Red Lights

[007fair]

So I don't have any supporters! I'm not surprised but there must be other bikers who do this but don't admit to it

Anyway ..I'll humbly take on board your collective advice although I don't think I can retract my V sign to the driving instructor

Strangely enough this incident was after a day on the roads when there was a number of good encounters with motorists - ie patient waiting or a friendly wave etc
I suppose I must keep up the cyclists side of this good will

 

[hackbike 666]

I don't really see the point in RLJing *unless* there is a safety aspect.

The only time I have jumped a set of lights was a return commute in Leyton about two in the morning with about ten pisshead peds approaching me.

I thought my safety may be in question.

I don't do it 99+% of time.

 

[merlin321]

007fair, I wouldn`t say supporter, but I`ve done similar. I leave home for work at about 4.30am five days a week and cycle in every day regardless of the weather. The 10 mile route I use is lit all the way and the last 3 miles is on a main road coming in to a city.
I have lost count of the times that I have approached a set of lights on red, and after having had a bloody good look round, carried on if I am convinced that their is no other vehicular traffic coming. Any sign of headlights in any direction and I`ll stop.
I will be farcked if I am waiting for minutes at a time, in the rain and wind at silly o`clock in the morning for a light to change colour or a car to roll up.
While we are at it I also admit to riding at over 30mph on a road limited to 30.
I`m not advocating that rljing is right but as previous posts have inferred, with considered choices.
All those cyclists who have NEVER commited any road traffic violations, stand up now.
Not much scraping of chairs I imagine.

 

[hackbike 666]

All those cyclists who have NEVER commited any road traffic violations, stand up now.
Not much scraping of chairs I imagine.

Now that hurts.

Seriously saying that I try to stick to the regulations as much of the % of the time.

Being here in Bangkok for the month and seeing how it all works makes me believ that the British Road layout and traffic system sucks.

 

[007fair]

cheers marlin I feel a bit better now
My RLJ was probably a throw back to my schools days when I cycled alot purely for transport and red light jumping was probably the least offence Didn't think twice about it then
Now 25 years later and a new bike I suppose I have to cycle like a grown up !

 

[007fair]

Being here in Bangkok for the month and seeing how it all works makes me believ that the British Road layout and traffic system sucks.

Intertesed in why is bangkok so much better ?

 

[ufkacbln]

The problem is not whether you feel it is safe or not, but the inconvenient and therfore frequently ignored matter of Trust.

As a road user we (like any other) have a contract with everyone else on the road, and that is to behave in a rational, sensible and predictable manner.

When I come to a junction with a Give Way I am trusting that the approaching vehicle will stop at the junction and allow me to progress along the road. I trust the driver behind me not to run into the back of me, overtake and "Left Hook".

A classic example is that our neighbour's 6 year old knows not to cross our local road if she can see a car. Now that is excellent and has an excellent safety margin until she nearly got taken out by an idiot coming round the bend at over twice the limit. The rule only applies if the drivers are driving at the correct speed.

It is when the numpties refuse to obey these simple rules that the problems start.

The biggest single step in increasing road safety in this country would be for drivers to drive in accordance with the simple rules.

 

[hackbike 666]

I never rl-jumped when I was a kid.It was unheard of.When I first started cycling though was in the mid 1970's.

I suppose because of this I have stuck with it even though other people blatently do.

Intertesed in why is bangkok so much better ?

I don't know whether I really meant that it is so much better I think the main thing out here is there is more respect for each other.I have seen some mad driving.I was blocking a car because I didn't notice the arrows on the traffic signal meaning the signal only applied to traffic going forwards and as I wanted to turn left I was entitled to go.The motorist behind me didn't lose his rag but patiently went past me and with this I realised he had made a correct legal left turn move.

 

[dubman]

I will jump red lights if the coast is clear , or if i think its safe ! I also will hop onto the pavement if the way is blocked I also drive a car and it doesnt bother me in the slightest if i see other cyclists doing the same.

 

[Grendel]

If a tree falls down in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

If a cyclist goes through a red light at four in the morning and no one sees, does it matter?


Obviously if the road is deserted and it's stupid o'clock in the morning, and you aren't going to be caught/annoy other road users, then why not.

If there is one thing that bugs me it's stopping at lights, only to watch another cyclist shooting through.

 

[magnatom]

I will jump red lights if the coast is clear , or if i think its safe ! I also will hop onto the pavement if the way is blocked I also drive a car and it doesnt bother me in the slightest if i see other cyclists doing the same.

But it does bother a lot of drivers. I had a colleague the other day moaning about bl**dy cyclists RLJing etc. Yes he was generalising and I pointed that out to him, but he does have a point.

Of course I also asked him what percentage of drivers break the speed limit....

 

[magnatom]

If a tree falls down in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

If a cyclist goes through a red light at four in the morning and no one sees, does it matter?


Obviously if the road is deserted and it's stupid o'clock in the morning, and you aren't going to be caught/annoy other road users, then why not.

If there is one thing that bugs me it's stopping at lights, only to watch another cyclist shooting through.

What if you are driving a car? Would you drive through it at silly o'clock? I'm not getting at you, just genuinely interested.

I should add, I have on one occasion run a red light. It was a light that had a sensor that didn't seem to be detecting me. I'm not saying that there aren't circumstances where jumping a red light isn't ok, or even the only way to advance, however, in general, I can't understand why, even during the middle of the night, what the rush is, and why waiting for a couple of minutes is so difficult.

 

[simongrant]

Also; some lights are on ferro-magnetic sensors that do not detect cycles - so you would be sat there all day until a large steel object i.e. a car pulls up.

Great point,i have one of these at a crossroads near my place of work and doing a 2-10 shift on the way home there is very little if any traffic behind me,hence in the past i have waited 5-10 mins or so for a car to come along before the lights change,now i tend to wait a couple of mins before edging out looking left and right and ahead before taking the right turn.The road that crosses in front of me is dead straight for ages so no chance of vehicles coming at speed around a bend etc and me not seeing it.I wonder if there are any devices that can be attached to a bike to change the lights?????
ps,i did phone the council about this and they said in this situation treat the lights as if they are out of action because to all intent and purpose they are for you.
Simon

 

[wafflycat]

Jumping red lights is not clever and not necessary, either by cyclists or motorists. In my neck of the woods I see more RLJ by motorists than cyclists.

 

[simongrant]

Jumping red lights is not clever and not necessary, either by cyclists or motorists. In my neck of the woods I see more RLJ by motorists than cyclists.

Wafflycat,please read my post and explain how its not necessary given my situation,or are you saying its safer for me to walk across the same junction(in cleats)or carefully go to the edge look both ways and ahead before progressing,BTW this is the only occasion where i do go through a red light and its not everytime,sometimes they are on green for me if the last vehicle through was on the same approach as me,and will remain on green until traffic comes in anther direction i presume.

ps,i always stop regardless and then having waited make a decision on what to do If i see lights in the distance behind me i will wait everytime.