Red light jumping. Ok or not ?

[Brandane]

Ignoring all the drivel and pedanticities above I am in the sometimes camp.

When turning left with good visibility I will sometimes RLJ, remember as cyclists we can hear as well as see whereas in most situations car/van and lorry drivers can-not.

I personally feel after midnight a lot of traffic lights in quiet areas should be switched off. I have known a lot of people to RLJ after midnight and the problem you will get is that someone will rightfully go through a green light without checking whether if it is safe to do so* and there lies a problem. If they had to treat it as a junction then everybody would have to concentrate. Obviously there are situations where traffic lights could and should not be switched off.

*I think if my memory serves me right you should always check the road is clear even when going through a green light anyway.

Obviously I will be in the minority judging from the poll but hey forums are about opinions.

+1 to that.

I confess; I am a RLJer, SOMETIMES! Clearly as has been debated countless times on here, there are circumstances when it is not safe to RLJ, and conversely there are times when it IS. Common sense is all it takes.

FWIW, no I don't RLJ while in the car. That is different. For starters, it is a much bigger obstruction to clear out of the way IF it all goes wrong. IMHO cycling is just an extension of being a pedestrian, and who waits for the green man signal at crossings?

Another point is that it is perhaps debatable whether section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 even applies to cyclists. Here is the wording of the section:

Drivers to comply with traffic signs.(1)Where a traffic sign, being a sign—(a)of the prescribed size, colour and type, or(b)of another character authorised by the Secretary of State under the provisions in that behalf of the M1Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984,has been lawfully placed on or near a road, a person driving or propelling a vehicle who fails to comply with the indication given by the sign is guilty of an offence.

Is a cyclist a "driver"? Is a bike a "vehicle"? I tried to find the answer within the Road Traffic Act, and couldn't find any reference to a bicycle under the various definitions of a "vehicle". If RLJ applies to cyclists, what about skateboards? Prams? There was a stated case in a Scottish court some years ago IIRC, in which a bicycle was deemed to be an extension to pedestrianism and therefore pretty much immune to road traffic laws.

 

[Arch]

seriously it is rude to tell other people what they are thinking. If you have a problem with what they say call them out don't redit and tell them you fixed it for them

I think quoting a post with changes and saying FTFY (fixed that for you) is a common and recognised way of commenting on an opinion on a forum in order to disagree. I don't think there's anything especially wrong with it - I've certainly seen it used on forums where people would get very cross about breaches of nettiquette.


On the subject of red lights, I'm in the Not OK camp. I can see why people argue about lights in the middle of the night etc, personally I'll wait, or if it seems to be struck, I'll probably get off and push through (the one exception being on my recumbent trike, I will hold my hand up to going through a red once, when it had cycled twice with no change for me). But that sort of thing isn't really the problem. The problem is the people who swan through in broad daylight, who either seem not to know there's a rule, or don't care that there is, and often don't seem to care about crossing pedestrians, or other road users. Those are the people who get us all a bad name, and fuel the 'lycra lout' rants. Waiting at a red light will rarely lose more than a few seconds overall on a journey, and indeed most of us will have had the experience of constantly overtaking a jumper, proving that they don't save any time at all. I suspect it isn't the time that matters to them anyway, they simply don't care about rules.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I think quoting a post with changes and saying FTFY (fixed that for you) is a common and recognised way of commenting on an opinion on a forum in order to disagree. I don't think there's anything especially wrong with it - I've certainly seen it used on forums where people would get very cross about breaches of nettiquette.


On the subject of red lights, I'm in the Not OK camp. I can see why people argue about lights in the middle of the night etc, personally I'll wait, or if it seems to be struck, I'll probably get off and push through (the one exception being on my recumbent trike, I will hold my hand up to going through a red once, when it had cycled twice with no change for me). But that sort of thing isn't really the problem. The problem is the people who swan through in broad daylight, who either seem not to know there's a rule, or don't care that there is, and often don't seem to care about crossing pedestrians, or other road users. Those are the people who get us all a bad name, and fuel the 'lycra lout' rants. Waiting at a red light will rarely lose more than a few seconds overall on a journey, and indeed most of us will have had the experience of constantly overtaking a jumper, proving that they don't save any time at all. I suspect it isn't the time that matters to them anyway, they simply don't care about rules.

Well said Arch

 

[Angelfishsolo]

There was a stated case in a Scottish court some years ago IIRC, in which a bicycle was deemed to be an extension to pedestrianism and therefore pretty much immune to road traffic laws.

That may well be the case but I believe Scottish Law is different to that of the rest of the UK in some aspects.

 

[Red Light]

What is the punishment for breaking this one?

Being kept alive in the House of Lords

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Promotion to the House of Lords

FTFY

 

[John90]

I voted sometimes (very rarely) while recognising that it is against the law and in that sense uncontroversially wrong.

On my route to work there is a combined cycle and foot path and at the end a light-controlled crossing shared by cyclists and pedestrians. If it's on red but there is no traffic in sight am I at liberty to join the pedestrians in crossing? Do I stop being a vehicle for that period of time?

Of course, it's not a crossing that motorists can use but that reinforces my view that the law should find a 'third way' for bikes.

 

[Nebulous]

Some very strong views on here - I voted no.

I can't remember ever going through a red light since I restarted cycling. When I was a youngster I used to get off and push across on the green man, but I've never done that recently either. I don't think I've been out at midnight though.

 

[Moderators]

I would just like to remind people to be nice. It's a contentious enough topic of debate as it is without people resorting to personal snipes and insults. So please keep the post on topic.

Thanks.

 

[apollo179]

I would just like to remind people to be nice. It's a contentious enough topic of debate as it is without people resorting to personal snipes and insults. So please keep the post on topic.

Thanks.

Hey where were you when abo called me a moron.
Theres never one around when you need it !

 

[kedab]

i don't do it but i see why some cyclists do in certain situations - if it's the dead of night, if there's blatantly no traffic to endanger you and no chance of you endangering someone/thing else, then i get why it's done. doesn't mean i agree with it entirely though. cambridge is (as most cities are i guess) dreadful for it. and it's not the people i mention above that are the cause of my fury on some of my commutes.

it's the total moron's who will look at the traffic lights as though square in the eye and then just hack (or pootle) through them even if they've been red for 10 seconds or so - with pedestrians crossing the freakin road! oooh it makes my blood boil! the other night on the way home i was extremely vexed by a man who came whipping by me as i was stood at a set of lights (which other cyclists cross from a blind alley on the pathway as though it were an extreme form of 'chicken')...i caught him going up the bridge...next set of lights change with more peds waiting to cross and he has time to brake but doesn't - i catch him again and ask him if he ever stops at ped crossings etc to which he gave a disinterested shrug and continued on his way - no doubt scaring the behjaysus out of the remaining pedestrians in town

 

[gaz]

Hey where were you when abo called me a moron.
Theres never one around when you need it !

If you don't like what someone said about you then use the report button on that post.
Either that or just be the bigger person and ignore them.

 

[kedab]

If you don't like what someone said about you then use the report button on that post.
Either that or just be the bigger person and ignore them.

nothing to so with this gaz but i must say - your website is looking rather swish these days...all your own work mate?

 

[gaz]

nothing to so with this gaz but i must say - your website is looking rather swish these days...all your own work mate?

Not all my own work. Unfortunately I don't have the time to make my own wordpress skin so I modify something else to suit my needs.

 

[apollo179]

If you don't like what someone said about you then use the report button on that post.
Either that or just be the bigger person and ignore them.

TBH qaz i was not being entirely serious.
My views dont seem to conform with the majority on this forum and i accept that i am going to receive the occasional insult when i offer a different opinion.