Fined for only having one handbrake on bicycle

[YorkshireLad6 7,152]

Cycle rider in Cologne fined 25€ by Police for only having one handbrake on his bike - despite only having one arm.

 

English (Telegraph)

German (Der Spiegel)

 

 

[minga 733]

One of the comments from The Local. The refund was not straight forward.

 

 

There is more to this story. Three days after the incident, Mr. Ionescu wrote the police and asked for apologies and his money back. The police did not answer. One month later, he called the police and they admitted that his brakes were actually OK. However, they claimed that he had no light on the bike, claim which Mr. Ionescu clearly dismissed and ask for clarifications (first of all, why did the police not say something like that before; secondly, he actually had a light installed on the bike). Couple of weeks after, the police offered him a deal - Mr. Ionescu gets 5 € back and the rest is the fine for the presumed missing light. He rejected the deal and asked for a written confirmation.

 

As reported in the article, the police finally admitted the mistake. They also admitted that it would have been illegal to compensate the two fines.

 

 

[AncientBrit 1,934]

Isn't quoting The Local against Toytown rules?

It would have been so much better had the original article from the the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger been referenced instead.

Apart from that, I'm struggling to accept "to compensate the two fines" as English.

[Guest]

 

Cycle rider in Cologne fined 25€ by Police for only having one handbrake on his bike - despite only having one arm.

 

What if someone has a medical certificate exempting him from wearing a seat belt? (such certificates do exist). Is this person then allowed to drive a car that doesn't have a seat belt for the driver?

[griogarach 309]

He was riding a non-compliant vehicle on public streets. It would be a different story if he failed to stop and crashed into someone who ended up in a wheelchair.

 

From a technical viewpoint, I dont see why he has got grounds to complain.

 

If the rules require 2 brakes and he has only 1 he is in the wrong.

 

If there are no exemptions in place covering a one armed rider, then a simple solution would be to leave the right side installed, even though he wouldn't use it.

 

A better solution would be to have a double lever setup on the left that would allow front and rear brakes to be used with his good hand.

 

The fact that he is pulling the discrimination number is what bothers me.

 

There are ways and means to meet standard, one cheap loophole and another more expensive but safer.

 

By NOT enforcing the standard, I claim discrimination on behalf of all able bodied cyclists that would be prosecuted.

[gordonthemoron 771]

I read somewhere that he had had the other brake moved so he could operate it with his foot

[griogarach 309]

That's another option, I hadn't considered that.

[YorkshireLad6 7,152]

He had a backpedal brake. The point is that in such circumstances the handbrake for the front wheel is normally on the left side but his was on the right as he'd moved it there to match his functioning hand.

[MadAxeMurderer 6,294]

If the police had just admitted their complaint was pointless this would be a non story.

 

But when they found the brakes were actually legit they had to complain about something, hence inventing missing lights lights.

[cormar 85]

 

He was riding a non-compliant vehicle on public streets. It would be a different story if he failed to stop and crashed into someone who ended up in a wheelchair.From a technical viewpoint, I dont see why he has got grounds to complain.If the rules require 2 brakes and he has only 1 he is in the wrong.If there are no exemptions in place covering a one armed rider, then a simple solution would be to leave the right side installed, even though he wouldn't use it.A better solution would be to have a double lever setup on the left that would allow front and rear brakes to be used with his good hand.The fact that he is pulling the discrimination number is what bothers me. There are ways and means to meet standard, one cheap loophole and another more expensive but safer.By NOT enforcing the standard, I claim discrimination on behalf of all able bodied cyclists that would be prosecuted.

 

 

 

I read somewhere that he had had the other brake moved so he could operate it with his foot

 

The telegraph article missed the part where he had the rear-wheel brake built on the left hand side. They also say right-hand front-wheel which is OK for UK bikes but the German articles clearly refer to a right-hand rear-wheel brake.

[griogarach 309]

I nominate myself for Muppet of the week for not reading the DE version and relying on a UK rag.

 

Move along...nothing to see here!

[mannes 202]

But please, obey blindly all laws!!!

 

Faith in humanity lost...

[Mapleleafdude 4,292]

Sometimes, when I have a moment, I miss the local. Then I take my meds and slap myself and think what a silly person I am sometimes.