Reporting vehicles parked in a cycle lane

[plancashire]

Vehicles parked in cycle lanes is a constant bugbear here in Düsseldorf. The local ADFC (German Bike Club) has a standard form we can use to report such things by e-mail to the people who deal with it, which is not the police but the Ordnungsamt, which has no equivalent in Britain but has considerably more responsibilities and powers than traffic wardens. Can you report such offences easily in Britain?

Last week I sent in my first one of these for a blocked cycle lane. I have already sent in many for other parking offences where I live. This was particularly blatant. The cycle lane is about 20m long and enables safe entry into a one way street from a junction. Bikes are allowed to ride both ways along the street. A builder's lorry blocked the entrance to the cycle lane and a van with Bulgarian plates was half on the pavement and half on the cycle lane (at least he tried). Here are the photos. That's my bike with the red bar bag.

[cycle tramp]

Yeah, it's a difficult one - certainly in Britain the act of illegal parking is viewed mostly as a civil offence rather than a criminal offence. As a result whilst I fine can be levied it has to be done so by a traffic warden and the penalty may actually have to be fixed to the windscreen (...although I believe some bylaws may allow the fines to be issued without the penalty being fixed to the windscreen ?)

However definitely do not let down the tyres on the offending vehicle, at all, what so ever...

[Grandad]

However definitely do not let down the tyres on the offending vehicle, at all, what so ever...

Why not?

[pwa]

However definitely do not let down the tyres on the offending vehicle, at all, what so ever...

Why not?

If for no other reason, it could land you in a fight.

[Pinhead]

However definitely do not let down the tyres on the offending vehicle, at all, what so ever...

Why not?

Really ! "criminal damage"

[a.twiddler]

Apart from potentially getting charged with criminal damage or getting into a fist fight with an irate owner who turns up at the wrong moment and might be built like a house rather than the mythological inadequate who needs a big car to make up for shortcomings elsewhere, letting down tyres means that the vehicle will be stuck on the cycle lane even longer. In an age where nobody seems able to do repairs or maintenance any more, it might even be a long wait for a breakdown service. In places where these vehicles abound there is probably CCTV too, so the odds are loaded against the vigilante. If the driver is female there is also the possible issue of harrassment of women, leaving her in a potentially vulnerable situation.

So while I can understand the motivation for letting down tyres, and some motorists seem to think the world is against them, when it comes to the crunch, it ismostly counter productive. Since all motor vehicles are potentially a factor behind climate change, where do you draw the line? Especially since most cyclists drive some sort of motor vehicle in their other life, away from the joys of cycling.

[Pebble]

thankfully come Jan, pavement parking will become a big NO NO in Edinburgh - of course technically this is not on the pavement.

[plancashire]

Yeah, it's a difficult one - certainly in Britain the act of illegal parking is viewed mostly as a civil offence rather than a criminal offence. As a result whilst I fine can be levied it has to be done so by a traffic warden and the penalty may actually have to be fixed to the windscreen (...although I believe some bylaws may allow the fines to be issued without the penalty being fixed to the windscreen ?)

However definitely do not let down the tyres on the offending vehicle, at all, what so ever...

That's interesting, thanks. It means that the public in Britain cannot help enforce parking rules. Is this really true?

As pointed out above in this topic, letting down the tyres is unhelpful. If we are to persuade others we have to be very polite and obey the law, however irksome that may be.

Might it help to explain to the driver that the vehicle is blocking a cycle lane? If the driver is not present, a message must be left. A soft wax crayon is quite good for writing on glass, e.g. Industrial Wax Marking crayons. It does no damage. The time taken to remove it ensures the message will sink in.

[cycle tramp]

Yeah, it's a difficult one - certainly in Britain the act of illegal parking is viewed mostly as a civil offence rather than a criminal offence.

That's interesting, thanks. It means that the public in Britain cannot help enforce parking rules. Is this really true?

As pointed out above in this topic, letting down the tyres is unhelpful. If we are to persuade others we have to be very polite and obey the law, however irksome that may be.

The police can get involved if the vehicle has parked somewhere which causes an actual hazard - such as just over the submit of a blind hill or on a blind corner, but you'll need to persuade them.
Where they may show bit more interest is if someone parked across your driveway, blocking in your own vehicle.

Ah as for the other reason of not letting down other people's tyres, it goes like this, Israel has suffered a horrific attack to which they have responded. Thereafter the world has asked for Isreal to some compassion and tolerance in their response. If I am to add my voice to this, then I should also at least perhaps show some more tolerance and compassion in the way I live my own live... yes, they've parked in a cycle way and I have to get off and walk around the vehicle.... its annoying, but it's not worth dropping a thermonuclear missile on the driver's house. Who knows i suspect I might even find something to be equally annoyed about in the next half an hour ...

[Nigel]

thankfully come Jan, pavement parking will become a big NO NO in Edinburgh - of course technically this is not on the pavement.

Oddly that one might have a get-out. There's some sort of rule about "1.5m of clearance" on the pavement (which I don't fully understand). Though it is obstructing a bike lane.

See this article, where it mentions the 1.5m clearance get-out.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport ... ed-4417958

[Postboxer]

I'm not sure there are any Traffic Wardens in the UK anymore, only Parking Enforcement Officers or whatever they are called. Quite often when there is bad traffic at a junction or past roadworks, I often think it would be easily sorted with the deployment of a Traffic Warden or two.

[plancashire]

I passed the same short bit of bike lane last Thursday. The vehicles had gone. In their place was this:

Look carefully - the fence is protecting nothing. They are just storing it there. I reported that too. Sigh!

[Bmblbzzz]

thankfully come Jan, pavement parking will become a big NO NO in Edinburgh - of course technically this is not on the pavement.

Oddly that one might have a get-out. There's some sort of rule about "1.5m of clearance" on the pavement (which I don't fully understand). Though it is obstructing a bike lane.

See this article, where it mentions the 1.5m clearance get-out.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport ... ed-4417958

Regardless of whether it's on the pavement, or a cycle lane, or on the carriageway, and of whether it's parked or loading, it's on the zig-zags marking the approach to a pedestrian crossing, and therefore completely illegal.

[Bmblbzzz]

Nice building in the background with the conical roof.

[cycle tramp]

I passed the same short bit of bike lane last Thursday. The vehicles had gone. In their place was this:
2023-11-23 Baustelle Photo1227.jpg
Look carefully - the fence is protecting nothing. They are just storing it there. I reported that too. Sigh!

If one was being charitable, I would venture the barrier has been placed in the cycle path to stop anyone from crossing the road at that point to the other side, as they will then be caught on the road and unable to use that pavement as its being dug up.
Not everyone who uses the pavement has 20 -20 vision.

Yes, it's annoying, but may possibly save someone with limited sight, the frustration and danger of being stuck on the road and unable to reach safety due to the barrier.