Blatant fibs from the cops.

[jashburnham]

I have to agree that the City of London Police are notorious for being biased against cyclists. In part this seems to arise from the fact that they are controlled by the Corporation of London - and thus subject to pressure from individuals who are overwhelmingly car drivers.

Speaking as someone who commuted into the city for 2 years I can understand why. Unfortunately London is full of numpty morons on bikes who think that red lights do not apply to them. Personally I'm happy to see them being fined. If you don't want to be fined then obey the laws of the road, it's really not difficult.

Of course car drivers are targetted, they're targeted all the time with cameras, speed traps, average speed calculators etc etc. It is relatively rare for the police to have a crack down on cyclists and yet everyone gets up in arms about it when they do. If I had £5 for every idiot that squeezes past me at lights on my commute then I wouldn't need to commute anymore. Of course they are invariably the person that I have just overtaken and will overtake again once the lights go green. Of course cars jumping red lights is more serious than bikes doing it, but that is no reason for the police not to crackdown on cyclists, warped logic I'm afraid.

 

[Yorkshireman]

Speaking as someone who commuted into the city for 2 years I can understand why. Unfortunately London is full of numpty morons on bikes who think that red lights do not apply to them. Personally I'm happy to see them being fined. If you don't want to be fined then obey the laws of the road, it's really not difficult.

Of course car drivers are targetted, they're targeted all the time with cameras, speed traps, average speed calculators etc etc. It is relatively rare for the police to have a crack down on cyclists and yet everyone gets up in arms about it when they do. If I had £5 for every idiot that squeezes past me at lights on my commute then I wouldn't need to commute anymore. Of course they are invariably the person that I have just overtaken and will overtake again once the lights go green. Of course cars jumping red lights is more serious than bikes doing it, but that is no reason for the police not to crackdown on cyclists, warped logic I'm afraid.

It's illegal to 'jump red lights' regardless of what /who does it. The police are supposedly upholding the law. There's no reason to crack down on some red light law breakers - Do 'em all - even handedly.

 

[jashburnham]

There are only 547 red light cameras for all 20,000+ light controlled junctions in London. Hardly heavy targeting of motorists on that front.

And your point is what exactly? The police have occasional crackdowns on all types of things from speeding, to RLJ'ing cyclists, to knife crime. All of these engender hysterical responses from various camps. Now I agree that RLJ'ing cyclists is not a particularly serious issue but that does not mean it shouldn't be addressed now and again, and lets face it, it's not often that the police target cyclists anyway. I fail to see what the problem is here. Perhaps you'd rather bikes had registration plates then the cameras could catch us and motorists even handedly...

 

[jashburnham]

think it is perfectly appropriate to suggest that this does not equate to RLJing motorists being targeted all the time - if that were the case, one would expect a red light camera on every traffic light controlled junction.


Motorist assert they are targeted all the time, but when you look at the reality, this is simply not the case.

Pedant alert. There's not exactly a shortage of cameras in London, be they speed or red light cameras. I don't think you need to take me literally when I say "all the time," it's a turn of phrase not a statement of fact.

 

[BentMikey]

Jashburnham, you're also wrong when you imply that User doesn't want RLJing cyclists fined. He's just as happy as you, and I are to see them caught and punished. It's the bias against cyclists and the ignoring of the same blatant transgressions by motorists that is the problem.

 

[jashburnham]

Surely the nature of police crackdowns makes some level of bias inevitable? My point is that this bias is (IME) transitory. Again from my experience commuting into the city, cyclists are really not helping their case here. I saw far more transgressions on that commute than I do on my current one. Every demographic that finds itself on the receiving end of increased police activity gets upset about it, whether they are teenagers suffering increased stop and search or cyclists being fined for RLJ. Ultimately the police are (as User points out) at the behest of the politicians and sadly the current government seems to prefer to tackle the symptoms and not the cause.

 

[BentMikey]

This is why I think you've missed regulator's point. He and I are not in the slightest bit upset about the cyclist RLJing crackdown. Instead we're pissed that they ignore cars doing the same thing right in front of them at the session User witnessed, and also more generally too.

 

[jashburnham]

That's crackdowns for you though. I'm not sure that it is an issue outside of this though. Of course for all of us this is pure conjecture (from all of us), but I have never see cyclists misbehaving (rlj, pavement riding etc) in front of police all the time and 99% of the time the police do nothing. In fact they only seem to bother cyclists during these RLJ exercises. In contrast I often see motorists that have been pulled over... anecdotal maybe but i really don't think there is some dark conspiracy going on here. Seems to me it's just a case of a minority thinking they are being picked on. I reckon cyclists in London get a way with murder most of the time (and no User I do not mean that literally)!

 

[User482]

Some people on this thread need to think about the consequences of cyclists breaking traffic laws, compared with the consequences of motorists breaking traffic laws. Then consider how police enforcement ought to be apportioned between the two.

As a starter for ten, hands up who knows what percentage of road deaths are caused by collisions with cyclists?

 

[BentMikey]

Some people on this thread need to think about the consequences of cyclists breaking traffic laws, compared with the consequences of motorists breaking traffic laws. Then consider how police enforcement ought to be apportioned between the two.

As a starter for ten, hands up who knows what percentage of road deaths are caused by collisions with cyclists?

Oh, you're totally right, but it's only fair that any lawbreaker should get consequences. Besides which, cyclist RLJs do cause problems, particularly at pedestrian crossings, and you often hear about people who've been hit, knocked over, sometimes with broken limbs, and angry and scared. I have two friends who've been hurt by idiot RLJers.

 

[User482]

<Waves hand in air>

Me sir, me sir! I do!

In 2007 there was 1 death caused by a cyclist. There were 3,267 roads deaths caused by motor vehicles. That means the percentage caused by cyclists was 0.03060912151...%


Do I get a prize?

Will my appreciation do?

I didn't know the 2007 figure, but it's between zero and 3 in most years. Now, I believe that cyclists should be punished if caught breaking traffic laws, but I also believe that specific targetting of cyclists in the way described previously by you is a misuse of police (and therefore taxpayer) resource. Far more public good would be achieved by more rigorous enforcement of motorists. I own a car and like driving, so this is hardly sour grapes.