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Hundreds of cyclists fined for flouting rules of the road
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor14.10.08
NEARLY 400 cyclists have been given on-the-spot fines for flouting the law in the last three months as part of a police crackdown on traffic offences in the City.
Most of the £30 fines have been given to cyclists going through red lights, with 296 handed out for this offence since the start of Operation Typhoon in July.
Another 27 cyclists have been fined for riding on pavements, 48 for flouting other traffic signs and a handful have been fined for failing to stop for a police officer or riding without lights at night. The crackdown has also targeted motorcyclists and car drivers.
The Met and City police conduct periodic enforcement campaigns in which cyclists who break the law are handed £30 on the spot fines or warned about their conduct. Police community support officers are also now able to issue fixed penalty notices.
Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I have a foot in both camps having spent time both behind the wheel and on the saddle in the capital. My goal is for both to be able to share the roads safely and harmoniously.
"To help achieve this we are investing a record £3million on cycle training that every new cyclist should take part in as the knowledge they will gain could potentially save their life. We are also trying to educate drivers on improving their awareness of cyclists."
As well as on the spot fines, a number of cyclists have also been prosecuted in recent months. Typical charges are dangerous or careless cycling. The penalties imposed for these offences are usually low-level fines. Cyclists have also been taken to court for failure to stop at a red light or failure to obey other road traffic signals, which are also typically punished with a small fine.
In a case dealt with by Bexley magistrates' an 18-year-old man was fined £50, plus £50 costs and a £15 victim surcharge, after pleading guilty to ignoring a red light in Sydenham High Street in south London and colliding with a person in a motorised wheelchair.
It is possible to bring prosecutions for causing bodily harm by wanton or furious cycling an offence which carries a sentence of up to two years in jail although there have not been any cases in London this year.
