Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Denny
Posts: 1
Joined: 22 Jan 2019, 10:24am

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by Denny »

If it's safe to do so, what is the problem : :D
londoncommuter0000
Posts: 207
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 10:36am

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by londoncommuter0000 »

MikeF wrote:
kwackers wrote:Doesn't matter how many times you repeat it, not only does everyone not obey the rules but it turns out very few do and when they do for most people they simply cherry pick the ones they obey and the others are just cheeky little misdemeanours - unless done by a cyclist when it makes their anti-cyclist neurons fire like crazy.

Indeed. How many motorists stick below speed limits? A cyclist jumping a red light or riding on the pavement is usually just an irritation, but a the same by a motor vehicle is a danger. Even a cyclist getting ahead of a stationary queue of motor vehicles by using a cycle lane can be an irritation to some motorists, especially when they passed me half a mile back.

On two occasions recently I stopped at pedestrian controlled lights, only to be overtaken by a car.


Has anyone ever seen a motorcyclist stop before the bike box? I haven't.

Every evening, I get in from my commute, shower and change and then zen out for half an hour, before heading to pick up my wife. On the way from here to the station, it's a long, windy road with a 30 mph limit. So I'll get onto that road and settle in at 30 mph. And every day, it's the same. The cars in front of me will vanish into the distance. A glance in my rearview mirror shows a car half a mile behind, and then twenty seconds later, he's so close that I can't see his headlights.
--
Surly LHT | Genesis Flyer | Giant Defy Advanced Pro | CBoardman 29er Pro
London is a cesspit
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by mjr »

londoncommuter0000 wrote:Has anyone ever seen a motorcyclist stop before the bike box? I haven't.

I have, but not in London!

Every evening, I get in from my commute, shower and change and then zen out for half an hour, before heading to pick up my wife. On the way from here to the station, it's a long, windy road with a 30 mph limit. So I'll get onto that road and settle in at 30 mph. And every day, it's the same. The cars in front of me will vanish into the distance. A glance in my rearview mirror shows a car half a mile behind, and then twenty seconds later, he's so close that I can't see his headlights.

Don't let them get you down or bully you into crime. There's a heck of a lot of blue/white police tape across the hedges around here from similar drivers.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by thirdcrank »

I fancy that some motorcyclists go on internet forums where they agree that it's ok to ignore those bits of the law that don't suit them.
User avatar
The utility cyclist
Posts: 3607
Joined: 22 Aug 2016, 12:28pm
Location: The first garden city

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by The utility cyclist »

Demonstrably motorcyclists kill and maim with much greater regularity than people on cycles, the rules/laws for people on bikes should be different, even with the so called ninja cyclists, lycra mamils and all the other types that are 'nearly killing' someone (and basically anyone that travels over walking speed within a few feet of a ped) as a mode of road user 'we' still manage to harm less than pedestrians do to themselves when the two groups come together.
Motorcyclists don't, so should be held to the same rules as other motorists, not that they do in any case except maybe for junctions/roundabouts where they are far better than the tin canners.
kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by kwackers »

The utility cyclist wrote:
Motorcyclists don't, so should be held to the same rules as other motorists, not that they do in any case except maybe for junctions/roundabouts where they are far better than the tin canners.

Cyclists kill people.
Motorcyclists kill more.
Cars kill most.

If cyclists have special rules because they kill less than cars then why can't motorcyclists have rules part way between the two?
Why do they have to be held to the same rules?

Motorcyclists (particularly small ones) have a lot of the same issues cyclists do.
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by [XAP]Bob »

We're not held to the same rules already... The bigger problem is the complete lack of policing of the rules that exist, with particular emphasis on those infringements which cost lives and livelihoods.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by drossall »

londoncommuter0000 wrote:Has anyone ever seen a motorcyclist stop before the bike box? I haven't.

Yes. Happens quite a lot in London. So, however, does the situation in which the cars and motorbikes are in the bike box, and the cyclists are across the bike line and possibly across the junction. And at one junction I know, cars and buses consistently ignore lights going red (let alone amber), and block the pedestrian crossing when it's on green.

It's hard to see that any group are angels, but they all have plenty who obey the rules.
Cyril Haearn
Posts: 15215
Joined: 30 Nov 2013, 11:26am

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Saw a bus leaving my leafy suburb stopped far into they bike box
Fortunately there is a cycle lane on the pavement too, I always use that
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by drossall »

Sometimes it's just that a driver misjudged what would happen in front and was forced to stop there. Better that than threaten pedestrians whose turn it is to cross at the lights.

But sometimes it's not.
Ryan1967
Posts: 5
Joined: 29 Jan 2019, 4:02pm

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by Ryan1967 »

I never jump traffic lights when cycling- if you cant do it in a car due to safety why should we do it on a bike- i have had first hand experience of when i was on my bike waiting at a red light and another men completely ignored it and as he skipped it a car came across from the other side and hit him clean off!, - so never expect it to be safe even if it looks it!
londoncommuter0000
Posts: 207
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 10:36am

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by londoncommuter0000 »

Ryan1967 wrote:I never jump traffic lights when cycling


Ditto.
--
Surly LHT | Genesis Flyer | Giant Defy Advanced Pro | CBoardman 29er Pro
London is a cesspit
User avatar
The utility cyclist
Posts: 3607
Joined: 22 Aug 2016, 12:28pm
Location: The first garden city

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by The utility cyclist »

kwackers wrote:
The utility cyclist wrote:
Motorcyclists don't, so should be held to the same rules as other motorists, not that they do in any case except maybe for junctions/roundabouts where they are far better than the tin canners.

Cyclists kill people.
Motorcyclists kill more.
Cars kill most.

If cyclists have special rules because they kill less than cars then why can't motorcyclists have rules part way between the two?
Why do they have to be held to the same rules?

Motorcyclists (particularly small ones) have a lot of the same issues cyclists do.


But we are a cycling forum for one thing, so we discuss what we can/should consider for our group/type of road user, secondly motorcyclists are massively different to people on bikes in terms of harm to others, that you can't see that is baffling in the extreme. :?
Pedestrians kill more people than cyclists, mobility scooter users kill more people than cyclists, how about traffic lights and motoring laws for these road groups?
Maybe not applying the same rules for one group would actually prevent deaths of these vulnerable road users, or are you suggesting we should ignore the facts and the possibility fo saving lives or reducing the numbers of life affecting serious injuries??

You're stuck in the rigid format of what has gone before, to make things better for all, especially the vulnerable where changes in rules will have a positive effect on their safety AND importantly encourage others to convert to using a cycle as transport then we need to change the rules!

Some countries have already done that, why is it so difficult to grasp that changing the rules for different groups can be beneficial?
kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by kwackers »

The utility cyclist wrote:But we are a cycling forum for one thing, and secondly motorcyclists are massively different to people on bikes in terms of harm to others, that you can't see that is baffling in the extreme. :?

What's a cycling forum got to do with this?

Motorcyclists massively different, really?
Is a small motorcycle any different to a bicycle really? Sure it's heavier but whereas small motorcycles can struggle to hit 30mph bicycles are essentially unlimited, certainly I've frequently managed well over that. They're also more likely to have working brakes, not be using pavements or making poor use of shared routes.

And what about electric bicycles?
The utility cyclist wrote:Pedestrians kill more people than cyclists, mobility scooter users kill more people than cyclists, how about traffic lights and motoring laws for these road groups?

Lets be slightly more sensible here. How many people per million miles travelled do pedestrians ksi?
Using the same criteria how many do cyclists ksi?
See, there's a problem here that cyclists generally don't want to face. Per mile travelled they're not actually that safe when it comes to injuring fellow road users.
Even with serious injuries or death they've not got much to shout about even compared to cars and motorcycles. They're better, but not by as much as you might think.
The utility cyclist wrote:Maybe not applying the same rules for one group would actually prevent deaths of these vulnerable road users, or are you suggesting we should ignore the facts and the possibility fo saving lives or reducing the numbers of life affecting serious injuries??

I'd rather suggest I'm not ignoring the facts.
If one vulnerable group wants special treatment then why shouldn't another get special treatment?
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: Cyclists ignoring traffic lights

Post by robing »

Denny wrote:If it's safe to do so, what is the problem : :D

None whatsoever. No different from a pedestrian crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing on red if there is no traffic.
Post Reply