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Do cyclists have to stick to the speed limit?


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Posted

There is no requirement for a speedometer on a bicycle as far as I aware. So how can you be expected to keep to a limit, when you have no idea what your speed is? Also no number plate or ID on any bicycle will make it hard to send any fine in the mail, or even ID you when stopped. So even if it technically looks like bicycles have to follow the speed limit, practically not much can be done if you are over it.

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Posted
18 minutes ago, Jbr said:

I don't even understand why one would ask the question ?

out of curiosity really.

the safety aspect is another issue. even in a car, just because the limit is x does not mean you should be doing the limit under all conditions.

 

B.T.W. there is one piece of road, about 8km long, dual carriage way with a very wide emergency lane.

Speed limit on that stretch is 80km/h, with a tail wind, if i can keep my speed in the upper 30s low 40s I'm faster than the cars sticking to the speed limit. Purely because they are stopping for red lights which, when timed right, change to green as I arrive at them.

Posted
8 minutes ago, Nico van Loggerenberg said:

Wait wait - there's a speed limit for cars in South Africa? I certainly haven't seen much evidence for it. 

apparently thats what these signs are for

image.png.f5e314392c929c85f042dba1ea76fcf3.png

I'm also told this is max speed you're allowed to travel at and not a suggested speed

Posted

As they say in the classics,  it's not the speed that kills you,  it's the short sharp stop at the end aka acute concrete poisoning.

 

FWIW As a kid i was always trying to see if i could get the cops to stop me haring down Judges Ave in Blackheath and trying to run over the Gat So Meter lines. 

Posted
1 hour ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

There is no requirement for a speedometer on a bicycle as far as I aware. So how can you be expected to keep to a limit, when you have no idea what your speed is? Also no number plate or ID on any bicycle will make it hard to send any fine in the mail, or even ID you when stopped. So even if it technically looks like bicycles have to follow the speed limit, practically not much can be done if you are over it.

Jaaaaa and buycycles don’t have to have a license to ride on the road (in SA and waiting to be corrected) and in many motorists minds don’t belong on the road…. Therefore following this logic the speed limit  doesn’t apply

#sTruebru
 

Posted

So most people will not reach the speed limit let alone stick to it. However understanding the question as intended. A cyclist falls under the same road rules and laws as other road users as will face prosecution if exceeding the speed limit. This will apply to a pedestrian exceeding the speed limit....if that has ever happened...it would make to an interesting story.

Posted

Over the last century proportional to road safety, how many deaths can be attributed to ‘speed limits’

Seems like there’s a lot of fixation on something that is negligible at best, just because some tv show used it as a dog whistle.

Posted
On 9/6/2023 at 5:03 PM, droo said:

The speed trap on Kloof Nek should get a few pictures a week. Not easy to set the camera off on a bike though, and I've never heard of anyone actually getting their photo in the mail.

There was that chap on his skateboard that got the camera to flash. It caused quite a stir at the time if I recall correctly with law enforcement being quite miffed at the guy.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/feb/08/south-african-skateboarder-speed-camera-video

Posted
On 9/7/2023 at 11:25 AM, Jbr said:

I often pass cars there, but never set off the speed camera.

Many of the wires embedded in the road are in an induction loop setup, meaning you need steel to close the loop and activate the camera. The same is true for traffic lights. Simply not enough steel in carbon fibre bikes, to be able to close the circuit.

Posted
On 9/10/2023 at 8:16 AM, Frosty said:

Many of the wires embedded in the road are in an induction loop setup, meaning you need steel to close the loop and activate the camera. The same is true for traffic lights. Simply not enough steel in carbon fibre bikes, to be able to close the circuit.

Actually there seems to be enough steel in the BB to trigger the induction loops. 
 

our suburb put up booms a few months back, there was big debate about it not going to allow cyclists through and we should mount the pavement and use the pedestrian gate. 
but I’ve discovered that once the BB goes onto the induction loop the boom will allow me to open them. 

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