Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Fined for jumping a red light
So I can hear many people being pleased about this, but I can promise you fining people for jumping red lights doesnt work
its the 2nd time I have been fined and this time it cost me £50 on a very rainy monday by a very grumpy young PC- not happy- all cars staitonary- and no pedestrians
But will it stop me ( or other serial red light jumpers like me)- well its a BIG FAT NO-
Its just now I will have to make sure there are no police cars in the vicinity- So infact instead of making the roads safer, instead of me previously doing a thorough check of the road of any cars, pedestrians, other cyclists., I now have to check for police which means Im possibly less than 100% focused on everything else
So to put this in context
I am a middle age woman who has been cycling in london on a daily basis for the last 30years. I have been knocked off quite a few times( absolutely none of them my fault)
2 of my accidents in my early years of cycling where when i was leaving traffic lights- so I learnt like many other cyclists, traffic lights are dangerous places to stop- So provided its totally clear, get on your way. The more cyclists on the road, the worst junctions seem with the cluster of cyclists trying to find room with cars behind getting impatient and trying to squeeze through dangerously narrow gaps
So you are never going to convince me or many other cyclists its safer to stop at red lights- although i might be a bit richer
So any PC PlODS out there dont waste your time especially on a rainy day - go and catch real crims
So i know many wont agree wth this, but unfortunately a few cyclists give us all a bad name- such as cyclists
who jump lights in a dangerous way( when there are cars around
cyclists who go on pavments and weave around pedestians- scarring them
cyclists who dont stop at pedestrian crossings when people are crossing-terrible!!!!!!!!!!
But something needs to be done with all these recent deaths, and I would be really interested in what the circumstances were- i would guarantee it wasnt due to jumping a light-unless of course the person had been drinking etc
Most bad accidents/fatalities happen by people obeying the law- so the law needs to be changed
And when are pedestrians going to be fined for jay walking across roads and knocking cyclists off
I got sent flying only 2 months ago by a pedestrian running out in front of me on green lanes, close to the ale emporium- the 3rd time a pedestrian has knocked me off over the years
Right Rant finished
And anyone/cyclist wants to make our roads safer, see the petition below
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by 26mhcx4vtb0rb on
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Despite hopefully making it clear that I strongly disagree with running red lights, I would still argue against any suggestion that doing so is inherently dangerous.
Given the number of one-way streets in London, you often only ever have traffic coming from one direction and can often see it's clear for hundreds of metres. In these situations, riding through the red light is actually much safer than many give way junctions where visibility is obscured by parked cars etc. For example on my way home I turn right out out of Westbourne Rd into MacKenzie Rd in Islington. Judging a suitable gap in traffic and crossing the junction is far more difficult - and potentially dangerous - than riding through many red lights would be, especially if you're turning left.
Also, traffic laws have nothing to do with public opinion, they're about protecting people. Speed limits and traffic lights are necessary to control the behaviour of drivers who would otherwise not be responsible enough to use the roads safely. Cyclists are only expected to follow these laws because they're sharing the same space, otherwise they simply wouldn't be necessary.
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Quite easily.
The majority of traffic laws exist to protect people from the most dangerous things on the roads, i.e. motor vehicles (or drivers if you prefer). As I said before, cyclists are expected to abide by the same laws simply because they share the same space, not because of the relatively minor danger that they pose to other road users.
Whether something is legal or illegal doesn't actually have any bearing on whether it's dangerous or not. For example if a speed limit is lowered from 30mph to 20, is driving on it at 25mph suddenly reckless whereas before it would be considered prudent?
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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But surely the laws are also to protect road users? If a road user does not stop at a red, they not only place other road users in danger, they also place themselves in the same situation
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If a cyclist gets off their bike at a red light and crosses the road as a pedestrian, is that safer simply because it's not illegal? Of course not.
If anything, you could argue that walking across a junction without a green man is more dangerous because of the increased time it takes. This is legal, perfectly common practice, and judging by the lack of dead pedestrians piled up by the side of the road, not very dangerous.
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Permalink Reply by James Atherton on
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Yet another cyclist who thinks they can skip red lights, please stop doing this you give the rest of us law abiding cyclist a bad name.
May be the police need to up the fine if £50 is not a deterrent; something along the lines of taking peoples bikes off them if they can't use them responsibly.
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I reckon you should give yourself the benefit of the doubt and assume James was referring to the OP.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I'm saving the original post for use in my defence if I ever run into and kill her.
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Tigha, you do not have my sympathy.
Jumping red lights may rarely be dangerous in itself, but it creates bad feeling towards cyclists which ultimately makes the roads more dangerous for all of us.
The best way to be safe at traffic lights is to wait in line with the cars. Then the people behind you know exactly where you are.
The best way to avoid peds appearing in front of you is to ride further away from the pavement, then you have enough time to react.
I very much hope peds are never fined for crossing the road in front of a vehicle, because it sends drivers and cyclists the message that it's everyone elses' responsibility to get out of their way. I would much rather see the opposite approach of presumed liability, where it is the responsibility of the more dangerous road user to look after the weaker.
As a cyclist, I think RLJing is a problem because I don't like to see the police wasting time on RLJing cyclists when they could be addressing much more dangerous driver behaviour, and I don't like to see the self centred behaviour of those cyclists detracting attention from the real causes of danger on the road.
Have you considered cycle training?
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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Totally agree LSsquared.
I've cycled for years and - touch wood - haven't had an accident (since I road into a gate while drunk as a teenager).
I don't go through red lights, even if its safe because I think it sets a really bad example and 99 times out of 100 is not that much to do with safety and much more with not being bothered to stop. I love cycling in London and it upsets me how easy this sort of bad behaviour makes us the bad guys when in reality far more of the problem is about poor infrastructure and rubbish driving. I wish the police would do more to stamp out the latter but I really can't begrudge a few cyclist fines, especially if it makes other cyclists think twice. -
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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Well said Alison.
Cycling is a wonderful, cheap way to travel and it should be wholeheartedly encouraged by all. I don’t want to administrate cycling in any way because the beauty of it is it’s simplicity and it’s a transport option that is pretty much available to every socio-economical group.
Yes there are many idiot motorists out there as there are idiot cyclists but we need to lead by example. The reason cyclists have such a negative perception amongst other road users and pedestrians are because of their (a minority) selfish, impatient, dangerous, illegal conduct. If you want to create better harmony with others then we need to change the perception of cyclists by respecting fellow human beings.
I wouldn’t break the law it on my Vespa (now SORNed as I cycle everywhere) and I wouldn’t do it in a car and I won’t do it on my bike. I have been verbally abused many times by the bourgeois anarchists sect for not going through lights or not going on the inside of a bus or lorry etc.
Have some basic manners and happy & safe cycling.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Agree; cyclists need to set an example if we want to stay on the moral high ground (my motorcycle now SORNED).
Those cyclists who use "fixies" without brakes (I know, it hard to believe, but they exist) are a proven menace to all other road users including other cyclists. Unbraked fixie riders try to slow down by resisting the continuous turning of their pedals. I beleive the police should direct attention to this class of bike.
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Permalink Reply by ant on
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In some other more cycle friendly countries its legal for cyclists to go through red lights. Even in this country lots of people who've thought about it agree cyclists should have free left turn at lights.Gosh look at all the funny posts on this thread! I think LSquared nailed it with:Thats mostly what this is about, car drivers get sad when they see cyclists moving on while their car is stuck in traffic. And the main reason why the laws are as they are is because car driving is so dominant in this country and most of the people in power are drivers not cyclists.
"Jumping red lights may rarely be dangerous in itself, but it creates bad feeling towards cyclists"Obviously none of that means its ok for a cyclist to plow along at speed expecting everyone else to just get the hell out of their way, but come on everyone have a bit of perspective.
Flame on...
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