Surfing is OK then ?

[FlyingGoose]

Actually, what they say is this

Its an interesting statement . there is no law anywhere in the UK stopping people to wild swim, unless stated individually . RNLI lifeguards have no authority to stop anyone going in the sea , they can only recommend , and a surfer will be just a good a swimmer as most,
The RNLI very rarely get called out to surfers, this would be very rare IMHO
and the wording is recommend , which mean nothing in law

 

[Sharky34]

Its an interesting statement . there is no law anywhere in the UK stopping people to wild swim, unless stated individually . RNLI lifeguards have no authority to stop anyone going in the sea , they can only recommend , and a surfer will be just a good a swimmer as most,
The RNLI very rarely get called out to surfers, this would be very rare IMHO
and the wording is recommend , which mean nothing in law

Neither is most of the Highway Code, but can be used in Court.

 

[FlyingGoose]

Neither is most of the Highway Code, but can be used in Court.

Which has been tested in law and is the book that all new drivers need to learn in part of their practical test, so plays an important role in road safety and rules , the RNLI are a charity with no authority on the sea , in the wilds of Scotland I do not see any RNLI lifeguards, on the beaches of Ayr were Glasgow goes on bank holidays , there are no lifeguards , wild swimming in your right , my wife does it in her Facebook group , no plod stopping them

 

[Sharky34]

Which has been tested in law and is the book that all new drivers need to learn in part of their practical test, so plays an important role in road safety and rules , the RNLI are a charity with no authority on the sea , in the wilds of Scotland I do not see any RNLI lifeguards, on the beaches of Ayr were Glasgow goes on bank holidays , there are no lifeguards , wild swimming in your right , my wife does it in her Facebook group , no plod stopping them

Race memories of Shieldhall cargo being dumped keeps anyone with sense out of the sea up there, no need of lifeguards, floating things abound, should the need arise.

 

[FlyingGoose]

Race memories of Shieldhall cargo being dumped keeps anyone with sense out of the sea up there, no need of lifeguards, floating things abound, should the need arise.

Your always welcome up here Sharky I ll even get the net out and clean the floaters so we can go for a swim

 

[DJE]

What I've seen of the west country surfing beaches it always seems that the lifeguards patrol a "safe swimming" area which they mark with flags and the surfers are somewhere else where the sea conditions are a bit more interesting. So I don't think the surfers are going to miss the lifeguards.

 

[Triassic]

Neither is most of the Highway Code, but can be used in Court.

Not a very good analogy to use that one. It is not an offence to contravene anything in the Highway code specifically, but the Highway code may be used to evidence what might be expected from a competent and careful driver in relation to another charge.

The RNLI advice would only be relevant in any proceedings if the charge was that you were not acting in a responsible way, then the prosecution might use it to show that what you were doing was against official advice and therefor by inference irresponsible.....

Fortunately the regulations only require you to act reasonably, not responsibly, so plenty of scope for us to apply some common sense and demonstrate our community spirit, or lack of........

 

[Sharky34]

Not a very good analogy to use that one. It is not an offence to contravene anything in the Highway code specifically, but the Highway code may be used to evidence what might be expected from a competent and careful driver in relation to another charge.

The RNLI advice would only be relevant in any proceedings if the charge was that you were not acting in a responsible way, then the prosecution might use it to show that what you were doing was against official advice and therefor by inference irresponsible.....

Fortunately the regulations only require you to act reasonably, not responsibly, so plenty of scope for us to apply some common sense and demonstrate our community spirit, or lack of........

"The Highway Code may be used in Court to establish liability", according to wiki, so same principle in my book.

 

[Triassic]

At the risk of hijacking this thread you're really not getting the point I thought I had made.

It is not a specific offence to contravene any aspect of the Highway Code. The code is advice, it makes reference to various items of legislation (usually the "must nots" in the code) but it is not itself legislation. If you take a particular piece of legislation, for example Sect 3 RTA (Careless of inconsiderate driving) it defines the offence as driving that falls below that expected of a competent and careful driver. The Highway code is often used in evidence to demonstrate what might be expected of such a driver because if the prosecution can show that the defendant did something contrary to the code they would be well on their way to establishing the offence. This is what has led to the common belief that to not follow the code is in itself an offence, which it is not.

If you want to say that advice given by the RNLI could be used in the same way you would need an offence to prosecute. I suggested earlier that if there were such an offence as "behaving irresponsibly" then you might have a point, but as far as I am aware there isn't.....is there?

 

[Slycat]

Big difference obviously between "cannot" and "should not". Here is another "should not":
In line with the advice from the government, Surfing England are recommending we do not go surfing at this time. Instead use our surfcams to as a way to enjoy views of Cornwall. Now is the time to stay at home, stay safe and support those around you. There will be plenty of waves on the other side. Stay safe.

I quite agree that actual surfing is about as low risk as one can get, and probably much safer from a virus transmission angle than other sports. But what about the car parks, the showers the loos etc etc?
IMHO, this is showing up the difference between being responsible and irresponsible.

Same as everything, common sense should be used. I personally wouldnt go to busy shops or parks. Likewise I wouldnt go to busy surf / exercise areas.