Red light jumping, nicked?

[Red Light]

Run a red, get hit, then it's your own fault. No legal team will get you help.

No?

Redlight - run them if you want.

Where did I say I ran them?

 

[Raa]

There are some real hardliners on here when it comes to red light obedience that's for sure :-).

In view of the shameful lack of consideration given to the well being of cyclists in this country, my advice would be: do whatever you need to do in order to stay safe and healthy on the roads, obedience to traffic laws should be a secondary consideration.

If you can safely get through a heavily polluted area without stopping for the traffic signals that's your prerogative, similarly, if you feel the need to take to the pavement to avoid a particularly shitty section, that's also your prerogative.

If and when the authorities actually *do something* to sort out the air pollution and reduce the threats caused by lorries/speeding cars, obedience to the traffic laws might become a higher priority.

 

[Becs]

2 of my mates have got a £30 fine for jumping red lights. Both of them agreed that the number of pounds spent per lights jumped made it not worth modifying their behaviour.

 

[benb]

I'm generally against RLJ.

I do however think there is a world of difference between blasting through lights with no thought for your own or anyone else's safety (whatever vehicle you are in), and carefully proceeding through a deserted junction.

These lights have a ridiculously long phase, and when it gets clogged like this, I know I could go through without endangering or inconveniencing anyone. I still don't do it though, but I can understand why some people might.
[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkiurb-B_fc[/media]


Bizarrely, I see many, many more motorists RLJ than cyclists (oh and don't forget that flooring it to get through on the dying seconds of amber is just as illegal as going through on red), yet it's only cyclists that are universally vilified for it.

Also bear in mind that we should hold motorists to a higher standard of safety, because they bring a higher level of risk. That is, a car driver RLJing is more serious than a cyclist doing it.

 

[dellzeqq]

Held back on RLJ'ing before but IMO it's perfectly allowable in the right circumstances. Such as an open 4 way junction where you can see all the roads coming to the junction and even more so when each set of lights includes a pedestrian crossing. Such as the junction of the A201 with Ludgate Hill and Fleet St in London; if you look at this in street view you will see what I am talking about. During 6 years of commuting to London, with my bike on the train, I crossed it a lot of times. A large of amount of them I waited at the lights and didn't RLJ at all but did my fair share. With large buses to contend with and lots of traffic I would rather RLJ, stop where pedestrians are crossing and proceed when they have stopped, or go through a suitable gap amongst those crossing.

B****x. It's mortifying watching cyclists jump that light. Just don't do it.

 

[dellzeqq]

There are some real hardliners on here when it comes to red light obedience that's for sure :-).

another one bringing shame on all of us

 

[Mugshot]

If and when the authorities actually *do something* to sort out the air pollution and reduce the threats caused by lorries/speeding cars, obedience to the traffic laws might become a higher priority.

I'll use that as a defence when I'm in front of the beak

 

[Dan_h]

people jump the traffic lights at the end of my road all the time, the vehicle they have chosen to use seems to have very little to do with it. I have often seen 4 or 5 cars jump the lights at red. In fact someone even started blasting their horn and making gestures at me for STOPPING when the light was red...

 

[Broughtonblue]

Further to my original post, the only two sets of lights that I do sometimes slip through on red are at open crossroads where I can see the other three roads very clearly, and I only turn left so not shooting across carriageways, still wrong but it's only like turning a left bend!

 

[steveindenmark]

If you want to jump red lights go ahead and do it. But PLEASE, when you get caught doing it at least take it like a man and don`t come on here bleating about big bad policemen who stopped and told you off. If you think about it, that is what we are paying him to do, it is his job.

"Can`t he find something better to do?" shout all the bleaters. I agree, catching shoplifters seems to be far important to me than trying to save the lives of those planks who insist on jumping red lights.



Steve

 

[Svendo]

Every now and again I stop at a changing light whilst cars carry on past on my right. My experience matches the numbers quoted above, red light jumping is as common amongst all vehicle types. Having said that, when I've visited that there London, people do seem to cycle with a careless disregard more often than even in central Manchester. Seen buisness men on folders apparently acting some guerilla messenger fantasy amongst other things.
I was accused of jumping a red light a some roadworks, but it was because the phase length was insufficient to get along the long roadworks on the steep hill here.

 

[Broughtonblue]

If you want to jump red lights go ahead and do it. But PLEASE, when you get caught doing it at least take it like a man and don`t come on here bleating about big bad policemen who stopped and told you off. If you think about it, that is what we are paying him to do, it is his job.

"Can`t he find something better to do?" shout all the bleaters. I agree, catching shoplifters seems to be far important to me than trying to save the lives of those planks who insist on jumping red lights.



Steve

Who's bleating? Muppet

 

[Bromptonaut]

Nearly mown down on Tuesday by a London bus coming westwards along Holborn. I'd had a second or two of green to exit Chancery Lane, he'd had four second of Red and the amber before. And like Simon I'd be vary wary at Ludgate Circus - those lights have several phases.

On a bike it's a £30 fixed penalty. Motor vehicle drivers get £60+ and points as well. More if they decline the FPN and trouble the bench.

Met and particularly City of London have regular blitzes and catch cyclists like flies. If these riders' observation is so poor that they cannot see the coppers and their blue*two equipped bikes waiting for them then they've certainly not got the skills to rlj.

 

[Chris S]

No enforcement carried out just a little 'chat' and left me under the impression that he was a complete pr*ck and an ar*e in one go.

Do you mean a sod?

 

[I like Skol]

I don't think I gave the correct portrayal of my opinion of the police in this thread. I actually have a lot of respect for the police as a whole. They do a difficult and thankless task with limited resources. The officer that stopped me was dead right to do so and I had no problem with the fact I was pulled for my actions and would have also accepted any enforcement (Obviously wouldn't have been happy about it but that's life.)

My issue with the officer in this case was his total failure to engage with me as a person, prefering instead to treat me like something he had just stood in, despite the total lack of any abuse or bad attititude from me.

No bleating, I did the crime and would have served the time but I am a human being and the police need to treat people as decent people until they have reasons to do otherwise.