Sin bin for red light jumping cyclists

[annedonnelly]

Guardian article - red light jumping cyclists given the option of a £50 fine or watching a road safety video.

 

[Punkawallah]

Will the same principle apply to drivers that do close passes, I wonder?

 

[DRM]

Will the same principle apply to drivers that do close passes, I wonder?

Or the ones that also go through the lights on red, I suspect there's far more cars than cyclists run red traffic lights daily, going on my observations daily anyway

 

[DRM]

This last paragraph speaks volumes at the end of the article
Fyans said most cyclists do follow the Highway Code, but that a focus on bicycle users was “disproportionate” and a result of the rising number of bike users on London’s roads.

“I think there’s double standards quite often,” he said. “We’re not the biggest danger. It’s cars and speeding and drivers not paying attention that kill people on our roads. That’s the biggest challenge that needs addressing.”

Fyans, who works with Wheels for Wellbeing – a cycling disability group – said he understood the dangers for visually impaired pedestrians and wheelchair users.

But can relations between cyclists and pedestrians be improved? “Let’s address it, but let’s be proportionate about what the real problem is,” he said. “Cyclists are not really the main problem on the road when it comes to danger.”

 

[mjr]

Or the ones that also go through the lights on red, I suspect there's far more cars than cyclists run red traffic lights daily, going on my observations daily anyway

Some red lights on cycleways are advisory anyway, at toucan and puffin crossings, which I think should be amber to keep the clarity of red being compulsory, but that horse bolted 40+ years ago.

Then there's all the badly-designed traffic light junctions where it's actually more dangerous to stop before the red light, so this is an awful exercise, punishing cyclists for taking responsibility for their own safety. Many such junctions should have zebras for walkers, to make it clear they always have priority, but that would offend the god of motor vehicle flows and its disciples in the highways departments.

But I expect the police want to curry favour with the tabloid mob, and a few scummy cyclist lives don't matter!

 

[DRM]

Some red lights on cycleways are advisory anyway, at toucan and puffin crossings, which I think should be amber to keep the clarity of red being compulsory, but that horse bolted 40+ years ago.

Then there's all the badly-designed traffic light junctions where it's actually more dangerous to stop before the red light, so this is an awful exercise, punishing cyclists for taking responsibility for their own safety.

But I expect the police want to curry favour with the tabloid mob, and a few scummy cyclist lives don't matter!

There was one set of lights close to me that I would go past the line as there was a sweeping left turn off the main road, where drivers hurtle round, it would go green before the main set of lights I would be stopped at, I felt it would be so easy to be rear ended, and the main road was a short 2 lane section where the MGIF mentality came into play too, so technically illegal, but a damn sight safer option

 

[Rusty Nails]

Or the ones that also go through the lights on red, I suspect there's far more cars than cyclists run red traffic lights daily, going on my observations daily anyway

Punishments only apply for cyclists and cars if they are caught.

Vast majority of both aren't.

 

[Rusty Nails]

punishing cyclists for taking responsibility for their own safety

Because most cyclists going through red are clearly and undoubtedly doing that.

 

[Happy_Days]

Factually, I know that drivers cause more KSIs than cyclists.

But subjectively, cyclists feel more dangerous to me when I’m a pedestrian in central London. And I’ve seen far, far more cyclists than drivers run red lights in London.

It’s causing a problem with how cyclists are perceived, including by the Members of Parliament, government officials and journalists who work in central London. As a consequence of cyclists running red lights, many people perceive us as lawless.

We can’t complain about being “othered” when we other ourselves by suggesting that red lights apply to drivers but not us.

Please stop for red lights.

 

[Drago]

There is already a problem of how cyclists are perceived if this is raising such widespread comment while motorised RLJers fly under the radar, despite cars managing to kill 360 pedestrians every year.

Cyclists could find a cure for cancer and eradicate poverty and we'd still be demonised, because large sections of the media and social media rely on rage-bait to sustain their existence.

Riders shouldn't behave in this manner, but they all suddenly stopped doing so we'd still be the two wheel barsteward offspring of Satan and Jack the Ripper to large swathes of society. The engrenched view of cyclists is too illogical and far too ingrained to be changed, probably for generations, if at all.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

drivers run red lights in London.

Check out any driver in the advance stop box. They have run a red light.

 

[YMFB]

I was verbally abused in a shop today, I was wearing cycling garb. Accused of being a dickhead, like all cyclists!
Im happy to be accused of anything. I also drive a van, car and motorcycle but my attacker wasn’t that sharp, nor was he brave enough to wait for me to finish paying and leave the shop.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

London is London, I get that by the sheer volume of traffic it would be ideal if all user follow the rules of the road, or it's dangerous chaos.
I cycle in Glasgow, which is much quieter, but also has a lot of impatient drivers.
If I use a main road, normally it's outside rush hours.
I admit that early mornings and late nights sometimes I jump red lights, mainly to avoid being left hooked by impatient taxi drivers or vans.
It is amazing how many drivers speed at 6am, some of them I know exactly where they are headed, the same place as me, the local hospital!
If one stops at a pedestrian/cycle crossing at any time of day, you know the ones that go green 3 times for cars before letting pedestrian and cyclists through, one can see an awful lot of drivers red light jumping, taking advantage of the small delay traffic lights have exactly for this reason.

 

[Brandane]

Factually, I know that drivers cause more KSIs than cyclists.

But subjectively, cyclists feel more dangerous to me when I’m a pedestrian in central London. And I’ve seen far, far more cyclists than drivers run red lights in London.

It’s causing a problem with how cyclists are perceived, including by the Members of Parliament, government officials and journalists who work in central London. As a consequence of cyclists running red lights, many people perceive us as lawless.

We can’t complain about being “othered” when we other ourselves by suggesting that red lights apply to drivers but not us.

Please stop for red lights.

There seems to be a common theme through this post - see the bold.
Thankfully, we don't all cycle in London. But even in rural areas of western Scotland, cyclists are hated. Just for being cyclists. I gave up a long time ago trying to appease the (insert expletive here). And I fully agree with the post by @Drago that it doesn't matter what we do, we will always be hated. Coz we don't pay road tax, innit, and don't have insurance, jump queues, and generally do whatever we want. There is a certain amount of freedom from the laws applying to motor vehicles, and rightly so. It's one of the reasons why I prefer cycling to driving! The day it becomes over regulated is the day I give it up.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

There is already a problem of how cyclists are perceived if this is raising such widespread comment while motorised RLJers fly under the radar, despite cars managing to kill 360 pedestrians every year.

Cyclists could find a cure for cancer and eradicate poverty and we'd still be demonised, because large sections of the media and social media rely on rage-bait to sustain their existence.

Riders shouldn't behave in this manner, but they all suddenly stopped doing so we'd still be the two wheel barsteward offspring of Satan and Jack the Ripper to large swathes of society. The engrenched view of cyclists is too illogical and far too ingrained to be changed, probably for generations, if at all.

I agree
but if every cyclist stopped jumping red lights then the media would have less petrol to lob at the fire

It just gives them easy rage bate headlines to keep the fire going

But, of course, if it did happen then they would keep on about it for ages
and your average moron who goes on about it would keep his (mostly) opinion for many years

plus it ain;t gonna happen in the short term anyway

personally I very seldom see a cyclist going through a red light except for the idiots on illegal electric 2 wheeled vehicles
who are not cyclist but the media class them as such when it suits them
but this is not a city centre - if I go into Liverpool I see a lot more
and I am off to London today - reckon I will see more there