Cycling on the pavement, without lights etc

[Loosehead]

Not sure where to put this, anyway. Why has the law on cycling on the pavements become effectively ignored these days, ditto cycling without lights? I am a regular cyclist and I never cycle on the pavement and always have lights at night. I just think these morons give us all a bad name. I can remember being stopped by the police and made to walk home once because my lights had failed (I was about 13). So have the police simply given up on cyclists? Whats going on? any coppers here explain? Are you one of the ride on the pavement types?

[fayzee]

I must admit, i always yell at people for riding without lights or on pavements, but just now i had to run out to visit a friend in a bit of a state and didn't have any lights on my shopper bike and couldn't fix them up off my racing bike so just went out on the pavement in the dark. Didn't enjoy it, didn't feel proud but had to be done