Riding on the pavement to avoid lights

[redcard]

Is anyone going to admit to doing this? I see one guy most mornings ride up on the pavement whenever the lights turn red. I've no idea what he gains from this, other than getting in the office 20 seconds earlier.

I'm never sure whether to pity him or mock him. What would you do?

 

[snorri]

Ignore him. There must be more pleasing sights to look at on your way to work?

 

[Night Train]

Unless it is a shared path he is riding illegally by hopping up on the pavement.

I, sometimes, have got stuck at lights that won't change. I just hop off the bike and walk it, then get back on once I am past the junction. Legal, safe and quicker.

 

[marinyork]

Used to see it a lot of it on particular junctions in York. There did tend to be local reasons why they did it though.

 

[Maz]

Hmm...I do this sometimes.
Mind you, the 'pavement' in question is actually a shared ped/cycle lane. Then I rejoin the road!

 

[Tiberius Baltar]

I squirted my water bottle at a young fella on Monday afternoon doing just this. He looked shocked and then a bit ashamed as I explained that drivers, walkers and other riders all got annoyed at his riding style plus he was making life harder for cyclists in general. It won't make him stop and he will continue to do it until either a copper catches him or he has a near miss at a set of lghts somewhere.
Im a firm believer that jumping a red light should be punished much more severely than it is and inconsiderate road users should be punished much more so people start realising that a bit of consideration and a bit of proffessionalism on our roads would make peoples lives much more enjoyable.

 

[PpPete]

Riding on pavement (unless specifically signed as a shared bike/ped use) is ILLEGAL.
Doing so to avoid a red light is the mark of a ...













wait for it






COCKWOMBLE

 

[swampyseifer]

What gets on my goat is the number of cyclists who do use pavements to get about, who dont announce their presence with a bell-ring or a friendly call as they're coming. They either zoom past you with a few inches to spare or the first thing you hear of them is the squeaking of brakes as they finally get close enough to realise they wont get past you and have to stop. The latter is made worse by those who then make you feel YOU have done something wrong...I have before been asked "How much pavement do you need?! Fat w@nker" before the chap cycled off to do whatever it is cockwombles do...

 

[ohnovino]

I used the pavement this morning to avoid some roadworks with temporary lights.

200 yards on an empty pavement with nobody about (not even the workers who had caused the blooming roadworks ) and it meant I didn't hold up faster traffic when the lights changed. They should lock me up and throw away the key...

 

[swampyseifer]

[QUOTE 1963578, member: 45"]Those make up a very small percentage of pavement riders that I observe.[/quote]

Dont get me wrong, I wasnt trying to tar everyone who uses the pavment with the same brush...

 

[Tiberius Baltar]

I used the pavement this morning to avoid some roadworks with temporary lights.

200 yards on an empty pavement with nobody about (not even the workers who had caused the blooming roadworks ) and it meant I didn't hold up faster traffic when the lights changed. They should lock me up and throw away the key...

Lets not get this out of hand ha ha ha I'm talking about cyclists who roll up to the red light, disregard the instructions of the highway code then jump up onto the pavement, cross over the junction then drop back down into the road to continue on their way. Its inconsiderate its against the law and it pisses people off.

If you felt it was unsafe to cycle through the roadworks (which I don't blame you for) then you probably did the right and sensible thing. You know the type of cyclists we are talking about and unfortunately its these guys and girls that cause the animosity towards us all wherever we go.

 

[marinyork]

If you felt it was unsafe to cycle through the roadworks (which I don't blame you for) then you probably did the right and sensible thing. You know the type of cyclists we are talking about and unfortunately its these guys and girls that cause the animosity towards us all wherever we go.

That's an assumption. I certainly don't know them.

 

[Tiberius Baltar]

That's an assumption. I certainly don't know them.

Sorry for my assumption lol. Maybe I should have said "we are all aware of this happening and it pisses people off."

 

[Night Train]

Possibly the type and intent of pavement riders varies depending on where they are.

Where I am they tend to be young men wearing hoodies, shorts or trackies, grubby trainers without socks, and riding full suspension bikes with low saddles. They also tend to ride at about 5-8mph with a zigzag motion, a can of lager and a roll up with no awareness of pedestrians, street furniture, signs and signals, or anything else outside of their tiny bubble.

The cyclist who ride on the road tend to be wearing helmets, hi viz and have no awareness of traffic lights or priorities at junctions.

 

[marinyork]

Sorry for my assumption lol. Maybe I should have said "we are all aware of this happening and it pisses people off."

On a small scale. I used to see a fair bit of it (and as I said there were local reasons why they did it). I no longer do. It certainly doesn't piss me off particularly. In fact the number of people who probably bang on about RLJing when large swathes of the country (where there are perhaps fewer cyclists) don't see much of it pisses me off a great deal more . As with many things it's a case of taking a leaf out of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's sacred book and 'I'd really rather they didn't's rather than I'm going to get super angry about it. I'm sure it pisses quite a few people off a great deal, but I'm talking for myself and a few other of us that can't really see what the fuss is about.

In many cases with skipping junctions on the pavement even for cases where people are doing it for perceived risk, it's very hard to explain to some of them that in many cases you're substituting one risk to another (that they may not have taken into account).