[Vasuki]

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

A Uttarpradesh resident, Kasim, learned this the hard way. He was booked for over speeding in a bicycle and riding without helmet. He was given a challan for that.


Source

[V.Narayan]

Dishonesty and ingenuity at its best, oops worst. Sadly it reflects the depth to which these lower level & mid-tier cops believe that extracting rent is their fundamental right. Up till now they fabricated evidence but now apparently fabricating laws on the spur of the moment is the latest in thing.

[SCORPION]

Absolute misuse of power and victimization of an innocent person. I really hope these gundas are dealt with properly. They should be ashamed of themselves. If the report is true, that is. There could be more to the story than what has been reported. Being Kerala, such an incident can also lead to a state wide hartal . So if there is anything more to it, it will come out soon.

[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?

And maybe a vehicle number was entered on the challan because it's mandatory.

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.

[vinair]

Totally agree. It's not that the speeding bicycle would cause any substantial damage, but taking into consideration one's safety (the bicycle rider in this case), the cops are right in booking this chap.

If jaywalking on roads can be punishable, why not speeding on any other mode of transport??

[Shreyans_Jain]

To the best of my knowledge, non motorized vehicles like bicycles do not come under the purview of the Motor Vehicles Act. This seems to be another case of cops going to creative lengths to fleece money off the common man.

[arunphilip]

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.

You make an interesting point, GTO.

Someone better versed can clarify, however, but isn't the letter of the law (for over speeding, rash driving, etc.) laid out in the Motor Vehicles Act, with emphasis on Motor? Maybe the gap between the spirit and letter needs tightening up.

And if it is applicable to unpowered (hence unregistered vehicle), then filling out a license number shouldn't be mandatory, neither should the police chaps action of putting in a random number belonging to another vehicle be allowed. Maybe they should put in their own police vehicle's number as a place holder, if anything.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

That said, I agree with GTO that there's no reason why cyclists shouldn't be held to the same standard. In fact, their unpredictability (cycling all over the road, not adhering to traffic signals) can cause trouble.

Oh, I'm not defending rashly ridden cycles, I'm just clarifying how the law is written, and updating it if required to encompass cycles as well. If they share our roads, they better share our rules as well.

[libranof1987]

The one thing that riles me up tremendously about law enforcement is the selective penalizing. These cops seem to have gone for a soft target, given that he is a non-local. Unless they can show the rule book, these cops should be suspended for their abuse of the law.

That said, I agree with GTO that there's no reason why cyclists shouldn't be held to the same standard. In fact, their unpredictability (cycling all over the road, not adhering to traffic signals) can cause trouble.

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

To the best of my knowledge, non motorized vehicles like bicycles do not come under the purview of the Motor Vehicles Act. This seems to be another case of cops going to creative lengths to fleece money off the common man.

Don't know about India but some states in the US do; people even get booked for DUI while cycling.

[SCORPION]

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.

Agreed. But I was thinking. Let us say, there is a speed limit of 30 kmph on a particular road. Usain Bolt runs on that road at close to 37 kmph during his morning jog cum practice session. Can the cops fine him and give him a random vehicle number? How did they measure the cyclist's speed and determine he was overspeeding?

[Thermodynamics]

I agree there should be speed limits in Cities/Towns/Villages and every one should abide regardless he rides a bicycle or motorcycle or shows superhero skills as a bare feet Hussain Bolt.

But some open questions, are bicycles manufactured with speedometers ? Do we have any country where it is mandatory to have a speedometer on a bicycle ? How can we ask a driver to regulate something which he has no idea of the measure ?

There are bicycle laws in some countries such as in Germany, all bicycles should have a head light and must be turned on after 6 PM.

I'm not sure if there are any such regulation in India. Even if it exists or created in future, implementation will remain difficult because a lot of people, particularly in less developed states use bicycle as a basic mode of transportation. These are roads that still serve bullock carts and cattle. Asking these people to add a speedometer, wear a helmet, get a license to ride a bicycle would be an overkill.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

There are bicycle laws in some countries such as in Germany, all bicycles should have a head light and must be turned on after 6 PM.

I'm not sure if there are any such regulation in India. Even if it exists or created in future, implementation will remain difficult because a lot of people, particularly in less developed states use bicycle as a basic mode of transportation.

Bicycle laws are very much there in India. They used to be strictly enforced in the days before motorized transport became rampant. Headlight is compulsory and a finable offense. So is rash and negligent riding. Don't thing helmet is compulsory.
But these are archaic laws which are no longer enforced. I don't think they have been removed from the law books though.

[LegalEagle]

A point from the legal aspect

The Motor Vehicles Act primarily covers motorized vehicles - meaning vehicles which are run by a motor. In case of a bicycle, there is not inbuilt motor.

This is a clear case of blatant misuse of power and authority by the police. As such, the challan will not stand in a court of law, and the fact that this point has already been brought up before the concerned Station Officer.

Let us see how this pans out.

[ramji_or]

Wow!!! Proud to have such duty conscious cops!

Jokes apart, IMO, this incident should be discussed in three parts,

1. Cops penalizing a common man - This is atrocious to say the least. Flattening his bicycle tires is a clear mis-use of power. Quoting some random registration number adds to the mystery as well. The asking price was Rs. 2000 and the instant judgement was delivered at a discounted price of Rs. 500 finally

2. Bi-cycle laws: Yes, there are bicycle laws available in our country and yes, people have to be warned/penalized/punished, if they threaten the safety of fellow road users regardless of their mode of transport.

3. Reach/Impact of social media: This incident is an example for the reach/impact of social media in our country. A common man was able to shout out loud and get the District Police Chief's attention.

[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.

[govigov]

Taking note of the incident which has since been widely criticized on social media, the District Police Chief ordered a probe into it. According to local media reports, the probe has found the SI guilty and he is likely to face departmental action.

Source - https://www.indiatimes.com/news/indi...ly-354333.html