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Four Year Old Girl Gets Police Warning For Cycling

By Nada Wilson, 9 years ago

On the news this morning, I heard a story about a four year old girl from Grantham and how she received a warning from a Policeman due to cycling on the pavement. This little girl has a two mile trip to school which is a considerable distance.

The anonymous Policeman apparently said "'If I catch you put her on her bike further up the road I will turn around and confiscate the bike." Harsh words but was this man just simply doing his job right and protecting the safety of the locals? Or was he being a job's worth and over the top?

A bug bear of mine is people cycling on pavements but a four year old on a bike with stabilisers shouldn't be on the road. As we all know cycling on pavements is illegal because pedestrians can be seriously injured. However, in my head there's a big difference between a four year old child cycling at the side of their parent and someone bursting through crowds on their bicycle.

Do you let your kids cycle on the pavements for their own safety? Are cyclists a nuisance to you where you are?

Whatever your thoughts on this...keep the kids safe with Bike Safety equipment*.

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Comments

carl19692
I was under the impression children up to the age of 12 could ride on pavements. Found this though: It is important to note that most legislation relating to ‘cycling on footpaths’ actually relates to the riding of cycles on a ‘footway set aside for the use of pedestrians’ which runs alongside a road. For example, the ‘fixed penalties’ brought in a few years ago do NOT apply to country footpaths where there is no road. Fixed penalty notices also cannot be applied to areas such as parks, shopping precincts etc. unless a byelaw has been passed making cycling such areas an offence, nor do they apply to anyone under 16. Many people (including police officers) seem to think that ‘a footpath is a footpath’ wherever it is and that the same laws apply. This is not the case.. http://www.bikehub.co.uk/featured-articles/cycling-and-the-law/
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carl19692
CAN CHILDREN CYCLE ON FOOTWAYS? According to the Department for Transport (DfT), the maximum fine for ‘cycling on the pavement’ (ie footways) from the courts is £500. However it is more usually enforced by way of the Fixed Penalty Notice procedure (FPN) which carries a £30 fine if pleading guilty. However, there is a view that the FPN can only be issued to those over 16. “The DfT view, from discussions with Home Office, is that the law applies to all but the police can show discretion to younger children cycling on the pavement for whom cycling on the road would not be a safe option.” (See, event the Department for Transport uses the word ‘pavement’). The age of criminal responsibility is 10 so, technically, only children below this age can cycle on footways without fear of redress. While adults are not allowed to cycle on ‘footways’ (see definition above), children up to the age of 16 cannot be prosecuted for doing so, see text above for clarification.
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