Stopping red lights

Uhtred · 23 Mar 2011 at 09:27

Why do so many cyclists ignore red lights? You never see a car or even a moped jump a light, why can cyclists?

Today I was nearly hit, yet again, at a pedestrian crossing, and this is not an uncommon event, there are so many cyclists in london and even if there is a green man you have to be on the lookout.

Please can I ask cyclists in OCUK to take care and set an example!

robj20 · 23 Mar 2011 at 09:28

They cant and i dont. I treat everything like i was in a car, except when trying to change lanes and some **** doesnt give way for you to move over.

4T5 · 23 Mar 2011 at 09:29

Zap said:
Why do so many cyclists ignore red lights?

Because they know if they stop we will catch them & they will die. :mad:

apatia77 · 23 Mar 2011 at 10:04

In London cyclists or pedestrians do whatever they please. They just give you a middle finger if you use horn or complain.

And I bet it'd be a drivers/riders fault if you hit anyone crossing at red light as you as a driver/rider did not pay attention or you went too fast.

bloodiedathame · 23 Mar 2011 at 10:39

Grab the bars and take them for a ride.

TheCrow · 23 Mar 2011 at 18:44

Always carry a walking stick with you...any jumpers accidently stick it through the front wheel.

dannycivic02 · 23 Mar 2011 at 20:36

I always wait when im on my bike tbh im glad of the rest

Luke · 23 Mar 2011 at 21:46

Zap said:
You never see a car or even a moped jump a light,!

You need to open your eyes then, I see it multiple times every day.

Draeger · 23 Mar 2011 at 21:59

When I am cycling, commuting to work at 6.00am on my road bike my route takes me through 3 very quiet sets of traffic lights in rural areas. I will fully admit to passing through them on red lights on many an occasion. However.... only when there is nothing else on the road at all those sets of lights. I accept it is illegal but I don't see it causing any harm to anyone if I'm the only road user at those lights at the time.

Busy junctions in city centres with even one other vehicle nearby?. Then nope - I wouldn't do it and certainly don't condone it.

rypt · 23 Mar 2011 at 22:12

Because we do not have smart lights in this country, they stay red after people have finished crossing for instance due to having a set time, rather than detecting people

DanF · 23 Mar 2011 at 23:23

It's good cycle training trying to beat the light skippers over a few miles, let them skip then do a sprint effort on green to catch them back up and pass

crime never pays

Freefaller · 24 Mar 2011 at 12:15

I've been hit by a bike when crossing the road. He came flying off his bike and started to have a go at me. Rather funny, I just walked away - to which he threatened to call the police, and I said, yes please do, in front of all these witnesses of you running a red light and hitting a pedestrian. Funnily enough he picked up his bike and walked away.

Fireskull · 24 Mar 2011 at 12:25

Haha he would have come off better if he had hit a brick wall

Disco Boy · 24 Mar 2011 at 12:28

RLJers as they are called in cycling circles are an absolute pain. They're just selfish ****holes who give the decent, rule abiding cyclists a bad name.

Freefaller said:
I've been hit by a bike when crossing the road. He came flying off his bike and started to have a go at me. Rather funny, I just walked away - to which he threatened to call the police, and I said, yes please do, in front of all these witnesses of you running a red light and hitting a pedestrian. Funnily enough he picked up his bike and walked away.

I remember that story, it was hilarious

Freefaller · 24 Mar 2011 at 13:23

I couldn't remember if I had shared that story or not. Sorry for repeating myself!

Tysonator · 24 Mar 2011 at 13:33

Us cyclists should realised we can not do illegal acts like jumping red lights, or not putting lights on a cycle if we use them at night.
I would not mind paying a small Road Fund Licence for a cycle to be on the road.
At least then we can moan with equal validation that we are a road user as well !

I see this point from a cyclist and a car driver as well.

I have had cars cut me up and cyclist pull dart in front of me at pedestrian crossings, foot paths etc.

Truszy · 24 Mar 2011 at 14:55

I'm a car driver, cyclist (mountain biker, but I cycle the odd road mile to get to them) and soon-to-be motorcyclist. I've never really had a problem with cyclists on the road. Once a kid hopped off a pavement in front of me which gave me a scare, but I can't remember a lot else.

I'll be honest, if I can see it's safe, I'll keep going if I'm on my bike. It's preferable to having a car 1 inch from my ass when the lights turn green and they want to over take me with about 3 inches to spare because of the opposing light/island in the middle of the road.

I encounter tens of unobservant, idiot drivers, every day, making dangerous maneuvers and holding the roads up when I'm in my car. I'm sure this is a given for most drivers. I think the odd couple of bad cyclist incidents are just something different to complain about because they are a minority. I know a lot of car drivers that complain just because they're annoyed cyclists make more progress than them at lights. :rolleyes:

I'm not excusing the idiots that ride into pedestrians at crossings, on pavements or expect cars to give way when they've just ran a red. That's idiotic, but I'm never going to be a road anorak on my mountain bike because roads just get in the way of me getting to the mountains :mad:

[DOD]Asprilla · 24 Mar 2011 at 16:16

Zap said:
You never see a car or even a moped jump a light

You don't get out much do you? I see them jump the lights all the time.

When was the last time you were at a crossing and cars started moving as soon as the amber light started flashing?

When was the last time you saw a vehicle pull up to an advance stopping line across a cyclse reservoir?

When was the last time you saw a car 'amber gamble' and not quite time it right?

I must admit cyclists not stopping at lights annoys me a lot, but it means I have plenty of targets to chase down on my bike. However, as soon as I realised that no-one else gives a toss about the rules of the road it becomes easier to bear.

Dogbreath · 24 Mar 2011 at 17:08

Truszy said:
I'm a car driver, cyclist (mountain biker, but I cycle the odd road mile to get to them) and soon-to-be motorcyclist. I've never really had a problem with cyclists on the road. Once a kid hopped off a pavement in front of me which gave me a scare, but I can't remember a lot else.

I'll be honest, if I can see it's safe, I'll keep going if I'm on my bike.

Would you also keep going through a red in your car or motorcycle if it looked safe?

St0rmer66 · 25 Mar 2011 at 01:51

[DOD]Asprilla;18742690 said:
When was the last time you were at a crossing and cars started moving as soon as the amber light started flashing

You're supposed to do this...

(as long as there are no people in the way of course)