Should police swoop on cyclists who ignore red lights? (ES poll)

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BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
I think RLJing (and I include zebra and other crossings in this as well as traffic lights) can't be as harmless as many cyclists suggest. There are lots of anecdotal stories of people being hit by cyclists, including other cyclists. Even though most are minor injuries, that's still very upsetting. And for the more serious injuries, that just makes me MAD.
 

PrettyboyTim

New Member
Location
Brighton
Cab said:
The fact, as far as I can see it, is that cyclists aren't causing carnage by going through red lights.

I am quite happy for the Police to prosecute RLJers simply for their harassment of pedestrians as they try and cross on the green man, irrespective of the injury they cause when they do collide.
 

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
BentMikey said:
I think RLJing (and I include zebra and other crossings in this as well as traffic lights) can't be as harmless as many cyclists suggest. There are lots of anecdotal stories of people being hit by cyclists, including other cyclists. Even though most are minor injuries, that's still very upsetting. And for the more serious injuries, that just makes me MAD.

The world is full of anecdotes about bad things though. Anecdotes about old people feeling scared to go to the local shops because hoodies hang out nearby. Anecdotes about pavements being impassable because cars are parked there. Anecdotes about people being scared to cross suburban roads because of speeding motorists.

Some of those anecdotes can be readily backed up through use of data, some cannot. Despite all of the complaints about RLJing cyclists I've yet to see any data that backs up the claim that it is causing harm.

Do you want the police to spend their finite resources on things that are demonstrably harmful or things that are only anecdotally harmful?
 
RLJing is a serious problem among cyclists. A significant proportion do it. It is against the law and should therefore be enforced.

Other road users RLJ, it is a serious problem and it should be enforced as well.


Often the police blitz certain types of crime, drink driving, driving up bus lanes, speeding, etc. These blitzs keep the issue in the publics mind and hopefully reduce the incidents of offence to some extent outside the blitz. If it wasn't a problem (i.e. it wasn't happening a lot) the police wouldn't have to blitz it.

Cyclists who RLJ need reminding that it is against the law and will be punished. Therefore I am all for it. If you don't RLJ then you have nothing to worry about. Simple as that.
 

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
PrettyboyTim said:
I am quite happy for the Police to prosecute RLJers simply for their harassment of pedestrians as they try and cross on the green man, irrespective of the injury they cause when they do collide.

So am I. If a police officer sees this happening, then do the cyclist for it. Can't disagree there.

A police 'swoop', actually staking junctions out to catch cyclists breaking the law, requires more resources than just happening to catch someone though. You really think that this is more worthy than, say, spending the same police time preventing people driving on to roads, preventing close overtaking of cyclists, or actually taking data from existing CCTV footage that undoubtedly shows thousands of motorist RLJers (who pose a bigger risk) getting away with it?

I don't disagree with stopping cyclists RLJ, I just don't get why this can be justified as any kind of priority for the police.
 

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
magnatom said:
If you don't RLJ then you have nothing to worry about. Simple as that.

I don't RLJ, but I worry about this because relative to the benefit that could be obtained by spending resources more effectively, I think that such an effort would be a waste.
 
Cab said:
I don't RLJ, but I worry about this because relative to the benefit that could be obtained by spending resources more effectively, I think that such an effort would be a waste.

I disagree. Remember damage is not just measured in injuries and deaths, it is also measured in perception and animosity.

Far to often car drivers throw the old line at you about RLJing. They hate cyclists because they see us breaking the laws that they (and we) have to stick by. That 'bloody cyclists' attitude can lead to dangers for cyclists when the drivers take their animosity out on the next cyclist they see.


So yes I think it is worth the police taking time to catch these cyclists. It might just improve things for us all.
 

PrettyboyTim

New Member
Location
Brighton
My guess is that if the Police didn't get any complaints about RLJing they wouldn't be targeting RLJers, which would suggest to me that it is justified.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
PrettyboyTim said:
My guess is that if the Police didn't get any complaints about RLJing they wouldn't be targeting RLJers, which would suggest to me that it is justified.

I'd agree. And with the level of anecdotal injuries from these cyclists, I'd suggest there is almost certainly a real problem. I just wish the police would also do more on bus and car RLJers as the number of those RLJing would seem to indicate much more work is needed.
 

domtyler

Über Member
PrettyboyTim said:
I don't buy this bollocks that some people are spouting that RLJing on a bike is 'mostly harmless' and prosecution by the Police is petty and they should be concentrating on bigger crimes. RLJing is dangerous, and pedestrians can get hurt or killed by those who do it. Sure, you're more likely to get killed by an RLJing lorry than an RLJing bike, but that's scant comfort to those pedestrians who get hit by cyclists and have to look out for some self-centred twat on a bike despite the fact they're crossing on a green man.

The thing is this: jumping a red light, regardless of what kind of vehicle you're riding/driving can be safe in some circumstances. If you feel that you can safely cross a red on a bike, why shouldn't someone on a motorbike or a car or a lorry, as long as they are careful? The answer is that people can't be trusted to make that decision accurately, even if they think they can.

Lights are there for a reason. They ensure that those who should have priority on the road at that time have it regardless of the ability of the others, as long as the road signals are obeyed.

We can't have some two-tier system where those with the leet skills to cross reds safely have different rules from those who can't. The law must be applied evenly.

This is the biggest load of emotionally charged crap I have read in a long time. The last time was when I accidentally picked up a copy of the Express. Seriously, there is not one valid point in all this.
 

tdr1nka

Taking the biscuit
Some one has to set the trend/example on RLJ'ing, why not cyclists?

All the sh*te I've taken from car drivers, on and off road, over the years because of an ingrained predjudice brought about by cyclists who, most quoted example; jump red lights.

There is a serious lack of courtesy all round on the roads these days and being some of the most splendid and intelligent individuals out there, cyclists should be keen to lead the way to the moral high ground.
(In primary and not going thru no red lights, ya hear?)


T x
 

domtyler

Über Member
magnatom said:
I disagree. Remember damage is not just measured in injuries and deaths, it is also measured in perception and animosity.

Far to often car drivers throw the old line at you about RLJing. They hate cyclists because they see us breaking the laws that they (and we) have to stick by. That 'bloody cyclists' attitude can lead to dangers for cyclists when the drivers take their animosity out on the next cyclist they see.


So yes I think it is worth the police taking time to catch these cyclists. It might just improve things for us all.

Funniest post of the year so far mate that!!! Absolute cracker!

A little test for you, how many car trips do NOT involve breaking the speed limit at least once do you think?
 

tdr1nka

Taking the biscuit
domtyler said:
Funniest post of the year so far mate that!!! Absolute cracker!

A little test for you, how many car trips do NOT involve breaking the speed limit at least once do you think?

Well, that would really depend on wot C*nt wos driving, wouldn't it?


LOL

T x
 
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