Waiting for Red lights in London.

[tablatom]

OK, the back story,
i was a cycle courier in London from 1991 to 1995. In the days when the money was well good vs rent.
Back then i really don't remember many people waiting for red lights, well most couriers didn't.
I moved out of London in 2002.

This week i am working in London Mon to Friday and i am taking the opportunity to commute from New Southgate to kings cross.
Loving being on a fast bike in London again.,
I have noticed how almost all cyclists wait for Red lights.
I am surprised.
Whats changed?
Has there been a crack down by police on this?
There are way more cyclists now than back in the 90's. This is great.
So maybe the proportion of naughty courier types is much lower in the cycle population now?

I think its great that people do stop for red lights, its just a habit i picked up back then that is hard to stop. (pun not intended)

 

[subaqua]

We don't like getting squished

 

[slowmotion]

Arrogant twats don't seem to be regarded as cool anymore?

 

[jefmcg]

I once decided to count the red-light jumpers on my way to work - about 11 miles. That day I didn't see any cyclists doing it, but counted 3 cars.

 

[User33236]

Wish the London attitude to stopping on red would be adopted the the folk of Edinburgh. Since moving here it seems that I am the only one who stops.

 

[srw]

I started riding in London in 1996 when I started working in London. Pretty soon it became clear that only the couriers (then quite a substantial minority) ignored the lights, and in doing so bullied pedestrians out of the way.

Fast forward 21 years and couriers are a tiny, tiny, tiny minority. And still most people respect the lights.

 

[KnackeredBike]

Mass morality. If you are there by yourself the temptation is to press on, if you have to push past seven cyclists to do you look like a bit of a knob.

I sometimes set off for work at 5.30am, at that time there is no-one on the road and I tend to treat traffic lights as advisory (especially as they are so poorly phased). If there was another cyclist waiting at the line I probably would stop though.

 

[subaqua]

Mass morality. If you are there by yourself the temptation is to press on, if you have to push past seven cyclists to do you look like a bit of a knob.

I sometimes set off for work at 5.30am, at that time there is no-one on the road and I tend to treat traffic lights as advisory (especially as they are so poorly phased). If there was another cyclist waiting at the line I probably would stop though.

Nope . Stop at all . The ones not phased right I dismount and walk . No excuses .

 

[Racing roadkill]

It can take a very tediously long time to make any sort of progress through London, if you stop for every red light, it takes even longer if you jump a red and get clipped by a truck.

 

[KnackeredBike]

Nope . Stop at all . The ones not phased right I dismount and walk . No excuses .

Why when there is no-one else around? Other than to prove a point to yourself.

 

[User33236]

Mass morality. If you are there by yourself the temptation is to press on, if you have to push past seven cyclists to do you look like a bit of a knob.

I sometimes set off for work at 5.30am, at that time there is no-one on the road and I tend to treat traffic lights as advisory (especially as they are so poorly phased). If there was another cyclist waiting at the line I probably would stop though.

Back in 1986 I rode to work on a motorcycle and was stopped at a set of lights, on red, at around 6:30am. A police van came alongside and told me off for stopping saying I should be using it as a give way at that time in the morning. That didn't change my opinion and I still chose to stop on red.

 

[Markymark]

I and most stop. Cyclists seem to follow the hc much more than drivers who speed at every available opportunity.

 

[mjr]

I stop at real reds. I don't always stop for toucan and puffin reds because they are advisory. Most real reds on my usual routes can be avoided by cycle track bypasses. We ought to have Idaho Stop rules to avoid relying on crap councils to build them though.

 

[tablatom]

I started riding in London in 1996 when I started working in London. Pretty soon it became clear that only the couriers (then quite a substantial minority) ignored the lights, and in doing so bullied pedestrians out of the way.

Fast forward 21 years and couriers are a tiny, tiny, tiny minority. And still most people respect the lights.

I can say for myself i never bullied any pedestrians in 4 years of being a cycle courier.
Pedestrians back then weren't so cycle aware like now, as now there is much more cycle presence. We couriers used to call Oxford st "open season", as pedestrians would just walk out in front of you all the time, and it was up to you to break or swerve to miss them.

I rode 6 days a week all day, so i saw a lot of goings on. Don't remember much bad manners by the couriers, except for running red lights and fighting with cab drivers who back in those day were still miffed that a lot of their work was taken by the courier companies. I remember getting a cab when my bike broke down, with my bike in the cab. Felt like i was in enemy territory.

 

[classic33]

I stop at real reds. I don't always stop for toucan and puffin reds because they are advisory. Most real reds on my usual routes can be avoided by cycle track bypasses. We ought to have Idaho Stop rules to avoid relying on crap councils to build them though.

Red light on any crossing means STOP, not stop if you feel like doing so.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/2400/regulation/23/made