Several years ago, on holiday in Dorset, I picked up speed cycling on a quiet, wide road, and continued with unbridled freedom on a long downhill stretch. It was glorious. Then, making me jump out of my saddle, came the sudden wail of a siren. Pulling out quickly from a side road, a police car flashed its lights and flagged me down. "Do you know how fast you were going, sir?" I shrugged, sweatily. "Well sir, 44mph."

This actually became a good-natured, even jokey exchange with the local constabulary, who let me off with a warning. I was a bit surprised at the speed. I didn't have a speedometer, and I don't know how they measured it with a Lidar speed gun, or any other means. But were they in fact "letting me off" at all? Can cyclists break the speed limit, or does the law only apply to cars?

While it is not unheard of to be shouted at by a taxi driver, for all that they might object to about cyclists, the one thing you wouldn't expect is to be asked to slow down. But a colleague told me he experienced that very thing this week when cycling quickly to work through Southwark. Coincidence? Southwark council is planning to crack down on fast cyclists by issuing a 20mph speed limit for any traffic on certain areas of the south London borough. There has been resistance to this from various parties, including the Metropolitan police. While this is a more realistic, if nippy speed barrier for the commuting cyclist, can they be bracketed on this issue with motor vehicles?

The law of the road



The Highway Code rule 124 is clear on keeping within speed limits, but does not mention cyclists. Archive notes on the Department of Transport code of conduct for cyclists gives general advice on using cycle paths, particularly those shared with pedestrians, suggesting "if you want to cycle quickly, say in excess of 18mph/30 kph, then you should be riding on the road". So – going fast? Then the road is the place to be.

Melissa Henry, communications director at Sustrans, the UK charity of cyclists and pedestrians, gave me a staunch defence for us self-propelled wheelers: "For most cyclists getting up to, let alone breaking the speed limit, is unlikely. The majority of people apply common sense to situations they face on the road. People should follow the Highway Code.” That's indeed true, and it's hard to break the limit, but can cyclists still be sanctioned if they do? So I turned to the Metropolitan police, where spokesman Mark Ottowell confirmed the answer: "The legislation regarding speeding covers motor (or mechanically propelled) vehicles only."

Parklife penalties



So there you have it, we're exempt. Or are we? Unfortunately not. There's a caveat. Cyclists can be fined not merely for transgressing paths or pavements, which is another subject entirely, but for speeding on roads in royal parks where other laws can be applied. In 2013 a teenager was reported to have been fined for cycling at 37mph in Richmond Park. Nippy indeed. Ottwell gives the current police position on riding in in that location:



Police activity in Richmond Park continues to address poor road user behaviour by riders and drivers. Sections 28 & 29 Road Traffic Act 1988 may be used to report dangerous and careless cycling respectively. These offences closely mirror the provisions (sections 2 & 3) for motor vehicles. Regular 'Exchanging Places' events have been held in the park to promote safer cycling. Enforcement of offences committed by cyclists is carried out every day by officers who stop the offender at the time.

Cycling in Richmond Park, south-west London. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

So rules apply to roads within royal parks for both cars and bikes, in what is popular destination for recreational cyclists. But what constitutes "dangerous and careless cycling"? Can you go fast and be careful? Perhaps a rule of ride is that may depend on who else is on the road. And where does the actual speed limit apply? Section 28 of the Road Traffic Act defines danger, but what about speed? A 2004 amendment to Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations limited Richmond park speeds to 20mph and other royal parks to 30mph. These speed limits apply to vehicles, they are still not bicycles. Royal park regulations of 1997 separately defines cyclists from vehicles, and even a 2010 amendment defines vehicles as "mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on a road". So it seems, penalties seem to be less about speed, more about the issue of dangerous cycling created by high speed.

The 'furious' issue



So has a cyclist ever been fined specifically for speed? That's hard to find. But in September 1997, the Cambridge Evening News and the Guardian reported that a cyclist was fined £120 for travelling through the city centre at 25mph in a 30mph zone. Quite extraordinarily, police used a law that was more than 150 years old for "riding furiously". The Town Police Clauses Act of 1847, section 28, F18, states that penalties will be given to "every person who rides or drives furiously any horse or carriage, or drives furiously any cattle". Furiously? Seriously? The Guardian story named the rider as one Tony Adams, a postal worker, 24, who was also in training to try and break Chris Boardman's pursuit record. Adams said: "I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even pedalling furiously."



So, fellow cyclists, be careful out there. Don't be dangerous. It's difficult to break speed limits, especially when there's traffic or traffic lights, but even if you do, on normal roads such penalties only apply to motor vehicles. But beware how your cycling is perceived in the royal parks, and let us know your thoughts and experiences.

