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Which councils like to tow bikes?

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Undinist
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PostPosted: 00:48 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Which councils like to tow bikes? Reply with quote

In the City of London your bike will disappear to the pound very swiftly if you remove your number plate to park on a yellow line. Does this happen anywhere else?
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clancy
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PostPosted: 00:51 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably in all built up areas
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 00:55 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not true. Never happened to me on hundreds of occasions all over London. Council equipment for towing bikes is rare. Tow trucks for cars are widespread.
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clancy
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PostPosted: 00:58 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well your posts contradict each other then
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 01:12 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also not true. I used to get away with it in the City but the police got tough when commuting by bike became more popular and all the bike bays were filling up by 8 am. Lots of people were breaking the rules and tow trucks started appearing. My friend lost his scruffy ZX-9 to the pound because he was using the velcro trick. The fines and storage charges were so high the bike wasn't worth reclaiming. After that I started behaving in the City.
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yen_powell
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PostPosted: 07:45 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was having a road resurfaced that had a motorcycle bay with one of those frames for chaining your bike to.

I had suspended all parking, including for bikes with the parking department and had a legal road closure in place, I'd leafleted all the houses, cars and bikes. Come the day, as usual, we had a few cars still there, plus this scooter chained to the rail.

I got the remaining cars lifted and placed in other legal bays in the surrounding streets, when I asked for the bike to be lifted (I would have got the chain cut then bought the owner a new one if he/she wasn't too gobby) they admitted they had no facilities for lifting bikes. They had taken my money to suspend the bike bay though!

Now if you lay tarmac around a vehicle and leave a square missing you end up as a photo in the papers saying aren't they silly etc, so I had the rail cut, we slipped the chain off, carried the scooter on to the foot way, did our work over the next two days.

When the road was all new and shiny and all the road marking re-applied, we put the bike back, slipped the chain over, I got a welder to replace the bit of the rail we had hung on to and we repainted the join. I so wish I had been there to see his /her face when they came back to the bike.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 08:19 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Presumably the bike was lifted because it was on a yellow line, not because it had been de-plated. That's a criminal offence, and therefore the council won't give a stuff about it: no monies for them.
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daemonoid
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PostPosted: 10:08 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

clancy wrote:
Well your posts contradict each other then


London: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

City of London: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London

The former is a normal(ish) city, the latter a corporate haven with a very unusual political structure... A little Luxembourg slap bang in the middle of Britain's largest city.
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clancy
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PostPosted: 10:18 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well aware of that Thumbs Up

I just didn't read his posts that closely
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 16:22 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Presumably the bike was lifted because it was on a yellow line, not because it had been de-plated. That's a criminal offence, and therefore the council won't give a stuff about it: no monies for them.


In this case it was lifted by the police. The City of London police have their own way of doing things. Ordinary constables do a lot of traffic enforcement. It's best not to provoke them. They are happy to ruin your day for the smallest thing, e.g. an illegal right turn.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 18:33 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Undinist wrote:
In this case it was lifted by the police.

For the plate, or the yellow line?

What were the "fines" for?

Was he prosecuted for keeping a vehicle on a public road without a number plate?
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 21:00 - 10 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Undinist wrote:
In this case it was lifted by the police.

For the plate, or the yellow line?

What were the "fines" for?

Was he prosecuted for keeping a vehicle on a public road without a number plate?


Can't remember all the details, but I know he wasn't prosecuted for not having a plate. It's hardly worth bothering with a prosecution for that, it's not a criminal offence, the worst you get is a £30 fine, i.e. a small fraction of a parking ticket in the City or the daily storage charge in the pound. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/22/section/42
https://www.dvtani.gov.uk/uploads/compliance/GFPDSOffences.pdf

I suspect they took a tough line because of the velcro on his number plate holder. It's proof that he deliberately removed the plate to evade a parking ticket, and that he intended to keep doing it. City of London police have no tolerance for that level of disobedience.
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j.silvs
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PostPosted: 11:11 - 12 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

So in essence could you just chain it to a lamppost on the pavement, remove the plate and jobs a good'n?

Or can they also remove the chain if they want?
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 13:15 - 12 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Undinist wrote:
I know he wasn't prosecuted for not having a plate. It's hardly worth bothering with a prosecution for that, it's not a criminal offence

I do not think that means what you think it means.

Undinist wrote:
I suspect they took a tough line because of the velcro on his number plate holder. It's proof that he deliberately removed the plate to evade a parking ticket, and that he intended to keep doing it. City of London police have no tolerance for that level of disobedience.

Then he could have been prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, which is a big juicy tariff.

You seem to be inferring a lot from a vehicle being lifted, is my point.

Park in a no parking road in London, get towed or lifted, seems simple enough. Why assume it was a "tough line", or due to the plate being missing?
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 18:20 - 12 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

j.silvs wrote:
So in essence could you just chain it to a lamppost on the pavement, remove the plate and jobs a good'n?

Or can they also remove the chain if they want?


They can cut the chain but they won't bother unless they want to treat it as an abandoned bike. It depends on the location and the borough but in my experience it's not likely unless you leave it there for ages getting all cobwebby or someone reports it or you happen to do it when the council is having a purge of abandoned vehicles. I did it for the best part of two years outside my house. The neighbours were fine with it and parking wardens ignored it.
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 18:21 - 12 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

j.silvs wrote:
So in essence could you just chain it to a lamppost on the pavement, remove the plate and jobs a good'n?

Or can they also remove the chain if they want?


They can cut the chain but they won't bother unless they want to treat it as an abandoned bike. It depends on the location and the borough but in my experience it's not likely unless you leave it there for ages getting all cobwebby or someone reports it or you happen to do it when the council is having a purge of abandoned vehicles. I did it for the best part of two years outside my house. The neighbours were fine with it and parking wardens ignored it.
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Commuter_Tim
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PostPosted: 20:04 - 12 Apr 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surely if you took the plate off, the frame number could be found easily on most bikes? Neutral
I assume they could search with the DVLA from there?
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 01:54 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Epic bump! Just tripped over this thread, which needs bringing up to date, for those of us with "creative" approaches to parking, particularly in London. (I can bore for Britain on illegal bike parking in London, if I were on Mastermind it would be my specialist subject.)

Rogerborg wrote:
Undinist wrote:
I know he wasn't prosecuted for not having a plate. It's hardly worth bothering with a prosecution for that, it's not a criminal offence

I do not think that means what you think it means.


I'm not with you. Not having a plate is typically a FPN, £60 last time I checked.

Rogerborg wrote:
Undinist wrote:
I suspect they took a tough line because of the velcro on his number plate holder. It's proof that he deliberately removed the plate to evade a parking ticket, and that he intended to keep doing it. City of London police have no tolerance for that level of disobedience.

Then he could have been prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, which is a big juicy tariff.

You seem to be inferring a lot from a vehicle being lifted, is my point.

Park in a no parking road in London, get towed or lifted, seems simple enough. Why assume it was a "tough line", or due to the plate being missing?


I don't see how you'd get Perverting the Course of Justice unless you are repeatedly penalized as we discussed in t'other thread.

But the main point you're missing is that towing of bikes is so rare in London. It just doesn't happen. The only explanation I can come up with is that council contractors do nearly all the towing, and they all use this type of tow truck, which isn't equipped to lift bikes:

https://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/eurostar2/tow-truck.jpg

I reckon if a council were to remove a bike it would have to pay a bike recovery firm to come out with a different type of truck. I've never once heard of that happening. Ever. Presumably they don't have the budget and/or don't see illegally parked bikes as enough of a problem to warrant a change in policy. If they wanted to get brutal about it they could do it the Paris way, but as you can see that's not very kind to bikes and it's not done here:

https://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/eurostar2/Paris-Motorcycle-Towing.jpg

The exception is the City of London. The Police there are not part of the Met. They do many things differently. They have their 'Ring of Steel' and their checkpoints, and generally a lower tolerance of minor traffic offences, e.g. it's common for officers on foot to pull you over for an illegal turn. They enforce parking rules which the Met leaves to the councils. And the only time I've ever seen a bike being towed it was in the City, by a Police (not council) tow truck, with a spectacle lift. Like this:

https://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/eurostar2/Yeates-Garage-Spec-with-motorbike-L.jpg

The Met have a few of their own spectacle lift trucks, driven by Police officers:

https://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/eurostar2/5869719974_ede7c3b1fa_b.jpg

Fortunately they seem to be reserved for high security spots like Heathrow, Parliament, protests etc. Apart from the council truck pictured above, this is the only thing which might tow you for illegal parking. But I don't think it's going to happen unless you've caused a security problem.
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Undinist
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PostPosted: 02:10 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Commuter_Tim wrote:
Surely if you took the plate off, the frame number could be found easily on most bikes? Neutral
I assume they could search with the DVLA from there?


Theoretically that's possible for a Met Police Traffic Warden, who has a radio and can ask for a check. But the police wardens are almost extinct in London. The council parking officers have a handheld terminal. It doesn't seem to give them access to engine and frame numbers. I've often observed the officers checking my bike - when they see it's got no plate or tax disc they move on to the next vehicle.

I'm gradually getting to know the officers in my street so I'm hoping to find out more. They're not bothered by the absence of a plate from my bike. Theoretically they could send a photo of the bike to the council, who might alert the abandoned vehicles team. But they don't. Maybe they don't get brownie points for it. It might help that I'm the only person who says hello to them. Everyone else treats them like dirt.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 08:12 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Undinist wrote:
I'm not with you. Not having a plate is typically a FPN, £60 last time I checked.

Don't pay the blackmail demand, what happens then?

Do they just shrug and say "Ah, yah got us, there's nothing we can do." ?
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Copycat73
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PostPosted: 08:27 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Undinist wrote:
I can bore for Britain on illegal bike parking in London, if I were on Mastermind it would be my specialist subject..


then if I told you its free round here and generally under subscribed..
except on Saturdays .. when they have reserved Monday - friday car bays opened/reserved for bikes .. never seen a bike lifted either..
just thought I would share Wink
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JoeDougieDoug...
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PostPosted: 08:46 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to go off topic slightly, I was parking up in London the other day. I normally park at Charing Cross Road / Leicester Square however there were no spaces so I had to divert to St. Martin-in-the-Fields. I did not realise that you have to pay to park a motorcycle in the borough of Westminster!? I've been riding into London for around a year now and I've never been told however it was pointed out to me on this occasion... £1.00 for the entire day. I don't mind paying that, per se, however I can imagine it gets expensive for people who use those spaces every day! Thumbs Down

Now carry on with your conversation Smile
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Wonko The Sane
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PostPosted: 12:26 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

JoeDougieDouglas wrote:
Just to go off topic slightly, I was parking up in London the other day. I normally park at Charing Cross Road / Leicester Square however there were no spaces so I had to divert to St. Martin-in-the-Fields. I did not realise that you have to pay to park a motorcycle in the borough of Westminster!? I've been riding into London for around a year now and I've never been told however it was pointed out to me on this occasion... £1.00 for the entire day. I don't mind paying that, per se, however I can imagine it gets expensive for people who use those spaces every day! Thumbs Down

Now carry on with your conversation Smile


£1 a day for parking?

I only got into bikes due to facing £25 per day for a car in Uxbridge
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barrkel
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PostPosted: 14:54 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

JoeDougieDouglas wrote:
£1.00 for the entire day. I don't mind paying that, per se, however I can imagine it gets expensive for people who use those spaces every day! Thumbs Down

100 quid a year. Not a large cost if you live in London, everything else considered.
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CaNsA
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PostPosted: 14:56 - 24 Jul 2015    Post subject: Re: Which councils like to tow bikes? Reply with quote

Undinist wrote:
In the City of London your bike will disappear to the pound very swiftly if you remove your number plate to park on a yellow line. Does this happen anywhere else?


This is common knowledge, not "news".
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