Off The Road

By Rob Last edited 230 months ago
Off The Road
pavement cyclist.jpg

Today marks a significant day in the life of London's cyclists and its pedestrians. Why? Because (as the Standard reports) today saw the first on-the-spot fining of a 'pavement cyclist'.

Now, we don't want to come over all Daily Mail here but Londonist regards pavement cyclists in the same way we regard bus drivers who who speed past us at bus stops and taxi drivers who refuse to take us south of the river. You get the idea.

We've all seen them: grown men or women who whiz past you as you're innocently minding your own business, inexplicably ignoring the useful strip of tarmac they've been designated, commonly known as 'the road'.

But don't get us wrong, it's not cyclists that annoy us (after all, the majority of Londonist staff use the two-wheeled variety of transport to get to and from work), it’s just the people who endanger us when we least expect it that get on our nerves.

So what happens if you get caught terrorising the walkways? Well, if you're in the Kensington and Chelsea area, like 48-year-old Haled Ibrahim was, and you partake in this particular kind of "anti-social behaviour", you can expect to receive a £30 fine.

Londonist, hwoever, would like to see a more imaginative approach: maybe something like attaching stabiliser wheels to the bikes of those caught on the pavements.

Last Updated 18 January 2005