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Q: I have been pulled by the police for putting my knee down on a local roundabout, which is effectively disused on a Sunday. It is on an industrial estate. The police turned up, blue lights going and pulled me and a couple of my friends over. They warned us that we should expect a summons for driving without due care. Should I expect to get nicked?

Ben Butler Barry Island

A: Because this is a 'summary only offence', it must be reported to the Magistrates within six months of the offence. If it has gone past six months, plus a couple of weeks, you should be ok. If you do get the summons, the prosecution must prove that your driving fell below the standards of a reasonably prudent motorcyclist.

For something like this, you would be well advised to get the help of a solicitor, and specifically one who has real knowledge of motorcycling, and can call together expert evidence from motorcyclists who will all, as a rule, confirm that getting your knee down does not of itself involve excessive speed or loss of control of the motorcycle.

The physics are fairly straight forward and known to every motorcyclist. If you are hanging off the bike, the angle of lean on your bike is less, and you are therefore getting a larger footprint of tyre on the road. We all know that, unfortunately the Magistrates don't, so you will need some expert evidence. To get expert evidence before the Court you need to be able to put somebody before the Court who does have enough qualifications and experience to impress the Magistrates. It can't just be the local `quick bloke'. If it was me, I would make a fight of this one.

Andrew Dalton

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