Apply legal principles to solving practical problems Essay

Apply legal principles to solving practical problems - Essay Example The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations (RVLR) of 1989, which were modified subsequently in the year 1994, 1996, 2005, and in the year 2009, require all pedals of bicycles to have two reflectors on each pedal, provided that the bicycle is ridden between sunset and sunrise on a public road. The clipless pedals make it impossible to fit such reflectors, which is why this part of RVLR is not frequently enforced. However, if one rides a bicycle at night and is caught in any accident, any such illegality about the reflectors or lights is termed as contributory negligence. RLVR’s main points are: a pedal cycle must have lights and reflectors when ridden between sunset and sunrise; a cycle does not need lights and reflectors when it is stationary or is being pushed along the side of a road; the lights and reflectors, when required, should be clean as well as work properly; For a bicycle to be driven legally at night, the minimum requirements according to RLVR are the following items (J uden, 2013): Front lamp A bicycle must have one front lamp of white light that is positioned either centrally or offside at a vertical distance of maximum 1500 mm from the ground. The lamp should be visible from the front. If it can emit a steady light, the light must comply with BS6102/3 or an EC standard equivalent to that. If the lamp can only emit a flashing light, the light should be of 4 candela at least. Likewise, there are requirements for rear lights. The UK rules for cyclists oblige them to look all around before turning, manoeuvring, or riding away from the kerb so as to ensure a safe move (Gov.uk, 2013). Julie clearly did not look around before swerving into the path of the car driver. The cyclist must generate a clear signal to make other road users aware of his/her intentions. In case a cyclist cannot use direction indicator signals for any reason, or when he/she feels it compulsory to reinforce the stop lights and the direction indicator signals, the cyclist should ge nerate arm signals for turning left or right or to show that he/she wants to slow down or stop (Gov.uk, n.d.). Julie did not generate any signal either. Although Julie was riding on a country road at night, she might not be required to have two reflectors on each pedal because that condition is for driving on a public road at night, yet she needed to have steady or flashing front and rear lights anyway. By not having those lights on her bicycle, Julie did contributory negligence. â€Å"[I]f a cyclist in dark clothes goes out onto the road at night on a bike without proper lights, it’s not his fault if a driver fails to see him† (Thomas, 2012). Because of contributory negligence, it is very unlikely that Julie can get a satisfactory result if she intends to sue the car driver. Some recent court decisions in cases that were brought against the car drivers by the injured cyclists suggest that the courts are generally stricter toward the cyclists as compared to the pedestr ians in cases where the cyclists have shown contributory negligence (Blondwig, 2012). One such case is Malasi v Attmed, in which a bicycle rider jumped a red light and, without looking, rode across the junction (Blondwig, 2012). A taxi hit the bicycle and seriously injured the rider. Although the taxi driver applied the brakes after seeing the cyclist, the speed of taxi was too high for the collision to be avoided. When the cyclist sued the taxi driver to get compensation from him for the injuries that had been caused,