Crossing at pedestrian lights

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steveindenmark

Legendary Member
Red.. we would all mutter about priorities if we were fined for anything. When I was a police officer I always got "Why don`t you go and catch burglars", from burglars I got "Why don`t you go and catch murderers". Just for the record, I caught all of them.

Inertia..I agree, we are all responsible for ourselves. But on cycling forums like this you often get the "Sheep effect" where people like to gang up on everyone who is not a cyclist and blame them for all the ills in the world.

The lights Pat is talking about sound confusing. No wonder people get caught out.

Steve
 
It would feel a bit cheeky to cross a crossing on my bike but I'd be annoyed and mutted about priorities if I was fined for doing it.

Me too. And if it was a scenario where you are going from bike path, to bike path, yet are expected to dismount purely because they haven't fitted a bicycle shaped light bulb, I think I'd give it a go at challenging the ticket at court. I'd use the argument that 'considerate' pavement cycling should be allowed if due to a genuine fear of the road, pointing out the road 'must' be dangerous otherwise they wouldn't have installed the alternative cycle path route at that stage...

Of course I'd probably fail and end up with a 150 quid fine instead!
 
OP
OP
Pat "5mph"

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
The lights Pat is talking about sound confusing. No wonder people get caught out.

Steve

Yes, I did not know you are not allowed to ride through on those kind of lights, until my friend got fined. Now I dismount. In defense of the police, I think they have performance targets to reach, like traffic wardens. Today I saw a man and his child, both on a bike, waiting at red pedestrian lights to cross into the park. A police van stopped at the red, saw the bikers but did not fine the man, or even give him a warning. But I prefer not to chance it, £ 30.00 fine is not worth just to save a couple of minutes on my journey, also it would be embarrassing to be pulled up by the police :blush:
 
Yes, I did not know you are not allowed to ride through on those kind of lights, until my friend got fined. Now I dismount. In defense of the police, I think they have performance targets to reach, like traffic wardens.

Nope, not with fixed penalty tickets. Individual supervisors on specialist departments MAY decide to set their own guidelines (I.e. a traffic department sergeant may suggest to his officers that there workrate should show the issuing so many fixed pen per month) but this would be normal and purely a way the supervisor chooses to monitor their staff. There are certainly no government set targets.

The monitored focus on stats tends to concentrate more on serious acquisitive crime such as burglaries/robberies.
 
This sort of thing annoys me. Last year in my area there were a number of serious incidents with cycles on the road, involving at least one death and in another incident, a man found unconscious in the road with his bicycle and sunglasses missing/stolen. The largest crime in my neighbourhood is bicycle theft. So what special action did the police organise, with a letter box drop and footpath patrols? Yup, a crackdown on pavement cycling.
 

swampyseifer

Well-Known Member
Did the OP's friend know they shouldnt have done what it was that got them fined? Tho I suppose saying that, you could say its the expectation that the OP's friend should know whether they should or shouldnt I guess, so either way really they deserve the fine.
 
OP
OP
Pat "5mph"

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
Did the OP's friend know they shouldnt have done what it was that got them fined? Tho I suppose saying that, you could say its the expectation that the OP's friend should know whether they should or shouldnt I guess, so either way really they deserve the fine.

Yeah, ignorance of the law is not an excuse, my friend and I now know! :whistle:
 

redcard

Veteran
Location
Paisley
No pavement cycling: we have shared pedestrian/cycling paths (that are in effect pavements) clearly signposted as such, but if you need to cross, sometimes there is a crossing with a bike traffic light, sometimes not. Apparently you are only allowed to ride across if there is a green bike traffic light, otherwise you have to dismount and walk across.

There's one of these lights at the Morrison's in Johnstone, on the cycle path. Never really paid much attention to it, so I've never noticed the green bike not being lit up when the pedestrian green has been lit.
 
OP
OP
Pat "5mph"

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
There's one of these lights at the Morrison's in Johnstone, on the cycle path. Never really paid much attention to it, so I've never noticed the green bike not being lit up when the pedestrian green has been lit.

Well, found another one on my way home this evening. Shawfield area, just out of the Glasgow Green 5 aside, going towards Richmond Park/ Rutherglen. As I go to Rutherglen, I need to cross. Used to cross at Richmond Park, only green /red man, so I normally dismount unless it's 6 in the morning :whistle: But today I noticed there is one crossing further back, with a green/red man and bike. I can cross there without dismounting.
 

Cyclopathic

Veteran
Location
Leicester.
I think bikes should be alowed pretty much everywhere but be obliged to be courtious. Fines for cyclists anywhere riding recklessly. From what I've seen and heard of police response to cyclists on the pavement I'd say they pretty much agree with me. The pavements where I live are not dual use and can be quite busy at times but people often cycle on them and unless they are going at a stupid speed they don't cause any problems that I have noticed. I think electric bikes on the pavement is going a bit too far though as they can be quite quick.
 
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