Manchester man jumped red light and rode on wrong side of road with nine-year-old son on handlebars

A Manchester cyclist is to be issued with a court summons alleging dangerous cycling and careless cycling after being stopped by police while riding on the wrong side of the road across a busy junction with his nine-year-old son on the handlebars.

The Manchester Evening News reports that a 25-year-old man, riding a mountain bike, jumped a red light to head across Oldham Road towards Hulme Hall Lane in Newton Heath on Wednesday evening.

The road splits and police said he was on the wrong side of the carriageway, ‘weaving in and out’ of traffic.

Commenting on the incident, a police spokesman issued a safety warning over carrying people on a bike’s handlebars.

Under section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1991, "a person is to be regarded as riding dangerously if (and only if) (a) the way he rides falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful cyclist, and (b) it would be obvious to a competent and careful cyclist that riding in that way would be dangerous."

The offence carries a maximum penalty of a £2,500 fine.

In 2013, a Carlisle man was fined £55 for dangerous cycling after being spotted by a police officer riding his bike “at high speed” with his young daughter perched on his shoulders. The man was using his left hand to steer while his right hand held onto his daughter’s leg.

Last year, another Carlisle cyclist was asked to pay £165 after pleading guilty to dangerous cycling. Thomas Thompson broke his arm in a collision with a taxi while cycling the wrong way down a one-way street.