5 Seconds headstart

[PeteXXX]

Cambridge cyclists trial priority traffic light scheme

Traffic lights giving priority to cyclists over other road users are to be trialled in Cambridge.
The lights, which give bicycles a five-second headstart, are believed to the first in the UK, and will be installed at a four-way junction on Hills Road.
Got to be worth a go in a few other places as well, I reckon!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-23723866]~~5 secondsHeadstart~[/url

 

[Accy cyclist]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-23723866 A good idea!Some motorists get agitated when a cyclist in front of them at the lights jumps the gun in their minds,but they don't think that he/she's doing it to get out of their way asap!

 

[Keith Oates]

It sounds like a good idea so let's hope it's successful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shut Up Legs]

We have one of those in East Melbourne, at the corner of Wellington and Langridge Sts, but the odd thing is that it doesn't always turn on. Sometimes the bicycle green light will turn on before the motorists' one, but other times it doesn't. I have yet to find a pattern to it .

 

[Arch]

To play devil's advocate for a moment....

Like ASL's, I suspect this sort of thing works in some places and not others. There are roads where even if you get a head start, traffic still has to pass you soon afterwards, perhaps where the road is narrower, and where cars have gained a bit of speed already, and drivers see a cyclist as even more 'in their way'. And to take advantage of the headstart, a cyclist needs to have filtered to the front, which isn't always safe, if they are guided down the inside of long vehicles in feeder lanes etc. Lots of people seem to assume that if there's a cyclelane, they are safe in it - they must be mustn't they, because the council wouldn't paint a cyclelane somewhere unsafe would they?

There does seem to be a feeling among some that cyclists MUST get to the front, MUST beat the traffic. Sometimes, it's simpler to wait back a bit. A cyclist will beat a car across town in heavy traffic with long queues, but not all the time - sometimes it's better to let the cars get our of your way and enjoy the ride!

I often gain a headstart anyway, by being on the ball. I know the lights I use, and their phases, and use cues like the pedestrian crossing lights to tell me when mine are about to change. I'm setting off, legally, while the driver behind me is still registering the change, releasing the handbrake, putting their phone down etc!

 

[KEEF]

I need a 5 second start when I leave he house never mind at traffic lights

 

[Stephen C]

Cambridge cyclists trial priority traffic light scheme

Traffic lights giving priority to cyclists over other road users are to be trialled in Cambridge.
The lights, which give bicycles a five-second headstart, are believed to the first in the UK, and will be installed at a four-way junction on Hills Road.
Got to be worth a go in a few other places as well, I reckon!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-23723866]~~5 secondsHeadstart~[/url

I used to cycle that junction everyday, massively improved now and the 5 second thing is good for the cars as well as all the bikes get out of the way so they can turn left without waiting. Also, as the next section of road has a 20mph limit, I can generally get ahead and stay ahead!

 

[Boris Bajic]

They don't stop at red signals anyway. If they had to pay Road Tax (which they don't) they might stop and think for a moment about their wider social and legal responsibilities, they all have these lights that are aimed right into your eyes and you can't see where you're going and they all ride around in dark clothing, unlit and expect you to see them and they all ride right out in the middle of the road and they never signal and they expect you to give them as much room as you'd give a truck or even two trucks when you pass them which you always have to because they're so slow and then they come rushing past you when you get caught up in traffic which is probably caused by one of them anyway and they have those coloured t-shirts with the pockets at the back and they swerve all over the road and in France they even close the roads for them which is ridiculous and they have a big race but it's in French which is pointless and I read somewhere that they all take drugs which I imagine they do from the look of them and my nan had a bike but only for going to Bingo but these people somehow think they can ride on the roads and get shouty and cross and now you want to give them their own traffic light and have you seen those bikes they have now that are plastic or carbon dated or something and they weigh less than a sheet of A4 and they have saddles like razors and they ignore red lights anyway.

And you'd give these people priority at junctions?

Does that help?