Don't like RLJ's?

[shippers]

I have to admit I do RLJ from time to time, but it tends to be at night- we have junctions were all the approaches sit on red awaiting the approach of a car- whether it's pressure pads or headlight sensors, but I sometimes have to jump them.

Commuting, on the other hand, jumping reds is just stewpid. My light is on red because there's traffic coming from another direction which might render me dead.

 

[BentMikey]

Good on you for expressing your disapproval!

 

[BentMikey]

I have to admit I do RLJ from time to time, but it tends to be at night- we have junctions were all the approaches sit on red awaiting the approach of a car- whether it's pressure pads or headlight sensors, but I sometimes have to jump them.

Technically you're not breaking the law if you go through a light that's on red and won't change for your bike. You can consider it defective, since it's not working for all road vehicles.

 

[marinyork]

No im not making a big deal out of it....I see bad stuff from every road user.

I just see the issue wasting a lot of times in cycle campaign meetings because someone wants to be "trendy" and talk about what goes on in London coz it makes them sound clever.

 

[661-Pete]

I suppose - now thinking about it - there's a point on my commute where I might be perceived to be RLJinq when in fact I'm not. Or am I?

It's a cross-roads where the western arm is in fact only a cycle path, so, for motorists, it is effectively a T-junction with T/Ls. There are obviously no traffic lights facing west, so I have to either wait for a gap in the n/s traffic, or wait for an approaching car from east to switch the lights - which may be a long wait. I do either.

Thus far I've never been hooted at this crossing, but it takes a reasonable amount of care to cross safely.

 

[hackbike 666]

I take my time on my commute and leave plenty of time.Im finished with all that rushing about bawlocks.

 

[BentMikey]

I take my time on my commute and leave plenty of time.Im finished with all that rushing about bawlocks.

+1


@Pete, same here. Going from inside the park at HPC, I don't continue on the pedestrian/cycling crossing, and instead turn left onto the roundabout. That means I'm ahead of the traffic lights and the stop line, and can simply go when there's a space.

 

[Arch]

I bellowed at an RLJer this morning - partly out of disapproval and partly because his jump put him directly in the path of my (green filter arrowed) right turn and I had to brake to go behind him (fortunately I'm cautious on corners so I did have plenty of time to react). He'd just ridden up the inside of the queue of cars stopped gone and straight over. We were past each other too quickly to tell if his responce was apologetic or scathing, but I was pleased with my bellow, being small and female shouting too often comes out as a screech, which is less effective...

I also notice lots of cars going through after the change to red, and at one junction it's so endemic that I know not to start off too quickly on my green, for fear of the last one coming through hitting me. Drivers tend not to just run lights so blatently in the middle of a phase, but that might well be that they physically can't if there are vehicles in front of them, whereas errant cyclists can filter past.

 

[summerdays]

I almost RLJ'd yesterday ... I was turning right off the A4, at a junction I didn't know, and approached the traffic lights in my filter lane and saw the red light so slowed. I think I must have glanced down to see where the line was, looked up and saw a green light (A) and went... only to spot a red light ( on the other side of the junction luckily. So hoovered in front of the line until it was legal to go.

However my question is was it just me or do you think these lights are confusing?:

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&h...=r6UAca__JHxHvTAsCK9RqQ&cbp=12,96.97,,0,21.66
Because the light ahead of the lights is inbetween the two lanes and doesn't have a straight on filter arrow I just saw the green and went to go (OK I know there is a no turn right under it), but like I say I hadn't turned right at these lights before.

(Sorry the B has been heavily degraded in upload - looks lovely and clear on my version - so the read splodge)

 

[summerdays]

I also notice lots of cars going through after the change to red, and at one junction it's so endemic that I know not to start off too quickly on my green, for fear of the last one coming through hitting me. Drivers tend not to just run lights so blatently in the middle of a phase, but that might well be that they physically can't if there are vehicles in front of them, whereas errant cyclists can filter past.

I have quite a few junctions where I know there will be cars RLJ'ing the end of the green phase - I always go when its green but with hands on the brakes knowing I may need to stop, if I don't it seems to leave a space for yet another car to follow - I have been known to shout red light to them as the 3rd car passes me. This is at lights when I know both the timing and the path the cars take so know how far I can go forward safely. Its usually right turning cars that are the problem.

 

[SimonC]

I almost RLJ'd yesterday ... I was turning right off the A4, at a junction I didn't know, and approached the traffic lights in my filter lane and saw the red light so slowed. I think I must have glanced down to see where the line was, looked up and saw a green light (A) and went... only to spot a red light ( on the other side of the junction luckily. So hoovered in front of the line until it was legal to go.

However my question is was it just me or do you think these lights are confusing?:

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&h...=r6UAca__JHxHvTAsCK9RqQ&cbp=12,96.97,,0,21.66
Because the light ahead of the lights is inbetween the two lanes and doesn't have a straight on filter arrow I just saw the green and went to go (OK I know there is a no turn right under it), but like I say I hadn't turned right at these lights before.

(Sorry the B has been heavily degraded in upload - looks lovely and clear on my version - so the read splodge)

Hey, I dont like riding through gravel and glass as much as the next guy or gal, but this is taking it to extremes Summerdays

 

[Davidc]

However my question is was it just me or do you think these lights are confusing?:

No, it's not you. If that's the Bath Road junction I think it is then I've got it wrong in a car and on a bike, with a need to slam on brakes.

It's typical of loads of junctions around Bristol (and several other towns/ cities) which seem to have been put together (aka designed) by someone who doesn't drive, doesn't cycle, and reads the newspaper when on a bus.

It's all very well having loads of lanes, but much more attention should be paid to the clarity of signalling and signage.

We've never moved on to the sensible use of red and amber arrows to clarify the lights at complex junctions. When abroad recently I've seen those (and green ones) done in LED matrix traffic lights, which is very effective (although LED traffic lights tend to be far too bright which then obscures the detail again, but that's another matter).

 

[Davidc]

back to the OP, while I agree totally with the sentiments expressed in the linked article, I don't see any easy solution to it. Drivers can be picked off with cameras which helps keep the problem down, but bikes aren't easily identifiable so that couldn't work.

RLJing bikes or motor vehicles are a symptom of a problem (everyone being in too much of a rush and over impatient) and aren't going away any time soon. The only real weapon against it is education.

 

[summerdays]

No it is not, the reason that there are no filter lights is because the lane markings show the direction of traffic.

I know that bit ... its the fact that when you are stopped in the position of the blue car in that photo and look forward to the traffic lights (bearing in mind that a cyclist is much closer to the white line than the driver of a car so that the proper light is not clearly seen), the nearest light that you see is the one marked A in the photo which is on your left where you normally look for a traffic light.

 

[thomas]

Yes, yes I know you Londoners have a whole way of life based on it but it's not the end of civilisation as we know it. If I thought it'd make any difference or was that big a deal I'd be out there barricading the traffic lights like everybody else.

It's not something I really notice that much either. There are a couple sets which I know people may jump, but to be honest, they're at times when it's reasonably safe to (they're red for all junctions, but green for pedestrians). I wouldn't do it as I can easily make the time up.

Back in Woking, only seen a few people do it tbh.