[Closed] Laws That Don't Really Matter

Parking on zigzags it appears.. 😉

It may not be enforced much, but people do get irate about folk parking on the zigzags (especially/exclusively at schools), as exhibited in that thread, so I don't think that one counts.

I'm thinking of the laws that if you mention them people will just shrug and say "Well.. technically you're right.. but no one actually cares.."

Speed limits.

I never realised that he law required you to stop on amber (I'm an exchange licence holder, picked up laws by osmosis)

Mobile phone use is still totally fine it seems.

Speed limits, they're only adhered to when they're enforced.

Average speed sections of the M6 and everyone does the speed limit, get out of the managed motorway bit and boom, everyone is back to doing 85-90

Isn't there a medieval law that all able bodied Englishmen must practice archery on the village green every Sunday, that has never been repealed.

And something about pregnant women being allowed to pee in a policeman's helmet.

I don't think either is a euphemism 😕

Trivial? or just hopelessly outdated and from another time such that they aren't relevant any more and should be ignored and rewritten or repealed or whatever the term is.

1/ English footpaths and RoW legislation
2/ MOD land access bye laws.

Allowing your dog to s**t on paths, pavements, sports grounds etc seems to be perfectly ok now!

Killing a cyclist with your car

(I'm an exchange licence holder, picked up laws by osmosis)

[i]*splutter*[/i]

Can I suggest you at least have a quick flick through https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/highway-code ? Please?

(Though obviously, as per this thread, you can expect around half the things you read in there to be completely ignored by everyone).

Allowing your dog to s**t on paths, pavements, sports grounds etc seems to be perfectly ok now!

Always has been, there is a reason everyone of a certain age can remember white dog shit, because it was bloody everywhere.

Depends where you live

not stopping at [s]amber[/s] red traffic lights

not entering a junction or hatched area until the exit is clear
not driving or parking in cycle lanes

+ 1 for speed limits - esp 30 limits. Have you ever tried driving in a 30 zone at 30 and not had someone tailgating?

Have you ever tried driving in a 30 zone at 30 and not had someone tailgating?

Whenever I encounter that I just set the cruise control to 29mph and chuckle in the rear view mirror at their apoplectic rage

stopping at amber traffic lights

I've nearly been rear ended a couple of times now on that one (Finger crossed, could do with some whiplash compo for the new bike fund)

MOD land access bye laws

There may just be an FOI request in about that one at the moment...

- not entering a junction or hatched area until the exit is clear

Sharia...

MOD land access bye laws

At least some of the MOD land near us is used as a live fire range.
I tend to obey the by-laws there!

I just set the cruise control to 29mph and chuckle in the rear view mirror at their apoplectic rage

Our village successfully petitioned to become a 20 limit. I now take great delight in obeying it precisely. 22mph indicated and not a jot more, to the great annoyance of anyone stuck behind me (most of whom signed the petition but don't seem to think it applies to them!)

Dropping litter seems fine in many areas though you can get caught for it and most try not to I think. Though cigarette butts can obviously be dropped anywhere.

and gum - it's the law to gob that on the path/street to make a mottled pavement patten

lower speed limits for commercial vehicles on national limit single carriage roads and dual carriageways

[url] https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits [/url]

Piracy, especially TV shows. It might feel a bit wrong to get a sneaky copy of the latest film. But downloading Game of Thrones that's totally fine

I got a £60 fine for stopping in a box junction thing in London ....

everyone is back to doing 85-90

But downloading Game of Thrones that's totally fine

That 20mph limit in Wylam is just 'suggested', though. I thought there had to be proper calming measures like bollards/bumps, not just cars double parked outside the church...

Scooping dog poop - half arsed, just bag it and hang off a tree/fence or chuck it in the bushes

Seatbelts - none at all. On my 15 minute walk to/from the station each day at least 5% of drivers don't seem to need them

Cars with bald tyres, one brake light or no brake lights etc

As above chewing gum, fag butts and littering in general

Spitting in the street.

Misuse of Drugs Act is pretty futile.

[b]antigee[/b]

lower speed limits for commercial vehicles on national limit single carriage roads and dual carriageways

The bosses are mainly to blame for this. There's routing software that's used by a lot of companies now that tells them how fast you can get from A-B and you get quizzed if you're running late. The argument that the computer says you can do 30 miles in 26 minutes despite the vehicle being limited to 56mph doesn't wash so everyone goes at 56 on single carriageways and country lanes to make the time up.

Oh and locally parking on zigzags or cycle lanes will get you a ticket. Unless you're a taxi. Especially if you've got a bulb blown or a bald tyre 🙄

desuetude

[i]Scooping dog poop[/i]

Yeah, I've gone right off him since he did the car insurance ads.

There's a ton of motoring ones.

Copyright theft.

From another thread, tampering with your telephone master socket rather than informing BT. (-:

On a local note, the "STRAIGHT AHEAD ONLY" sign on Neville Street in Newcastle by the station drop off. Why spend a minute following signs around the block when you can try to squeeze round the fencing, get stuck in a queue and block up one of the busiest roads in the town centre.

Ignoring school crossing patrols.
http://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/news/11280048.Bid_to_put_stop_to_drivers_ignoring_crossing_patrols

The article mentions £1000 fines, but rather than fine the motorists, they will put up a few posters instead, as if anyone who ignores a lollypop lady is going to stop and read a poster. 🙄

Middle lane driving

- not cycling on the pavement

Pretty sure that's not a law, just one of a 100 recommendations in the highway code which seem to be optional.

NB 50% of the pavements in Cambridge are dual use, the other 50% aren't. Which basically means people cycle on them all as it's pretty confusing as to which bits are / aren't (signage is very poor).

parking on the 'oncoming traffic' side of the road after dark.

An aussie friend was shocked when she saw how many people did it here.....and thats from a nation with shocking driving habits.

Technically, at an indicated 85, you're doing 74.5, so hardly 'speeding'

Technically, at an indicated 85, you're doing 74.5, so hardly 'speeding'

On my car, doing an indicated 85 is a true 82. It's different on every car, obviously. They don't just design cars so that every one is exactly 10% over true speed 🙂

Pretty sure that's not a law,

I'm afraid it is.

Thus,

64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82

> Our village successfully petitioned to become a 20 limit.
That 20mph limit in Wylam is just 'suggested', though.

Yeah that annoys me too - there was a petition signed by a large majority in the village to get a 20mph limit put in. The council agreed but then put in an advisory limit instead because it was easier 🙄

You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

The interesting point about that one is that the police actively acknowledge that it's often not in the public interest to enforce it!

The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so.

Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required.

http://www.bikehub.co.uk/news/sustainability/roads-minister-tells-police-let-cyclists-go-on-footways-when-roads-look-dangerous/

Car speedos are a lot more accurate than people think nowadays. I did a check of a 50mph average speed limit motorway on my GPS and it was only 1mph out at the most.

95% I get tailgated, sometimes very dangerously, when I do 30mph. So I slow down a bit, that always cheers them up. 😉

+ 1 for speed limits - esp 30 limits. Have you ever tried driving in a 30 zone at 30 and not had someone tailgating?

I find 20 ones are even worse for this. There's a 20 zone around my daughter's (primary) school, which is also a "rat run" avoiding a busy junction. I invariably get tailgated if I do anything less than an indicated 30 mph, often by parents traveling to / from the school...

I get tailgated, sometimes very dangerously, when I do 30mph. So I slow down a bit, that always cheers them up.

I get tailgated, sometimes very dangerously, when I do 30mph

I said in another thread, tailgating is now so commonplace that folk have no real idea what the [i]correct[/i] gap should be.

(i.e. roughly one car length for every five mph - so six lengths at 30mph? Yeah right!)

Middle lane driving

I'll see your middle lane driving and raise you outside lane driving!

Neither of those are laws, sadly.

(i.e. roughly one car length for every five mph - so six lengths at 30mph? Yeah right!)

I always went for the "2 second rule"

2 seconds at 70mph is 63 metres!

Thus,
64 You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

I always went for the "2 second rule"
2 seconds at 70mph is 63 metres!

Yeah it works out [i]roughly[/i] the same.
Average car is just over 4 metres long, so 70mph = 14 car lengths = ~56 metres.

The Highway Code actually says [i]"leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down or stops. The safe rule is [b]never to get closer than the overall stopping distance[/b]"[/i]. For 70mph it [url= https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/312249/the-highway-code-typical-stopping-distances.pdf ]gives a stopping distance of 96 metres[/url]!

Good luck with that.

[img] [/img]

Mobile phone use is still totally fine it seems.

I ran her over.

Sorry John, no (specific) law against using a mobile while cycling 😉

When Labour got into power in 1997 one of the first things they did was to make it illegal under British law to cause a nuclear explosion 😀

Sorry John, no (specific) law against using a mobile while cycling

But it did piss me off because it was a busy road, right outside a school (on zigzags ironically, but she didn't stop on them) with traffic islands everywhere and all the motorists holding back wondering just what/where she was going to do next.

It's no wonder some motorists hate us cyclists.

all the motorists holding back wondering just what/where she was going to do next.

Sounds like an excellent tactic then - I might try that myself.

Speed limit. Had someone overtake me on the Strines Road waving their arms about and shouting some abuse because I had the nerve to stick to the speed limit, on a notoriously dangerous road, whilst I had my kids in the car.

Just set week, I was in front at the temporary traffic lights on the same road. Some pollock, three cars back, ran the red light then someone else started beeping their horn at me because i wouldn't run the red. We hadn't been waiting an age, just impatience.

I love it that people will happily abuse me and get frustrated because I follow the rules of h road. I am not super slow, I just don't want a fine and points on my license. Some folk don't seem to care.

all the motorists holding back wondering just what/where she was going to do next.

Sounds like an excellent tactic then - I might try that myself.

NB bikes *are* allowed to go both ways here, so not really the wrong way.

Zig-zags are diagonal parking bays outside schools aren't they? 😉

Yeah I stick to the limits in my van but most don't and most car drivers are unaware that the limit is slower for me, so I get tailgated, beeped at and fists waved in my direction. I reckon they put it down to being one of those 'female drivers', rather than not wanting points or fines (plus my bike is usually in the back and I like to make sure she is happy and not skittling about the back!)

Though cigarette butts can obviously be dropped anywhere.

Same category as banana skins these days apparently.

we've got some fairly new (<1 yr) 20mph speed limits round here - I stick to them if driving and people soon get behind you and go apoplectic. Love it.

all the motorists holding back wondering just what/where she was going to do next.

I 'wobble' when approaching a particularly bad pinch pint on my ride home. It's a great tactic to prevent pointless MGIF overtaking.

Speaking of pinch points...

The "oncoming vehicles have priority" signs can be ignored if the oncoming vehicle is a bike. Apparently.

How about- pedestrians have right of way if they are crossing a road onto which you want to turn.

Indicating at junctions seems to be going rapidly out of fashion, at least in my area of S London. Really noticed it in the last year.

How about- pedestrians have right of way if they are crossing a road onto which you want to turn.

After a few nearly-getting-run-over-by-idiots moments near work, I discovered the little publicised codicil that a driver blasting their horn reverses the right of way in such circumstances.

[quote=Cougar ]Thus,
64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129
> https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82
br />

Interestingly that law also applies to cars, which is another routinely ignored one (given you have to drive on the pavement to park on the pavement unless you own a crane).

the cyclist girl on the phone was riding no handed the "wrong way" along a one-way street,

She sounds awesome. Was she fit?

"Technically, at an indicated 85, you're doing 74.5, so hardly 'speeding'; no cop is going to pull you over for that, as you're still within the 10% speedo variable.
Even at an indicated 90, you're actually only doing 81."
Tecnically not really true as its a rather sweeping generalisation that encourages people to ignore their speedo. My landrover shows 31 at a GPSed 30, my Suzuki 32.
what really pisses me off is that people feel that these laws are silly. they have a reason and it is not for those who are less than 100% correctly informed to question them just because they don't like them.
In the spirit of the thread I like to split laws into those which affect other by my breaking them and those which don't. Ie speeding is disgusting. full stop. How ever me carrying an Opinel knive harms no one.
all example are for the purpose of illustration rather than any admission of guilt or opinion.

When Labour got into power in 1997 one of the first things they did was to make it illegal under British law to cause a nuclear explosion

Does it cover building your own nuclear reactor?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10385853