thirdcrank
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by thirdcrank »

Cut_in wrote: ... So if I ride resonably on this path I won't get in trouble? ....


The offence is committed if you wiilfully drive a carriage on a footpath alongside a road, which in legal terms includes cycling on a footpath at the side of a road. When D Blunkett introduced PCSO's, one of the few powers he gave them was enforcing this offence by fixed penalties, which were extended to this offence around the same time.)

On the basis of a weazel-worded reply to a Parliamentary Question, an urban myth has grown up saying that the tickets can only be issued if cyclists are endangering pedestrians. There are earlier threads explaining this in more detail, a including quote from Hansard of what was actually said in Parliament. There's no evidence that chief police officers have been given any advice at all. We've had at least one thread on here when somebody who had received a ticket wrote in to the police, quoting the "advice" but got no joy.

There have been instances, including a crackdown by a veritable posse of police, when tickets were issued in error when the footpath in question wasn't one covered by the legislation.

The likelihood of enforcement is quite unpredictable, but I fancy it's more likely in areas covered by PCSO's eg residential areas.
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squeaker
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Re: Can you ride on the footpath next to an A road?

Post by squeaker »

What others have said. For example, this path alongside the A27 is regularly used by cyclists to get from north Shoreham to North Lancing, despite the obvious hazards presented by the high speed lay-by entrances. Never heard of anyone getting stopped / cautioned for cycling on it, and few peds use it.
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