Whilst I much dislike motor bikes in London since the riders tend to weave in and out of traffic lanes alarming other road users and pedestrians trying to cross the road, I think that Mr. Wolman is in a sense right.
If he feels that under the law he is being unjustly treated he has every right if not duty to go to court and test out his point of view.
At the end of the day it is the existence of an open legal system that prevents us from descending to barbarity as is daily evidenced by the murders in the Middle East.
His case may seem like a load of rubbish to some people, yet the fact that he is allowed to bring a case in the first place is important to us all.

stormdog, London,

In many places in Europe parking your bike on the pavement is considered absolutely normal. Nobody thinks it criminal or anti-social. So, yes, change the law - so that anyone can park bikes, scooters and motorbikes anywhere, provided they aren't causing a real (rather than imaginary) obstruction.

Ken , London,

i think his argument and reasoning in the interpretation of the provison "parked with one or more wheels on any part of an urban road”.holds a lot of water and should be given all the statutory and jurisprudential considration it deserves!!!

OLU, RANDALLSTOWN, Maryland United StatEs

Why not just ticket him for obstruction of a pavement, part of the highway causing a nuisance to pedestrians, in particular the blind and persons with prams. The Council are just using the wrong law because it is a M/V and they thought it was easy.

Bob Head, Sawbridgeworth, Herts

The arrogance of lawyers still astounds me. Instead of trying to make a name for himself surely the time and money spent on this case could be better used somewhere else. I hope he has to pay the councils fees from personal funds.

Andrew J, Bodmin, Cornwall

Stephen and Mid J. I love your comments...this case demonstrates someone who shouldn't be in the legal industry, but sadly is. It would be better for prospective lawyers like myself if these sort of lawyers are sacked and done away with by the time I'm ready to wear the wig. I wouldnt mind if the law sector was overcrowded because there are so many intelligent, determinded and keen people willing to practice the law. But if idlers and time-wasters like Clive Wolman and his case of parking tickets are all over the place then thats a big dissapointment.

After what will be long, rigorous an intense years in university studying the law, I hope silly barristers like Clive Wolman are not the norm and that I dont have to work with any of his type.

Absolute joke man!

V-man, manchester,

Stephen, if the emergency services were attending an emergency a motorcycle in their way is NOT going to stop them for more than a couple of seconds. Not only that, but emergency service personnel walk up and down stairs so I think a one second shimmy around a motor cycle is well within their capability.

If the law is written badly then that is NOT the fault of Mr Wolman.

What councils also fail to remember is that not ALL the footway is public property. In London especially, half of the footpath is private and half council. The council should not issue you a ticket for parking on the private bit but they do.

A simple re-write of the law is all that is needed. Then EVERYBODY would know where they stand.

Lance, Surrey, UK

How does the bike stand up without the wheels touching the ground. A centre stand has only 2 points of contact all bikes I know touch at least one wheen to the ground when stood on thier centre stand. Does he use another prop. Mid J has a point on the change of offence however motorcycles rarely actually obstruct a footway and is probably of no inconvenience to anyone else. To Stephen two people can pick up a motorbike and move it so even if this was blocking an access it would cause no discernable delay to the emergency services. It was common to park motorbikes on the footpath, where these were wide enough, not that long ago. It has only been since the local authorities were responsible for parking restrictions and were able to take the money from the fines that these types of issues have arisen. Can we not go back to common sense rather than money grabbing and legal technicalities

John S, london, UK

Gotta hand it to the man for trying, though!

Michael, York, UK,

A motorcycle parked on a walkway should not be allowed. I dislike those who try and bend the law to suit themselves. This barrister knows very well that he is in the wrong. . His bike might be off the ground when parked, but when he moved the bike to go on the road, both wheels touch the ground. therefore he is in the wrong to place his bike on a walkway.

victor arram, westclff on sea, england

Whilst I agree that access for emergency services should be borne in mind when parking, i doubt a motorbike is large enough to get in the way. Furthermore, what kind of a stupid excuse for a nation are we living in when one can pay through the nose for a property and then be left without room even for a bike!

Marco, Birmingham, uk

Good on the Barrister. Law is all about Pedantics, but you soon see the Judges upset when it is used against them ,rather than themselves using it against you !. The law should be interpreted strictly as it is written, otherwise why have it in the there in the first place. It say ,quote, “parked with one or more wheels on any part of an urban road” which is clear enough. The law perhaps needs rewriting but it does not mean that the barrister is wrong at this precise time.

Simon, London, UK

I support Mr Wolman, if legislators want legislation to bind then they should draft it properly and in an unambiguous manner!

I will be interested in the result and in reply to "Mr E" I would have though that the general public would very much like to have representation from a Barrister who can locate and apply these loopholes in our legislation!

Mr G.D, Midlands,

This simply highlights the lawmakers inability to word new legislation correctly. It may be pedantry on the part of the barrister, but in fairness that is what barristers are for.

Too many laws these days are ambiguous in the extreme, with the authorities using the excuse "well you know what we meant".

In this case it may simply require altering to “parked with one or more wheels on or over any part of an urban road”.

If he wins this case motorists should carry small mats to drive onto when parking their cars in order to keep the wheels off the road.

Mike Poulsen, Reading, Berkshire

Some people have no sense of humour. He's playing the councils and other authorities at their own game. If they can split hairs then so can he. Plus, it's another example of authority, in whatever form, bleeding the motorist dry and then spending the money on other things. Somethng preferably more PC than motor transport.

Pete, Telford, UK

I think this barrister is using his knowledge of the law for a childish avoidance of his social responsibility. If the emergency services had to move his motorcycle to gain access to save someone this could delay them having disastrous consequences. Surely the large amounts of money paid to barristers should not be wasted on someone who cannot park his bike properly.

Stephen E, Bristol, Great Britain

The simple way to overcome this problem, from the council's point of view, is to re-issue the tickets for the offence of "obstructing the footway".
Parking, we all know , is a problem...but before one buys a vehicle, one should consider where it will be kept...just not stick it on public property to the inconvenience of anybody else.

Mid J., Guangzhou, China