What is a Section 59 Warning?, you may ask. Perhaps the “lads” know, but I didn’t. However I consulted Constable Google and he provided me with the answer, and here’s what he said.
Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 states that any person driving a vehicle on or off a road in a manner that causes nuisance or inconvenience to other road users or members of public will receive a warning that lasts for 12 months.
If at any point within that 12 month period you are caught driving in a similar manner then your car (or bike presumably) can be seized by the police and you'll have to pay a penalty to get it back. This is normally in the region of £200 depending how long they keep it for and what area you live in.
This power is executable by Police officers and Police Community Support Officers ONLY.
I wonder how often the lads get caught. Come to think of it, how many of them hang around BW water points reading the notices. Next time I see one of these lads I’ll politely ask him to sit and wait while I summon a Constable or a PCSO. Problem solved. I know my rights.
4 comments:
Change 'could' to 'will' in that notice and it might sound a bit more authoritive.
I suspect that some of the 'lads' that we've seen riding motorbikes on the towpath just haven't got enough reading skills to manage that notice!
Sue, nb Indigo Dream
of course most of the little ones on the Slough Arm are unlicensed anyway...
Phil from Iver was telling very proudly he'd called the cops on one of them going up & down, they'd caught him and taken the (unlicensed) bike off the (underage) rider. I don't think I would have been quite as proud of it as he was, but it's one approach...
It beats the old "sling the mooring rope across the towpath at decapitating height" approach :-) - as demonstrated by a day boat we met earlier this year!
Sue, nb Indigo Dream
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