a) its highly unlikely that the RLJs are doing 15-20mph. That would imply running a red light at full speed. All the RLJs I see cross the junction as if they were pedestrians having checked for traffic.
b) 30mph is a limit not a target. If you know this is happening regularly then you should slow down for the junction not blast through at the speed limit.
Not a hope now you've posted here that it happens to you regularly. You would have contributory negligence as a minimum for not slowing down if you knew there was a risk.
Phethan-Hubble v Coles (High Court, 2011):
- The Defendant would have known that there was no cycle path and that there was a real risk the cyclist could choose to come on to the road way rather than go down the footpath. He saw a cyclist who was not displaying lights and who therefore may not be so mindful to take such care of his own safety, that the motorist could rely upon his not coming into the road.
- Even at the maximum permitted speed of 30mph he would have been at the limit of the margin of safety he ought to have afforded to other road users.
- In this case there was a significant difference between the two road users. One a cyclist balanced on two wheels with little protection, the other a motorist in a stable enclosed vehicle that has fatal potential.
- The Defendant's speed ought to have been in the margin of 3/4 miles or so under the maximum speed limit of 30mph.
- I hold that the primary liability for this accident was that of the Defendant by virtue of the excessive speed at which he was travelling.
