Crossing a junction on foot?

[ozboz]

Is there a law against self preservation theses days ?
My GF regularly dismounts and pushes bike across certain junctions with lights also certain roundabouts she deems unsafe especially this time of year , she commutes at peak traffic times , I do not blame her , I’d be surprised if the cops across the board reckoned she was breaking the law ,

 

[Drago]

If Chris Grayli g has anything to do with it then it will one day be illegal to travel anywhere except by car, and he'll want to pave over the whole country to permit it.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Road side, but it was a busy crossing (right next to Baker St tube stn in rush hour) and the pavement was full so there were peds right beside me.

I understand his logic, as you remained on the road you were therefore effectively red light jumping, as to whether it was illegal I don't know.

 

[irw]

(I have have no idea whether getting out of a motorised vehicle and pushing it across the lights is legal. But I'd love to see it....)

What? You mean like this...?

 

[humboldt]

Pedestrians are allowed to step into the road on the 'wrong' side of the light; would the officer have had a whine at someone hopping off the kerb to dodge, say, a group of prams clogging the pavement while crossing? Or walking diagonally across a junction during an all green pedestrian phase? If you're wheeling your bike you're a pedestrian and can take advantage of pedestrian infrastructure as far as I'm concerned, including crossings. Plus it's not even necessarily about saving time; if there's a junction you know is nasty and there's a nearby crossing it seems perfectly OK to use that if you don't feel safe.

 

[Ajax Bay]

can a cyclist hop off their bike and walk across a junction if the lights turn red (and it is safe to do so!)?

Living in UK, I think we are lucky to live in a free country (free in the roads and pedestrians context as well as much else - try 'jaywalking' in other countries). In UK, with the exception of motorways, clearways and roads with the "No Pedestrians" sign displayed, I believe pedestrians can proceed legally on every public road in the country.
People walking/running (that's one foot after the other) are pedestrians, whatever they are pulling or pushing.

Meanwhile we know (from Crank v Brooks) that a person pushing a bike is a "foot passenger" (pedestrian)

(Crank v Brooks [1980] RTR 441)
Extract (from upthread): "In my judgment a person who is walking across a pedestrian crossing pushing a bicycle, having started on the pavement on one side on her feet and not on the bicycle, and going across pushing the bicycle with both feet on the ground so to speak is clearly a 'foot passenger'."

. . . having stopped on your bike in the road, getting off and pushing it across the road doesn't feel right.
Having stopped on your bike, if you then push it onto the pavement then push it across the road with other pedestrians feels much better

I agree with both those statements. Also, reading the appeal court judgement, the cyclist inferentially does not become a pedestrian until they've stepped (ie both feet on) onto the pavement, not astride their bike. But once they've done that (and stay on their two feet), they are a pedestrian and have all the legal freedoms and limitations afforded to a pedestrian. And I think the judgement would have merit in any pedestrian in the road situations (not just on a pedestrian crossing).

The Highway Code has a section for pedestrians and (besides motorways(+) prohibition) has a couple of 'MUST NOTs': "You MUST NOT loiter on any type of crossing." "You MUST NOT cross or pass a stop line [of railway level crossings] when the red lights show, (including a red pedestrian figure)."

 

[keithmac]

I sit at a traffic light junction every night on cycle home from work.

Most nights one or two cyclists will dismount and push their bikes through the junction when the Green Man is lit for pedestrians.

Some do the stand on one pedal and sally along (but not riding, honest!) thing.

Don't know why but it gets on my nerves, and presumably the car drivers behind as well.

Each to their own but to save one 1/4 if the light changes I'd rather just wait..