If only they had read Kevin's thread ...

[downfader]

'incorrect lights'

they obviously were being strict

it did seem to be very well lit

I stopped a bloke last week riding on the Common. He definitely had the incorrect light on - red on the front. I'd presumed he'd just got it mixed up as some sets have very similar looking front and back light.. but he just calmly said in a thick foreign accent "Yes I know, my front light broke so I am using this one."

I tried to politely tell him how dangerous it was and the legal issue but he just rode off. Later he saw me approaching as he pulled up to a red light, perhaps he panicked? I dont know? As he looked around and decided to bust those lights like a right div.

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Im always intrigued to why people have red on the front and white on the back,doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the box goes the old cliche.

 

[Drago]

Lights are so compact, reliable and cheap these days there's no excuse for any bike rider not to have them. Except bone idle laziness.

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Lights are so compact, reliable and cheap these days there's no excuse for any bike rider not to have them. Except bone idle laziness.

Is it laziness or stupidness?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Lights are so compact, reliable and cheap these days there's no excuse for any bike rider not to have them. Except bone idle laziness.

Yes, but if the lights mean that the neighbourhood watchers see us, shouldn't we just cycle in the darkness where they won't?

 

[Fab Foodie]

'incorrect lights'

they obviously were being strict

it did seem to be very well lit

Blimey mate, where've you been ... nice to see you back!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Exactly.

Then as much real use as a cardboard toothbrush. Perhaps it would have been better use of Police time to explain that whilst these things are annoying, they actually cause little or no harm whilst the true enemy of the people are whizzing past unchecked.

 

[Sandra6]

Is it laziness or stupidness?

After speaking to a few customers about lights this week I think it comes down to ignorance -and possibly stupidity.
Like the lady yesterday looking for lights for her 7yr old and not sure if she really needed any. Does she cycle after dark? yes? well then she needs lights.
Really? Would just a front light do?
Erm, no.
"But won't seeing the light just confuse the driver?"
??????????????? Seemingly as a driver she is often confused when she sees a cyclist with lights, I told her I thought it was better to see them and be confused than not and drive into the back of them.
She went on to tell me how they cycle on country roads - so no pavements and generally with cars doing 60mph -while walking the dog, but that when a car comes they have to stop and get hold of the dog. I did want to tell her that I thought that was madness, but I didn't.
She did eventually buy some lights.

 

[trampyjoe]

They could do with clamping down round here!

 

[Tynan]

Blimey mate, where've you been ... nice to see you back!

erm, perhaps I've been posting less, been busy init, perhaps posting less in commute

howdy anyway

 

[Bigsharn]

We'd all be up in arms if this was cars without lights, driving the wrong way etc.

...Driving on the pavement?

 

[subaqua]

What police do is no longer driven primarily by preventing crime. The large focus is on neighbourhood policing - policing according to what the neighbourhood meetings raise as their agendas. The people that attend these meeting are much more likely to be the ones that will be moaning about the 'Lycra louts jumping red lights willy nilly' rather than focusing on the larger crimes, so when you have small one off initiatives, they are normally to appease the smaller 'anti social behavioural' incidents. This initiative in Cambridge raises loads of signals to me that it was bred through a group of neighbourhood meetings with people complaining that 'nothing is ever done about these pavement cyclists'.

is this all police forces? and where do these meetings get advertised. genuine question as have not seen anything in the Met area and i follow MPS in general and MPS for the borough i live in on twitter

 

[CopperCyclist]

is this all police forces? and where do these meetings get advertised. genuine question as have not seen anything in the Met area and i follow MPS in general and MPS for the borough i live in on twitter

Yes the concept of neighbourhood policing (targets driven by community) is nationwide Home Office driven. The implementation of it is down to the force though, so I wouldn't know how the Met work things. If you asked your local station though, they should be able to tell you who your neighbourhood police team are and how they work.

 

[subaqua]

Yes the concept of neighbourhood policing (targets driven by community) is nationwide Home Office driven. The implementation of it is down to the force though, so I wouldn't know how the Met work things. If you asked your local station though, they should be able to tell you who your neighbourhood police team are and how they work.

ta muchly . will try and find out where the meetings are at and when. then i can get some things on the agenda.

 

[BlackPanther]

...Driving on the pavement?

Sometimes diving on the pavement can't be avoided though. Indeed, I had to do a 'controlled kerb mount' on my LGV test. Not proceeding would've been a test failure. That said, you shouldn't mount the kerb just to avoid waiting for traffic to clear.