Cycling related offences and accidents in the Bath neighbourhood area:

Section 24 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that carrying more than one person on a road on a bicycle not propelled by mechanical power is an offence committed by each person being carried. There is an exception if the bike is constructed or adapted for the carriage of more than one person (ie tandem or attached child seat).

Section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 states that it is an offence to ride a pedal cycle on a footpath or causeway by the side of a road made for the use of foot passengers and a fixed penalty notice may be issued.

Sections 28 and 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 deal with reckless cycling and careless cycling .

Cyclists are obliged to comply with traffic signs in the same way as other road users, this means obeying Give Way signs and stopping at red traffic lights.

Riding a pedal cycle while unfit to ride because of alcohol or drugs is an offence contrary to S30 Road traffic Act 1988, if the rider is incapable of controlling the cycle. Section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872 has an offence of being drunk in charge of a bicycle with a maximum fine of £200, or one months imprisonment!

The law on lights on pedal cycles has been amended by the Road Vehicle Lighting (Amendment) Regulations 2005, which now allows front and rear lamps to flash.

The number of FPNs issued in relation to the offences listed above in the Bath neighbourhood area over the last 3 years, for which offence, in which beat area, in which month and whether these were issued by a police officer, a PCSO or other authorised person.
The number of prosecutions in relation to the offences listed above committed in the Bath neighbourhood area over the last 3 years, for which offence, in which beat area, in which month.
The number of injury related accidents between cyclists and pedestrians in the Bath neighbourhood area reported by police since records have been collated (I believe this date is 1996), the location, the nature of the injury (slight, serious etc.), the nature and cause of the accident, including which party was considered to blame and, if the cyclist, what police action was taken.

Your request for information has now been considered and some of the information asked for is below.

The number of FPNs issued in relation to the offences listed in your request in the Bath neighbourhood area over the last 3 years, for which offence, in which beat area, in which month and whether these were issued by a police officer, a PCSO or other authorised person.

Number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued by month/year
October 06 = 1
November 06 = 1
January 07 = 2
February 07 = 1
March 07 = 1
May 07 = 1
June 07 = 6
July 07 = 5
August 07 = 1
September 07 = 1
October 07 = 5
January 08 = 3
February 08 = 5
May 08 = 1
June 08 = 8
July 08 = 13
August 08 = 2
September 08 = 6
October 08 = 3
November 08 = 1
February 09 = 2
March 09 = 1
April 09 = 2
May 09 = 1
June 09 = 4
Total = 77

All fixed penalty notices were issued for cycling on a footpath. 14 tickets were issued by Police Officers and 63 were issued by PCSOs. The beat area in which the tickets were issued is not recorded.

The number of prosecutions in relation to the offences listed in your request committed in the Bath neighbourhood area over the last 3 years, for which offence, in which beat area, in which month.

There have been no prosecutions in relation to the offences listed in your request.

The number of injury related accidents between cyclists and pedestrians in the Bath neighbourhood area reported by police since records have been collated (I believe this date is 1996), the location, the nature of the injury (slight, serious etc.), the nature and cause of the accident, including which party was considered to blame and, if the cyclist, what police action was taken.

September 1996 Manor Road Keynsham - Vehicle 1 Overtook Cyclist Prior to Junction V1 Turned Right and Pulled up into kerb, started reversing along road, cyclist stood with cycle in road and van reversed into cyclist Slight severity

May 2004 - A39 Hallatrow - Pedestrian ran out from driveway onto the road and collided with cyclist who was travelling on A39Slight/ Serious severity

January 2005 - High Street Opposite Guildhall Bath - Pedestrian standing on a one way street waiting to cross, as they stepped forward a cyclist riding against the flow of traffic knocked them down Slight severity

November 2005 - A36 Lower Bristol Road 10 Metres each off Burnham Road, Bath - V1 was travelling towards Bath when cyclist left pavement and into path of vehicle 1 Slight severity

I am unable to provide details of which party was considered to be at blame and the subsequent police action that was taken. The exemption applicable to the information is Section 40 (2), third party personal information, this is an Absolute exemption. Any information to which a request relates is exempt if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject and if disclosure of that information to a member of the public would contravene any of the principles of the 1998 Data Protection Act. In this particular case, disclosure of this information would contravene Principles 1 and 2 of the Act, whereby personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and only obtained for one or more specified purpose or purposes.

Police Forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It should be noted that for these reasons the figures given relate to information from the specific recording system of Avon and Somerset Constabulary and should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you receive.