Police Stop A10 near Royston

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
fluffybunnyuk
Posts: 450
Joined: 1 Sep 2013, 10:58pm

Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by fluffybunnyuk »

So I'm chugging the the old cambridge road, and rejoin the A10 for the chunter to Royston where I was planning to take the Ermine St to Huntingdon at 2am.

And behind me I see blue flashing lights...uhhhh what have I done wrong. Im told to pullover because its unlit dual carriageway.(too bad I didnt thank him for the suggestion as it was a bit cold) Anyway he stops me and says I know your wearing a high viz jacket and lots of reflectivity and all but your not very visible in the dark are you? You dont have any lights. So i point out the white front handlebar light , the front rack white light, the rear red light , the rear rack red light. The reflective pedals the hiviz jacket, the 4 pannier reflective stripes the bikes reflective strip.(to cut a long story short I want whatever he was using to hallucinate).
Eventually after 5 minutes of listening to his endless complaints trying to find a reason to get me off the road he changes tack and so he regales me with it being dark and it being dual carriageway, and scraping bodies off busy roads. And "suggests" I leave at the next left turn since he cant stop me from cycling.
This is the sort of suggestion where the police car turns left and waits for you...

So I turn off wait for him to disappear and turn back onto my route. I mean short of him building another road on the spot, getting to Royston will be difficult if I listened to him. As for busy well from about 10miles south of Royston to Huntingdon I was passed by 37 cars/vans.

So I need advice apart from nodding my head up and down, and waiting for the old bill to disappear because they ruined my night ride. Besides I had to be in Boston (60miles further on) by 8am.

I think he expected me to be going home someplace nearby and to herd me home, when I told him I was headed to Huntingdon he was shocked, glad I didn’t tell him I was heading on to Boston…
With his ringing endorsement in my ears “ youre not doing anything illegal so I cant stop you…”

Thoughts ? cos the old bill are getting on my nerves

Emma
Phil Fouracre
Posts: 919
Joined: 12 Jan 2013, 12:16pm
Location: Deepest Somerset

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by Phil Fouracre »

Perhaps you should have suggested that he needed his eyesight testing!
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity
iviehoff
Posts: 2411
Joined: 20 Jan 2009, 4:38pm

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by iviehoff »

I suspect the issue is that the reflective things are so effective that it is hard to spot the lights in addition to them, especially when you first spot the cyclist.
User avatar
jezer
Posts: 1581
Joined: 29 Sep 2007, 5:16pm
Location: North Wiltshire

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by jezer »

Maybe he should have gone to Specsavers :shock:
Power to the pedals
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by mjr »

Others will know but do the police not have to give you some paperwork if they stop you? Did you get their shoulder number? I'd let your local cycle campaign or CTC Right to Ride rep know, just in case the police are trying to bully cyclists off the road. Actually, I'll throw the roads policing unit a question about this in a mo...
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by thirdcrank »

Maybe he was aware of the complaints made about a colleague in another force who didn't alert cyclists to the dangers of riding - in daylight - on the A23.
fluffybunnyuk
Posts: 450
Joined: 1 Sep 2013, 10:58pm

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by fluffybunnyuk »

On an aside, I wouldn't ride the road between 5am and midnight hours. So I camped up and slept in my tent (not saying where cos its a nice spot, and my tent flap is not an invite...) and waited till midnight when the roads would be empty. Im so grateful to him though for the notion of getting splatted which stuck in my mind for the next 2 hours...
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by mjr »

thirdcrank wrote:Maybe he was aware of the complaints made about a colleague in another force who didn't alert cyclists to the dangers of riding - in daylight - on the A23.

Search doesn't find that. What happened? Who complained?
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I'd not have turned off, he only advised it - but your journey would have be seriously disrupted if you had...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by thirdcrank »

mjr wrote:
thirdcrank wrote: ... Search doesn't find that. What happened? Who complained?


My summary, from memory. Several lengthy threads on here under the name of the deceased, Marie Vesco.

IIRC, a group of cyclists was riding from London on the A23 when the deceased was hit and killed by a driver crossing her path to leave the major road. It emerged that shortly before the crash, the riders had been seen by the crew of a police patrol car who had taken no action to advise the riders about their safety. (Also IIRC, he had to particular reason to do so, other than its being a busy road, which must have been obvious to everybody.) No prosecutions and a Coroner's verdict of accidental death. The complaints to the IPCC were by or on behalf of the bereaved family and IIRC one was that the riders should have been stopped and advised about the dangers (there was also a poorly signed alternative route.) Forum member anothereye was a friend of the deceased and knows much more about the details than I know or remember.

Rather a lot of IIRC's there and another is that I think the complaints were not upheld. The point I'm making is that no matter what the formal results, lessons are learned/ backsides covered etc.

====================================================================
Here's a thread about the complaints; there are others about the crash and subsequent inquiries.

viewtopic.php?p=294869
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by mjr »

Thanks for the link. Most of the A10 does not have an alternative cycle route that is safe to use on a winter night though.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by thirdcrank »

mjr wrote:Thanks for the link. Most of the A10 does not have an alternative cycle route that is safe to use on a winter night though.


And your point is?
irc
Posts: 5192
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 2:22pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by irc »

thirdcrank wrote:My summary, from memory. Several lengthy threads on here under the name of the deceased, Marie Vesco.


The complaint:
....PC Nelms had neglected his duty on 4th June, because he had failed to address the safety of a group of cyclists, who were traveling along a stretch of the A23 between Crawley and Brighton.
PC Nelms had observed this group of cyclists and recorded them on his car's video camera. He did not take any action. Shortly after he had driven away from the cyclists, one of them - Miss Marie Vesco - was involved in a road traffic collision with two cars. She died as a result of the crash. The complainants have argued that their daughter would have been alive today if PC Nelms had intervened when the cyclists were at risk.


viewtopic.php?f=6&t=36975&start=0

The thread has differing opinions as to whether it is appropriate for the police to exercise their duty of care by stopping cyclists riding legally on a road to advise they are in danger.
Tonyf33
Posts: 3926
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 3:31pm
Location: Letchworth N.Herts

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by Tonyf33 »

There are a darn sight worse roads to cycle on then that stretch especially at the time you did, very long lines of sight and bags of space to overtake, if he couldn't see you with what you described then he needs to hand in his license until he gets his eyesight rectified!
And if he thought the road was so 'dangerous' as to ward you off then surely it should be his duty to ensure errant drivers are driving within the law aware of what is in front of them. Clearly he must have seen you from a ways back and had nack all better to do than stick his oar in where it wasn't wanted... :x

"you clearly saw me in good time and if you are hazarding that other average drivers cannot see me then please point out how you feel I am not only riding illegally but show how invisible I am on a clear stretch of road with extremely long sight lines that even if you were driving at 70 mph you'd have a good 10 seconds at any point on the highway to see me if not longer?" "If the road is THAT dangerous then it is your duty to protect those using the highway from being at danger due to those errant enough not to be able to pass a basic eyesight test which on the face of your suggestion for me to vacate the road (to a probably potholed twisty unsighted back road) that you could not see me hints that you are likely in this band of motorists. I would suggest that if you cannot easily see me you have a good look at yourself and decide if it is time to hand in your license due to poor vision as you run the risk of causing a collision due to such"
So, I'll be on my way.
Last edited by Tonyf33 on 17 Feb 2014, 9:44pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Police Stop A10 near Royston

Post by mjr »

My point was that the A23 complaint suggested that the police should have told them where the cycleway was. On that bit of the A10 there is no cycleway alternative.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Post Reply