Covid Infection boundaries

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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Philip900
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Joined: 16 Oct 2020, 11:38am

Can one legally cycle out of a Covid tier-3 area ?

Post by Philip900 »

Is there any legal advice on whether those in a very high tier 3 area are allowed to cycle out of their area?
thirdcrank
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by thirdcrank »

I think that purely on the question of travelling by cycle - ie ignoring doing so in a group, where to stay overnight etc - then I believe the only travel restrictions involve travel from certain parts of England into Wales. I've seen it reported that this will be enforced by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) which suggests there will be no border checkpoints.
Philip900
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Joined: 16 Oct 2020, 11:38am

Re: Covid tier 3

Post by Philip900 »

Thanks, some good info posted.
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RickH
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Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: Covid tier 3

Post by RickH »

thirdcrank wrote:I think that purely on the question of travelling by cycle - ie ignoring doing so in a group, where to stay overnight etc - then I believe the only travel restrictions involve travel from certain parts of England into Wales. I've seen it reported that this will be enforced by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) which suggests there will be no border checkpoints.

There have been police patrols on the ground checking on people travelling between areas. IIRC there was something saying these would be stepped up to include travellers from tier 2 & 3 level areas in England. There was a senior Welsh police officer on last night's BBC news saying people stopped would be & encouraged to turn back in the first instance but fined if they didn't co-operate. That would be quite easy to pick up with the ANPR system.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
thirdcrank
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by thirdcrank »

What I was hinting at is that ANPR only detects number plates.
Pete Owens
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by Pete Owens »

thirdcrank wrote:I think that purely on the question of travelling by cycle - ie ignoring doing so in a group, where to stay overnight etc - then I believe the only travel restrictions involve travel from certain parts of England into Wales. I've seen it reported that this will be enforced by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) which suggests there will be no border checkpoints.

ANPR would only tell you where a car was registered - not where the people inside were coming from or going to or for what purpose. They can only do this by stopping the car and interviewing the occupants. ANPR could be used to select which cars to stop on the grounds that a car registered in a high covid area is likely to be carrying people from that area, but it couldn't on its own be used for enforcement.

Also it is not just the borders of Wales - travel restrictions also apply to people crossing county boundaries of high infection areas within Wales.

Also it is not just from certain parts of England, but also the central belt in Scotland and the whole of Northern Ireland.
Last edited by Pete Owens on 17 Oct 2020, 5:22pm, edited 2 times in total.
Pete Owens
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by Pete Owens »

Philip900 wrote:Is there any legal advice on whether those in a very high tier 3 area are allowed to cycle out of their area?

You are advised not to, but it is not illegal.
soapbox
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Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 12:20am

Re: Covid tier 3

Post by soapbox »

When people living in Manchester aren't allowed to drive into Wales, but people living in Wales are allowed to drive to Manchester airport and hop on a plane to anywhere in the world, you know we've gone way beyond bonkers.
I wouldn't worry too much about a bike ride.
thirdcrank
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by thirdcrank »

There's enough confusion already over the government's response to the pandemic, but to be accurate over things we do know, ANPR should identify the address of the current registered keeper of a motor vehicle. Perhaps the biggest gap in the system is that there's latitude over who can be the registered keeper of a fleet vehicle; that's inevitable with hire cars.

Bearing in mind that spin has not proved very effective against the pandemic, I don't suppose this will be much better.
AndyK
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by AndyK »

Pete Owens wrote:
Philip900 wrote:Is there any legal advice on whether those in a very high tier 3 area are allowed to cycle out of their area?

You are advised not to, but it is not illegal.

Also worth noting that in Very High areas, "If you are travelling, you must only do so with members of your household or support bubble" - where the word "must" indicates a legal compulsion. So for instance in Lancashire, hopping in the car with a friend to drive to the Forest of Bowland mountain bike trails is a definite no-no. (In other areas car sharing is discouraged, but not banned by law.)
thirdcrank
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by thirdcrank »

AndyK wrote: ... Also worth noting that in Very High areas, "If you are travelling, you must only do so with members of your household or support bubble" - where the word "must" indicates a legal compulsion. So for instance in Lancashire, hopping in the car with a friend to drive to the Forest of Bowland mountain bike trails is a definite no-no. (In other areas car sharing is discouraged, but not banned by law.)


I'd appreciate a link to the specific legislation to which you are referring.
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RickH
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by RickH »

thirdcrank wrote:What I was hinting at is that ANPR only detects number plates.

If a car was stopped & told to return to England. ANPR could be used to detect its continued presence in Wales, & issued penalties accordingly.

As I said previously, the police do seem to have been stopping vehicles as residents of restricted areas of Wales have to remain in their own county unless they have a legitimate reason to cross county borders (such as work, medical treatment, etc).
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
landsurfer
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Re: Covid tier 3

Post by landsurfer »

Stood outside in the queue for the Pharmacy yesterday afternoon, windy day in Rotherham, I'm the only one without a mask. I'll put it on when i go inside but the rest of the sheeple had theirs on outside.
Older woman behind me starts chatting. So upset she can't visit her daughter and her newly born granddaughter in Cardiff due to restrictions.
Even more upset when i point out that I can !!!
Key industry, the Railway. I visit Canton in Cardiff most weeks to inspect and test rolling stock ...
I did offer to lend her some orange overalls and take her with me ...

Whole new angle to people smuggling...
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
st599_uk
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Joined: 4 Nov 2018, 8:59pm

Re: Covid tier 3

Post by st599_uk »

Philip900 wrote:Is there any legal advice on whether those in a very high tier 3 area are allowed to cycle out of their area?


(2) No person living in the Tier 3 area may participate in a gathering outside that area which—

(a)takes place outdoors in in a place which satisfies the conditions in sub-paragraph (4), and consists of more than six people, or

(b)takes place in any other outdoor place and consists of two or more people.


Depends on where you cycle as to how many can be in the group. If you're visiting a stately home, recognised sports venue as a participant or a botanical gardens, you can have up to 6, else only 1.
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
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