[akshay380]

I made an interesting proposal to my cop friends few years back. I said I'll cycle by the intercepter at 65kmph(yes it's possible on a roadbike) and they will capture it with their guns and give me a pic. I pay the fine. They showed interest initially but then chickened out and gave me speeding ticket for doing 65 in 60 zone in my car. Duhhhh.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by GTO

Moderator Aditya tells me he can do 50+ kmph on his cycle. Now, if this was in a narrow / residential lane, isn't that overspeeding?
....

GTO,
Mod Aditya is right- I've done 28mph (45kmph) in on my bicycle in Minneapolis. But that requires a good bicycle, some strength and help with inclines. I'm sure I can do more if I had a better bicycle. People who are avid riders almost wear helmets all the time and have good bikes with adequate stopping power.

This, to me, looks like a case of exploitation and abuse of power- the person looks like he's from the lower strata of society and he doesn't have a premium bicycle from the picture. I think he is a soft target.

[Olympal]

Several years ago my school - going son was stopped and fined Rs300 for not wearing a helmet on his bicycle in Bangalore. No challan was given.

[kraft.wagen]

Its plain ridiculousness and exploitation of power.

I hope the day where speed limits for walking and running doesn't come!

[hserus]

Originally Posted by silverado

From pics, i dont see any shifters on his handle bar which tells me this is a single speed bicycle.
So unless he is going downhill he is not capable of reaching anything above 30kmph i assume.This is a clear case of high handedness of police.

This is the old fashioned sort of single speed bike - an MTB (looking at the pic now). No, you can't do 30 kmph even on that thing.

It is good that the cop in question is facing action.

[gk1234]

You know how a bicycle isn’t a motor vehicle? Because it’s the only medium of transport that isn’t targetted by miscreants during a hartal. Well, that, and good ol’ walking. I would know because I live in Kerala, the land of Hartals.

No, but, seriously, insisting on wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle isn’t a preposterous proposition - one can never be safe enough on the roads these days - although it’s unlikely there will be any takers to this rule. Surely you guys must have seen young kids racing on their cycles to or from school during rush hours? My senses are heightened while driving near schools, out of fear for their safety, more than anything else.

[headbanger]

On a lighter note, if the victim is able to do 50kmph on bicycle shown in the opening pic, he is seriously in a wrong profession and the cop who found out this superman has some serious talent in spotting speeds.

[Arjun Reddy]

Agree with most of you on this guy getting booked for speed. I guess it does not fall under the motor vehicles act and cannot be booked.

The law needs to be amended here to include non motorised transport.

So, what if this guy was caught drunk and riding? Will he be pulled up? Again a grey area?

I am sure most of the people would have applauded the officer.

Get him a good cycle and put him on our Olympic team with a little training, we just might hit gold.

[sandeepmohan]

This is ridiculous and a bit of a racist act from the Kerala Police if you ask me. Over the last decade or so, Kerala has seen a lot of migrant workers (Mostly men) from the North Eastern part of our country. The locals do not like this at all. These migrant workers are in the State to make an honest living and I believe they are doing a good job even though they maybe be menial jobs. They are hard working people. Atleast there is some domestic help available as a result of these chaps. Finding domestic help or someone to do odd jobs is getting harder these days in Kerala. My folks have not had domestic help for close to ten years now. It is these chaps who come to tidy up the house, mow the lawn, etc.

To say that you need a license to ride a bicycle is going too far. This is harassment. Also; we do not know by what means they decided that the cyclist was speeding. Did they catch him on a speed gun? We do not know. Instead of slapping a fine, the cop should have waved down the cyclist and advised him to take it easy. The poor chap would have lost his daily wage as a result of the cops deflating the cycle.

[Lone Ranger]

Clearly a case of exploitation! I am glad this has got some publicity because whoever did this either had a really bad sense of humour or a very nasty attitude (or possibly a disgusting combination of both). As others who ride a bicycle regularly have said, no way the bike that he was riding is capable of speeds like that, unless it is dropped from a (very) tall building!

All this from a state where the state transport buses are legendary for constant endeavors to disprove commonly accepted laws of physics

[Alfresco]

Originally Posted by GTO

If someone was overspeeding, I don't see why they should escape any speed limits, just because their vehicle doesn't have an engine. I'm 50:50 on this one until more information comes to light.

Most European countries that promote cycling ensure that you follow the traffic rules irrespective of the vehicle.
I've seen a college student on a cycle getting a ticket in California because he was speeding through the downtown area which had lots of cafes and shops.

[Jeevith]

Originally Posted by GTO

Moderator Aditya tells me he can do 50+ kmph on his cycle. Now, if this was in a narrow / residential lane, isn't that overspeeding?

Hi GTO,

Highly the doubt the highway police (which is the case here) is patrolling a narrow residential lane. Almost certain this is a case of abuse of power.

[shankarbn]

Originally Posted by GTO

Moderator Aditya tells me he can do 50+ kmph on his cycle.

Maybe said moderator was doing it in full race gear wearing a skinsuit, clipless pedals and TT helmet on a time trial bike that costs half a million rupees. There is no way in hell that contraption in the picture does 50kmph. Sure, speed limits are for everyone but comparing unrealistic numbers doesn't help in this argument of unknowns.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

We have to give it to the police of God's own country. They are really strict and safety conscious.

This one really takes the cake.

Rather than being strict and safety conscious it is usually more about snaring the innocent/meeting monthly quota or simply pulling a fast one.

Unfortunately I was at the receiving end as well last year in Kerala (in a KA registered car though).

I was doing ~60 kmph and was pulled over. The cop claimed over-speeding. On asking him what was the speed limit as I had not seen a single speed limit board in the last 50 odd kms, he tells me that the board there says 'Go Slow' . During this conversation other KL vehicles went barreling past without batting an eyelid.

There was no point arguing as his solution was pay or go to court. Given I was visiting and on my way home, I had to pay and move on.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by varunsangal

This one really takes the cake.
Unfortunately I was at the receiving end as well last year in Kerala (in a KA registered car though).

I was doing ~60 kmph and was pulled over. The cop claimed over-speeding. On asking him what was the speed limit as I had not seen a single speed limit board in the last 50 odd kms, he tells me that the board there says 'Go Slow' . During this conversation other KL vehicles went barreling past without batting an eyelid.
.

I too was given a ticket under similar conditions. I was going towards kollam, after karunagapally town limits, the police caught me at 78kmph. Being a NH, I though the speed limit is 85kmph, but they told me it should be under 70kmph as there is board showing same in the stretch.

I saw the police on the same strech while coming back, and tried to locate the so called warning board, but was not able to find any. I told my wife let's go back and question them. She told me, she didn't want a government job ( It was during the time, where custodial deaths were on the rise and the present government was offering government job to the nearest kin).

They are just conning public out here.

ps: My car is a Kerala registered one. At least the police doesn't show any partiality, they catch everyone.