£50 fine :(

[fossyant]

well i guess i should pay... here goes my budget for a decent jacket ,

And a set of lights and brake pads

 

[GrasB]

I don't see the argument. If it's green, you go through. If you are straddling the white line as it changes to amber you go through. If it's amber you stop, period. Or are people saying that it is ok blithely ride/drive through an amber light. Nowhere does it specifically say that to stop at an amber light is discretionary. Now a motor vehicle may not be able to stop safely, but that would be because of poor planning, by the driver!
But a cyclist should be able to stop, unless the road conditions prevent it. In which case they are riding without due regard for those conditions!
The Highway Code is set of rules for the guidance of ALL road users. MANY, although not all of these rules are LEGAL REQUIREMENTS and must be adhered to to avoid fines.
Now are people saying that as cyclists you only want to pick and choose how you follow these rules to suit yourselves!

As others have said, stopping on amber is preferred but discretionary, doing an emergency stop to avoid going through an amber light even if there is no one behind is generally frowned upon & unless you slow down to a virtual stop at every traffic light then you're going to go through an amber on a fairly regular basis. The whole point of amber is to give people a warning that something is about to happen & to give a little bit of leeway thus avoiding the need for emergency stop type braking. On a bike you also have to be aware that you've not got a break light, this means suddenly stopping very quickly is putting your self at risk.

In fact it has been, successfully, argued that going through a red light is discretionary to a very, very limited degree in that if jumping red light will avoid a collision then it's acceptable. Less clear cut has been moving out of the way for an emergency vehicle, sometimes this has been accepted as a defence other times it hasn't

 

[fossyant]

The OP is on a cruising to a bruising though. He went through an amber (remember his opinion) but a police officer wasn't happy with the 'timing'. Upon being stopped he tried to 'convince' (argue with ?) the officer about the traffic lights, then it turns out he has no lights on his bike as well.

Don't forget this is the OP's view we get. Arguing with a police officer, and having no lights isn't the brightest thing to do. If he had apologised, and had lights on his bike, he may have been let off.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

As far as I am aware ( this is not fact ) An amber light is for driver / rider discretion . So going through on amber is not against the law .

That's a code , not the law ..

You'd be wise to study your Highway Code a bit more then (and don't forget, it's more than a code; where it uses the term 'MUST' the applicable law(s) will appear as a footnote).

If failing to stop for an amber light isn't illegal, why do you think the cop issued the OP with a ticket?

GC

 

[Dmcd33]

It's all the more frustrating that on my commute, the majority of cars do things such as;
- Not use indicators - at all
- Jumping RED lights (I see at least one a week of a car going through a solid red light that results in jumping pedestrians!)
- Using mobile phones whilst driving (I now think this is a majority problem and the reason for the above)
- Speed above 40mph in a 30mph zone

But the police seem to go for the easy target - Cyclists. I rarely, if ever, see cars pulled for major infringements of the highway code like these.

It does appear to me to be heavily weighted in favor of the car driver?

To be fair I would pay up. Police have the final say on minor matters and if you did go to court (unlikely) then you will probably be up against car driving magistrates?

 

[cuberider]

I don't think you have much choice other than to pay it, put it down to experience and move on.

 

[Tim Hall]

And yet people always only go on about the death and taxes.

Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred

 

[Andrew_P]

The question is would you have changed your mind and stopped if the copper hadn't been there? I am guessing he has assumed you only stopped when you were aware of him?

 

[Frood42]

I am not proud to say this but i got a ticket from traffic police (on motorbike) on mile end road for jumping Amber light.

What does the ticket specifically say was the offence?
What I mean is, did the officer actually ticket you for the light jumping or for no lights on the bike?

Whether the officer was rude or having a bad day is neither here or there, and if you were unhappy with their behaviour then you can raise a seperate complaint about it.

If it was for the Amber light, unless you can show that not stopping could have caused an accident then you will be paying:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/36/made

36 (1) (e) the amber signal shall, when shown alone, convey the same prohibition as the red signal, except that, as respects any vehicle which is so close to the stop line that it cannot safely be stopped without proceeding beyond the stop line, it shall convey the same indication as the green signal or green arrow signal which was shown immediately before it;

Lights must be fixed to the bike, not the person, but if you want extra lights like a helmet light then great, but get lights on your bike.
http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations


Happy cycling by the way
.

 

[Maylian]

In a city centre, in the midst of traffic, what's wrong with that? The lights changing to red is not an 'off chance', it's a certainty - there's only one thing that can happen when the lights are green.

I'm not suggesting riding like you've stolen the bike all of the time, but in a busy city centre this type of cycling would put you 1mph above the average walking speed. There have been many a time that I think a light will be red before I get to it so just cruise along, only to get to the lights and they're still green (in Southampton this happens more often to me than me running an amber). Personally I think the introduction of timers on lights would probably be more useful to safety so it takes any guess work out of lights.

 

[Markymark]

I meant slowing down when approaching traffic lights though, not riding at 5 mph all the time.

I always slow down going through lights on my London commute as I'm regularly dodging colour blind cyclists.

 

[Frood42]

I understand what you're saying Maylian, but I still don't see what's wrong with everyone travelling about a bit more slowly overall, bikes as well as cars. I meant slowing down when approaching traffic lights though, not riding at 5 mph all the time.

When I learnt to drive I was told to not slow down approacing traffic lights, but to keep a safe steady speed (dependent on road conditions and traffic).
I was also taught to slow down applying steady pressure to the brakes and to keep both hands on the wheel (and was not taught to change down through the gears, or use engine braking).

"Gears are for going, brakes are for stopping"

Personally I prefer to use anticipation and planning, and to ease off the accelerator rather than using the brakes or changing down gears where possible (again dependent on road conditions and traffic).
It is a useful skill that more people could do with learning and applying on motorways. In fact just driving to the conditions and giving people space would be good.
.

 

[SquareDaff]

You went through an amber light when you probably had time to safely stop (the latter bit would be your only defence) and you failed to meet the legal lighting requirements on your bike. It's a fair cop I'm afraid. Pay up, learn from it and carry on cycling.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Amber means stop unless you are so close to the stop-line that to do so would cause an accident. Since it was witnessed by a police officer, one assumes that wasn't the case. You commit the offence as soon as you cross the line, it doesn't make any difference whether you stop somewhere after that.

As others have said, pay up, learn the lesson and move on.

 

[Linford]

I got caught a couple of years ago having a 'brisk' spin on my motorbike before it went away for the winter. I had the choice, take a FPN or go to court...I chose to take the FPN. I pulled over as soon as I realised he was after me, listened to him, and gave honest answers (IE: Him...how fast were you going....Me....I was too busy watching where I was going to answer that honestly, but I appreciate I wasn't hanging around....I was going significantly quicker than the limit though)

You got caught bang to rights, I'd suggest you bend over and take it. Court costs will be much more than the fine. It isn't like you will get points on your license or get insurance loaded as a result.....cyclists get off very lightly when on the wrong side of the law...and know that it is very difficultto get caught with no registration. That is why you and many others are happy to jump the reds.