red light jumping cyclist....

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

I think they should bring in public flogging for people who are caught speeding

Masochists beware!

Originally Posted by anna

so your saying they should pay road tax as well?

I meant rules of the road as in the highway code i.e. dont jump red lights because thats dangerous for themselves, pedestrians who might be crossing the road and other road users.

[Viney]

I like cyclists, mobile chicanes the lot of them

I watched at lesaet 2 cyclists get nabbed for jumping the lights at the Moorgate/london wall junction the other day Proper police pushbikes with flashing lights and sirens and everfing, dead cool.

Sweet, it does happen then.

I HATE cyclists!

if you aint paying road tax you shouldn't be on the road!
i also think there should be some form of test / licence that points could be put on and that they should all have to have insurance!

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Grinch

Sweet, it does happen then.

I've only ever seen City of London Police enforce it - & quite often too.

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by BillyC

I hit a cyclist in this manner in February... silly *******.

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

what? you pulled the front brake so hard your SV flipped over your head and hit him???



good shot

PMSL, excellent work chaps.

Originally Posted by Sosha

A Harley won the traffic light GP??


Ohhh the shame....

no, no the Harley was over on the side he was coming from. If he'd been coming from my side he'd have hit me. And the Harley guy had been riding like a proper idiot before that happened and i was just thinking "that fool needs to learn to ride" but when that happened i was happy he was where he was that day, lol.

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

So to all of you cyclist hating types,

i'd like to clarify that for many, many years i used to cycle everywhere. it was my first set of wheels an my independance. i even used to cycle to school along the A41 on a brilliant peugout racing bike, overtaking cars and buses alike.
Equally in those days there were hardly any bike shops and if i wanted a set of mirrors (which i did) i had to send off mail order to america. yes this was even before the internet existed.
Point i'm making is that i have nothing against any road user regalrdless of there choice of transport, hell i even used to be a white van man for a while so i know that stereotyping is a silly thing to do.

But if you use the roads then use them well and safely for all.... or prepare for Karma to come bite you in the ass like it did to this guy. I womder how many lights he'd chanced that day before that....and just how many he chanced on his way home?

but i still wish i'd had a helmet cam as it was truly You've Been Framed stuff the way he flew over the bars

[Jayneflakes]

Despite my earlier attempts to be a wind up merchant, I can assure you that I am very careful on the road.

But you see, I qualified as a mountain bike leader in 2002. I spent my first few years after uni teaching outdoor education, so I did the whole climbing, walking, biking, boaty stuff for several years.

I for one do stop at the line for traffic lights, I usually go just over it, so drivers of large vehicles can see me though if they are there, I do not jump red lights unless I have a serious reason to do so, eg escaping from a T1t in a car who wants to squish me.

I have been cycling on the roads since 1990 and the only time I was hit was when a Caravan pulling driver crushed me between the curb and his caravan. I was furious because I could have been very badly hurt, but the guy was a P***k who even failed to stop when I came off my bike due to being hit by his caravan. I wish I had got his number plate or smashed one of his windows.

I understand that Switzerland has a plate system for cyclists and they have to pay road tax. If it gave us safe and reliable cycle ways that do not get covered with filth, oil or rubbish and did not turn into Parking lanes for gits in cars with those park anywhere lights, I would gladly pay it. Instead I pay money to Sus Trans, the national Cycle network builders.

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/

Anyway, happy cycling Orgers! Loves ya really.

Well, as someone who regularly cycles and rides a motorbike I have to say that I have occasionally run a red light on my pushbike. I treat them as give way signs a lot, as I don't have a big engine to get me moving again. Momentum is important! I do pick my moments tho, and wait for it to be safe before doing so.

Then again, I have also been known to break a speed limit or two in my time, and I know damn well some of those vociferously demanding that all cyclists who break the rules be punished for it have also. How would you feel if the general response to Crashy McGee time was "You were 5 miles over the limit? deserve everything you get!"

I'm not saying that cyclists should be immune from the laws that we all (sometimes, when there's a police car behind us) follow, but theres a certain phrase about glass houses that applies here...

[BillyC]

Like Bear, I'm a motorcyclist, and a cyclist. Indeed, I covered well over 1500 miles in London over the past year.

I don't condone jumping red lights... it's not good publicity for anyone, and as has been advertised on the back of buses in the capital for a while "jumping red lights kills".

However... I do admit to "pushing a red light". As a motorcyclist in London, I've been trained and tested in how to operate a bike in traffic - and I've got a fair amount of experience at it in London. All this is transferable to a bicycle too.

Too often have I been sat for minutes at a red light, while everyone else sits at a red light, and pedestrians take no notice of crossing points and red/green men anyway. Given an appropriate awareness, I harm no one and raise no risk to myself or others, but cautiously proceeding through a junction.

There's a lot of urban protection provided too... the last place a cyclist wants to be at a set of lights, is the green box in front of all the cars... they want to be against the edge of the curb (protected), about 10 feet ahead of the cars.

Cycle lanes are pathetic - designed for the numpties on the road that wish to cycle, but not actually get anywhere, or don't have a clue about traffic. I've been quite harsh about this before... everyone that wants to use the road, should have to demonstrate a competence and awareness... don't get me started on horses - if only they had the equivalent of an MOT.