Will this make the roads safer?

[gambatte]

This guy was legaly driving at the time he killed a pensioner yet had 65 previous convictions.... if only he had been banned from driving for a lifetime after conviction 10, 20, 30 etc

Right quote, Cunobelin?

I don't see any ref to a pensioner and the incident quoted doesn't look like he was driving legally?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

What hurts more getting hit by a car or a bike - I know what id rather get hit by - Jon Ponting your a disgrace to cycling / cyclists !

The cyclist really should have been aware that getting hit by a car hurts and been on his guard. I know I am when I ride. What you'd rather get hit by really isn't relevant to this. Jon (sic) Ponting isn't a "disgrace to cyclists" merely for mentioning this Yenners, do grow up.

 

[HLaB]

Occasionally there is a real justification for a lifetime ban on driving. At some point you have to realise that the individual through arrogance, stupidity or is incapability is a danger to other road users and a ban is appropriate...

This guy was legaly driving at the time he killed a pensioner yet had 65 previous convictions.... if only he had been banned from driving for a lifetime after conviction 10, 20, 30 etc

4 years jail, although not enough IMO is harsh when you compare it to that idiot who only got 2 years.

 

[HJ]

a life time ban does seem very harsh in a society that is so reliant on the car

As someone who hasn't owned a car for nearly 15 years, I would disagree that society is total reliant on cars. It is to often forgotten that driving is a privileged and not a right.

 

[yello]

and, equally, isn't a "harsh" punishment called for?

 

[mootaineer]

I used to do a bit of "safe" RLJing when I gained confidence in my commutes.
This year with the rumour that the police are going to be stricter (and the greater wisdom and appreciation of life that comes with being a year older) I've stopped.
I may be up to 5min slower getting to/from work but I still arrive in 1 piece and I've decided it's not worth it, at least not for me. I'm also less stressed, although I still come across some silly car drivers.
I have to admit some of the light sequences just seem plain stupid though. Especially riding between Piccadilly Circus and Regents Park sometimes you stop at every light!

 

[John Ponting]

and apologies to ALL OTHER members for a response that is more suited to soapbox.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Ponting the kid was 19 years old. Thanks to that selfish bitch, he's never going to get the chance to learn from his mistakes. Shut up.

 

[ufkacbln]

Sorry - was the wrong link, I had a series that I googled - including one fro the Sun of a 39 year old with 250 odd convictions, 71 driving whilst banned and 4 bans running simultaneously......

But I thought this might be an extreme case!

 

[domtyler]

What hurts more getting hit by a car or a bike - I know what id rather get hit by - Jon Ponting your a disgrace to cycling / cyclists !

OK the cyclist WAS wrong in going thru the red BUT whos paying now...

And if anyone thinks i mean the driver

Essentially you are right, I believe that being in charge of a motor vehicle imbues a person with a large responsibility. Handled incorrectly, dangerously or negligently they can be and frequently are lethal. The same cannot reasonably be said about pedal cycles.

Whatever your thoughts on red light jumping, essentially a set of traffic lights is just an automated means of cycling through priorities at a junction, the roads would still be able to function perfectly adequately and safely without a computer holding a stopwatch in charge.

Sailing through junctions in a large car, travelling at far above the speed limit and far in excess of that needed to kill a person while fucking around with a mobile phone is far and away the more dangerous and selfish of the two 'crimes', in my mind they are barely comparable.

Ergo, Ponting, you are the tosser here, not the excitable but loveable Yenrod.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Ponting the kid was 19 years old. Thanks to that selfish bitch, he's never going to get the chance to learn from his mistakes. Shut up.

I knew enough at 19 to know that it was incumbent upon me as a road user to look out for my own safety as well as that of others. Good lord, I'd been driving for two years. Had the roles in this case been reversed I doubt you'd have been excusing the driver on the grounds of her age.

 

[Tynan]

I don't jump reds at all any more although I used to, anyone jumping a red gets no sympathy from me if they come unstuck I'm afraid, they're red for a reason

 

[Maz]

I suggest that rlj on a bike can routinely be done perfectly safely...

...anyone jumping a red gets no sympathy from me if they come unstuck I'm afraid, they're red for a reason

Make your mind up.

 

[BentMikey]

Maz, those two statements are not incompatible. I also think the same way, RLJ probably isn't massively dangerous, it's just taking a small risk. I don't RLJ either.

 

[Tynan]

Make your mind up.

as said, they stand together

the word 'can' in the first statement makes it work with the second

rlj done with awareness and best of all knowing the lights can be done very safely, done without those two things it's dangerous, plenty of rljers push their luck