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Police called out twice hours apart to escort cyclists off motorway

Incidents took place on M65 in Lancashire on Tuesday

 

Police in Lancashire were called out twice earlier this week within the space of hours to escort cyclists off the same motorway.

The riders were spotted on the M65 12 hours apart, reports The Bolton News.

In the first incident, a man aged around 20, was spotted at about noon on Tuesday riding in the fast lane in the direction of Accrington, close to Junction 8.

Simon Morgan, who saw the cyclist, told the newspaper: "I was travelling the other way and I saw a young lad cycling in the fast lane near the central reservation.

"Alarm bells started ringing and when I got to the slip road I saw a police car travelling the other way at breakneck speed to get to the cyclist.

"It was very odd, it was a good thing it was quiet and there were not many cars going past.

"It was very dangerous and very, very bizarre.

"I was thinking he had possibly taken a wrong turn or didn't know the area well."

The second cyclist was seen at around 11.45pm and was said to be weaving in and out of the hard shoulder and the slow lane between Junctions 6 and 7.

Police thanked members of the public for alerting them to the presence of the riders and that both had been safely escorted off the motorway and “dealt with.”

A spokesman for the AA told The Bolton News: “This sounds like it was ignorance that caused these men to get onto the motorway.

“The advantages of bike training means you are told what roads you are legally and illegally allowed to ride on.

“Cyclists need to know what is dangerous and what is frankly stupid behaviour.

“Fortunately no-one was killed this time but I hope the pair have learned a valuable lesson.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Police commented: "It's not only illegal to cycle on a motorway but it's also highly dangerous.

“We would advise against it.

“This could have been extremely dangerous for both the cyclist and other motorists and thankfully no one was hurt."

Yesterday, we reported how 52-year-old Balin Hobbs was given a conditional discharge at Exeter Magistrates’ Court after police stopped him as he cycled on the hard shoulder of the M5 in April as he tried to head to London via Bristol.

> Cyclist rode for three days to attend court hearing for riding on motorway

Hobbs, who said that riding in a car is against his “spiritual beliefs,” spent three days riding his bike to the hearing and slept on the steps outside the court beforehand, and said he planned to cycle back home afterwards.

Wished a safe journey home by the chairman of the bench, who also urged him not to take the motorway, he replied: “I know the way now. I turn left out of the court and keep going.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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10 comments

Avatar
BullMcCabe | 6 years ago
3 likes

It needs to be pointed out that there is not, and never was, such a thing as a "fast lane" on motorways in Britain and Ireland.

There's a hard shoulder, then a left lane, and all the others are "overtaking lanes", used strictly for that purpose, not driving in, "fast" or otherwise.

Obviously, that is a separate issue to cycling on the motorway, and the reporter has quoted a witness. These 'rules', as another poster mentioned, can be found in the Highway Code. It's not a perfect document, but it is the basis of road traffic law in the UK.

Better understanding of it would help all road users.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
6 likes

hello police, there's a motorvehicle doing 40mph in the cycle lane and nearly wiped half a dozen cyclists out, I've ot video evidence!

Police; "fuck off wasting our time, we've got bearded terrorists riding a bike on the motorway to deal with"

True story.

Avatar
embattle | 6 years ago
0 likes

You'll find it all in the highway code, as for believing only the cyclist is at risk that is untrue since quite a few drivers are likely to react danagerously to a cyclist suddenly appearing in front of them which would happen due to the closing speed.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to embattle | 6 years ago
8 likes

embattle wrote:

You'll find it all in the highway code, as for believing only the cyclist is at risk that is untrue since quite a few drivers are likely to react danagerously to a cyclist suddenly appearing in front of them which would happen due to the closing speed.

physics dictates that it's not possible to suddenly appear in front of someone  3

Avatar
gcj replied to ChrisB200SX | 6 years ago
0 likes
ChrisB200SX wrote:

embattle wrote:

You'll find it all in the highway code, as for believing only the cyclist is at risk that is untrue since quite a few drivers are likely to react danagerously to a cyclist suddenly appearing in front of them which would happen due to the closing speed.

physics dictates that it's not possible to suddenly appear in front of someone  3

Watch the onboard video from Billy Monger's Formula 4 crash at Donington. With the right combination of traffic and closing speed it's effectively possible.

Avatar
alansmurphy | 6 years ago
5 likes

"The advantages of bike training means you are told what roads you are legally and illegally allowed to ride on"

Where are you illegally allowed to ride, I missed that bit of bike training. The advantages of English lessons are that properly communicate to be able you are.

Avatar
Johnnystorm | 6 years ago
8 likes

"A spokesman for the AA told The Bolton News: “This sounds like it was ignorance that caused these men to get onto the motorway.

“The advantages of bike training means you are told what roads you are legally and illegally allowed to ride on."

Aaaaah. THAT explains the faultless behaviour of drivers of motor vehicles.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet replied to Johnnystorm | 6 years ago
1 like

Johnnystorm wrote:

"A spokesman for the AA told The Bolton News: “This sounds like it was ignorance that caused these men to get onto the motorway. “The advantages of bike training means you are told what roads you are legally and illegally allowed to ride on." Aaaaah. THAT explains the faultless behaviour of drivers of motor vehicles.

Comedy gold from the AA. If that was the case them all the bad driving in cars MUST be premeditated as ignorance has been ruled out.

Avatar
JamesE279 | 6 years ago
7 likes

Have you ever thought, the police will be there pretty darn quickly if a cyclist is on a motorway, even though it is mostly the cyclist in danger.  But in so many other instances when the cyclist is in danger by dangerous driving, but not on motorways, there is almost no interest.

Generalisations I know, but it is a bit pants.

 

Avatar
Awavey replied to JamesE279 | 6 years ago
2 likes

JamesE279 wrote:

Have you ever thought, the police will be there pretty darn quickly if a cyclist is on a motorway, even though it is mostly the cyclist in danger.  But in so many other instances when the cyclist is in danger by dangerous driving, but not on motorways, there is almost no interest.

Generalisations I know, but it is a bit pants.

 

but I wonder if it is like a legal liability thing though, as in because its technically an illegal thing to do, if the police are notified its happening, they have to then be able to demonstrate they did everything they could to stop the cyclist from then coming to harm, and if the cyclist were to end up in an accident regardless of fault or cause and the police hadnt reacted or followed the procedures that tell them to react quickly, then the cyclist/relatives could sue the police for not acting in immediate haste, to stop them from coming to harm, or even the driver of the vehicle involved for the same reason.

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