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Crossing a stop line at a red light whilst "propelling a vehicle" is the offence. Doesn't matter if you're considered a "foot passenger" thanks to Crank vs Brooks (the famous case you are probably thinking of), you're still "propelling a vehicle".
Maybe. The short answer is that no-one knows whether pushing a bicycle counts as 'propelling a vehicle' because the issue's never been decided by the courts. I'd say it's perfectly arguable that walking while pushing a bicycle is not 'propelling a vehicle' since a bicycle is propelled by turning the pedals while straddling the bike, not walking alongside it. Indeed, I'd say that Crank v. Brooks is relevant in this context, as a pedestrian is not a person propelling a vehicle, but a person walking on foot, and the fact that they're wheeling a bicycle doesn't stop them from being a pedestrian, which was the dicta in Crank v. Brooks. But until (if ever) it goes to court and there's a binding precedent on the point, there's no actual answer just opinions. And opinions, as the old saying goes, are like arseholes.
Brommers-
Since it's illegal to ride a bicycle on the pavement, then getting off and pushing it would be legal, no?
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Maybe. The short answer is that no-one knows whether pushing a bicycle counts as 'propelling a vehicle' because the issue's never been decided by the courts.
True (for bicycles), but a prominent QC (who looks into lots of cycling related stuff) believes it would be. There are (unsubstantiated) comments elsewhere that there have been successful prosecutions for pushing motorbikes past stop lines in a similar manner, and I can't see how those two vehicles (motorbikes and bicycles) could be treated differently. (Crank vs Brooks could similarly be applied to someone pushing a motorbike from one side of a road to the other across a zebra crossing as that, in itself, is not illegal.)
I'd say it's perfectly arguable that walking while pushing a bicycle is not 'propelling a vehicle' since a bicycle is propelled by turning the pedals while straddling the bike, not walking alongside it.
And that's where he disagrees. The "driving or propelling a vehicle" part of s.36 of 1988 RTA is there to stop people using such loopholes to get around stop lines and red lights (by getting out and pushing, etc).
Indeed, I'd say that Crank v. Brooks is relevant in this context, as a pedestrian is not a person propelling a vehicle, but a person walking on foot, and the fact that they're wheeling a bicycle doesn't stop them from being a pedestrian, which was the dicta in Crank v. Brooks.
The CvB distinction was that a person pushing a bicycle should be considered a "foot passenger" as if they were not pushing a bicycle at all. The bicycle is/was irrelevant to the situation that CvB concerns (i.e. that a motor vehicle did not accord a "foot passenger" precedence at a zebra crossing).
The CvB ruling doesn't make the bicycle disappear when one is being pushed, it just clarified the status of the person pushing the bicycle. s.36 of 1988 RTA doesn't care about the status of the person (whether they are "foot passenger" or not), it concerns whether a vehicle is being driven or propelled past a signal.
But until (if ever) it goes to court and there's a binding precedent on the point, there's no actual answer just opinions. And opinions, as the old saying goes, are like arseholes.
Indeed.
edscoble
Greenbank
Crossing a stop line at a red light whilst "propelling a vehicle" is the offence. Doesn't matter if you're considered a "foot passenger" thanks to Crank vs Brooks (the famous case you are probably thinking of), you're still "propelling a vehicle". Crossing a pedestrian crossing whilst pushing a bike isn't illegal because there's no wording in the law preventing people from "propelling a vehicle" across the road using the crossing.
Walking off the side of the road before the stop line and using a pedestrian crossing looks ok according to a vague reading of the law.
Who knows about other such fun as dismounting the bike, mounting the pavement, pushing a bike past the stop line and then rejoining the road before cycling off across a junction. Probably various careless/inconsiderate cycling offences the Police could play with there.