legal advice for running a so called red light

[marzjennings]

You're hosed, typical vague write up by the plods, but it seems that the law was broken by a group of cyclists, you were part of the group and you were the cyclist they caught. Your description and conversation with plod have been interlaced with a general scripted version of events. But without other witnesses or video evidence to back you up, just pay the fine.

 

[Cycling Dan]

"Furious cycling"....LOL

Yes, it's an actual charge. However you normally have to kill or seriously injury someone. Plus it's hardly been used. About 3 times in its creation but I was answering his question so give a full answer.

 

[Roadrider48]

Yes, it's an actual charge. However you normally have to kill or seriously injury someone. Plus it's hardly been used. About 3 times in its creation but I was answering his question so give a full answer.

I just laughed to myself at the phrase. It was no reflection on you, I can assure you.

 

[Hip Priest]

Tell them you were in a hurry because you had diarrhea.

Worked for Alex Ferguson when he got pulled for driving right past a traffic jam on the hard shoulder.

 

[Sara_H]

Why not? It is illegal and it is a police function to police. Plenty comment about RLJing cyclists getting all of us a bad name. Here is an example of the law addressing it. Good I say, in principle.

Why? In my experience the police generally pay very little attention to such crimes in a scenario where "no harm's done".
Something like this would usually be dealt with by having a word. I'm very surprised it's going to court, it seems a bit OTT and in my view not a very good use of public resources.

 

[Profpointy]

Probably the best thing is to just pay up. And if you are actually innocent, then they "owe" you a couple of RLJ's which you've now paid for. sorted !

 

[gavintc]

I have a pretty low regard of people who don't acknowledge their own failings. I see it at work all the time and it always reduces my respect for the person. Fess up, get on with it, and learn from the experience. Jumping a red light and then getting caught - not many options.

 

[Sara_H]

Assuming that the officer's statement is correct, the cyclist overtook them in order to jump the light, which would be cocking a snoot at their authority.

Still no harm done, other than injured pride. I agree, it sounds like a fair cop, but I think that court is OTT and very unusual in these circumstances.

 

[downfader]

Just to point out there is no Furious Cycling charge, only Wanton and Furious Driving (which applies to cyclists, horse riders and motorists alike)

And yes, it might be tempting to challenge every little infraction "just because a driver would", but we should aim to be better than that. Eg, not amble gamble or jump red in the first place. I also disagree that cops would do something because they're "bored", I've never spoken to a cop with such an easy life.

EDIT:and I suspect that the summons is because of one or more or several possibilities:
- refusal to accept an FPN
- getting cocky/argumentative with the police
- being reckless for your or anyone else's regard
- doing something in a known "black spot"

 

[Sara_H]

It is foolish to dismiss it as wounded pride. We require our law process to have authority and the people to acknowledge that and preferably acknowledge it as fair etc.
If nobody ever gets prosecuted for it, and it occurs, then the law is not being enforced.

Unfortunately, I've had numerous experiences that have demonstrated to me that police office are as likely, if not more, to be complete nobbers than any average person. I fear the police officers in this case are indeed nobbers who ought to have more pressing things to do with their time and our money.

 

[Andrew_P]

It is foolish to dismiss it as wounded pride. We require our law process to have authority and the people to acknowledge that and preferably acknowledge it as fair etc.
If nobody ever gets prosecuted for it, and it occurs, then the law is not being enforced.

Fixed Penalty notices are being used for speeding, tailgating and even careless driving. The statement from the Police involved and the fact they were anti terrorist strikes me as they were either being vindictive for some reason, or were provoked by the OP. In London seems that when they have a crack down they just wave down blatant RLJ'ers and issue FPN with a lesson and or a rollicking.

Hopefully there is more to this than we have been told, if not I am pretty disappointed that a vehicle patrolling central London with the officers described as Anti Terrorist (one would assume their remit was anti terror) wasted so much time and effort at the time, plus the time and effort of the court case.

 

[fossyant]

Sorry, but if you have been done on a bike for jumping a light, then you have bloody well done it. Amber means stop.

Don't get this thread ? Fess up.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I don't jump red lights and it annoys me people that do. So the OP gets no sympathy from me.

 

[Mile195]

I'm no legal expert, but I can't see that you have any comeback at all, regardless of the circumstances.

If you went through a red light, you went through a red light. That's the end of it. There's no exceptions that make it legal and therefore they can prosecute. I'm very surprised they didn't just give you a £30 fine though.

I echo the other sentiments. Just pay the fine. There's no way you'll ever win unless you have an awful lot of money to pay a very slimey, but very good lawyer.

 

[Matthew_T]

I began to lightly brake for the ATS when all of a sudden the cyclist darted across the front of my vehicle from the offside to the nearside, causing me to brake sharply to avoid contact.

So you were traveling under 10mph as well as braking lightly in preparation to stop, and yet you feel that the braking was sharp when the cyclist changed lanes infront of you?
Doesnt quite make sense to me.

I had a clear unobstructed view of the stop line between two vehicles that were stationary in front of me.

This does not make sense. The view clearly was obstructed if there were vehicles in front of you.

I checked the driving license

The cyclist was operating a push bike, not a car. Driving license is irrelevant.

...technical issues with our force verification...

FORCE is not an accepted term.

The initial incident happened at about 1748 hrs, the interaction was over at 1903 hrs. That is one hell of a long traffic stop.

I have also noticed that neither of the officers said whether or not the cyclists stopped after the white line. Yes, crossing it is technically breaking the law but there is no mention of whether or not they continued through the junction or stopped. The statement also is not as detailed as I would expect it to be. Even I have made more detailed statements to the police when reporting incidents.
There are numerous mistakes throughout the statement and I wouldnt be surprised if these were brought up in a court of law.

I see no real evidence against either of the cyclists as it is just one persons word against the other. Stand your ground and dont be bullied just because the officers are of the law. Equal rights whether or not they are officers. They need physical evidence to charge you with something, not just what they think they saw.