I despair

[RRS_Staffs]

Grrrr

Yesterday on my commute by bike I watched some tt jump the red light I was stationary for on a bike, then weave in and out of the traffic causing at least one car to stop and sound his horn at him

Now I have just returned from the school run, on foot, and had another nobber ride across the Zebra crossing the kids and I were using narrowly missing us despite 3-4 cars having stopped to give us safe passage

I do a lot of miles on 2 wheels myself and am often frustrated by the lack of courtesy shown to me by car drivers

But with tits like this acting as our PR machine what hope do we have??

Still at least now winters coming they will all fk off back to 4 wheels for a while

Grrr

PS As a rant I would give this 2/10

[scubadude]

Most polite rant I've read on here for a while...

I do agree, not much more irritating than some knob-jockey riding up behind you while you're sat at a red light, squeezes past and across the junctions with a self-satified smirk at you as they pass to say "well I'm not stopping"

Best answered by chasing them down and blowing past if you can.

Its this type of behaviour that makes drivers pull slightly to the left at the lights to stop bikes passing, which is bad enough on a DF but its more of a squeeze on a recumbent as my shoulder is a mirror height :-(

[snowdude2910]

Do people generally stop at red lights on bikes all the time? My commute is quite late at night so may be different for me but I don't stop if there are no other vehicles around. In the day i Do when there are cars and people walking around but at night when I'm often the only road user for miles it seems like an unnecessary waste of valuable momentum.

[TEKNOPUG]

snowdude2910 said:

Do people generally stop at red lights on bikes all the time? My commute is quite late at night so may be different for me but I don't stop if there are no other vehicles around. In the day i Do when there are cars and people walking around but at night when I'm often the only road user for miles it seems like an unnecessary waste of valuable momentum.

I do the same when I'm driving too

Those Red Lights and STOP signs really are optional and just mean "Give Way".

[Saddle bum]

I consider RLJing is taking the piss and gives the tintops an excuse to have their regular rant and press for number plates/compulsory insurance/capital punishment/open season on cyclists.

Despite being an aggressive bike rider, I wish the authorities would hammer these knuckle draggers who make life difficult for the serious club riders.

[mikee boy]

TEKNOPUG said:

snowdude2910 said:

Do people generally stop at red lights on bikes all the time? My commute is quite late at night so may be different for me but I don't stop if there are no other vehicles around. In the day i Do when there are cars and people walking around but at night when I'm often the only road user for miles it seems like an unnecessary waste of valuable momentum.

I do the same when I'm driving too

Those Red Lights and STOP signs really are optional and just mean "Do what the feck you like, you're better than anybody else and the real rules don't actually apply to you. In fact, why do we have rules in the first place. I know better than somebody else, especially when I'm in a hurry, or I kid myself into believing I'm in a hurry.".

Fixed that for ya

[louiebaby]

Haven't we done this before?

Has anyone mentioned how jumping red lights is safer for the cyclist...

[kazste]

My personal rule is I expect to be treated as a road user and must therefore act like a road user.

[Vocal Minority]

Cyclists aren't bad people. Drivers aren't bad people. Fact of the matter is some people are ****holes.

Some of them have bikes, some of them have cars.

I usually sneak up the inside to the front of the queue but 99/100 stop at red lights (the 1 time being at junctions with good visibility with no other road users close by)

[magpie215]

on my commute/during the day

red lights = stop

late at night

treat RL as a give way

[warp9]

I caught up to a guy and was planning the overtake to help my SCR, when we hit a line of stationary traffic. He just pulled into the oncoming lane, forcing the oncoming car to break and flash his lights. Tw@.

I'll take consideration and safety any day.

And no, I didn't better my SCR.

[shalmaneser]

magpie215 said:

on my commute/during the day

red lights = stop

late at night

treat RL as a give way

Must admit that this mirrors my thoughts on the matter, having said that at junctions I will always always stop but pedestrian crossings are fair game late at night if no one is on them.

[Kermit power]

I do get pissed off with pedestrians who press the buttons on crossings, then just waltz across when they see a gap, leaving the lights to turn red at some point after they've fked off round the corner, leaving everyone else to sit watching an empty crossing.

I have no doubt these tossers are the people who then complain most vociferously about cyclists crossing pedestrian lights.

Nothing wrong with people crossing without pressing the button when it's safe to do so, but if you're going to press the button, then have the fking courtesy to wait until the lights change.

[shakotan]

Kermit power said:

I do get pissed off with pedestrians who press the buttons on crossings, then just waltz across when they see a gap, leaving the lights to turn red at some point after they've fked off round the corner, leaving everyone else to sit watching an empty crossing.

I have no doubt these tossers are the people who then complain most vociferously about cyclists crossing pedestrian lights.

Nothing wrong with people crossing without pressing the button when it's safe to do so, but if you're going to press the button, then have the fking courtesy to wait until the lights change.

What an irrellivant post...

At the point that they press the button, it wouldn't have been safe for them to cross regardless. Just because a safe spot appeared, it makes absolutely no difference to you, as you'd have had to stop for the red light anyway!?

[Chris71]

I saw my first red light jumper in ages this morning. It was at a pedestrian crossing with no one on it, so I can't say it was particularly dangerous, but I still felt a bit of revulsion knowing that we'll all get tarred with that particular brush as a result.

Well, I say we... I was in the car for the first morning this week.

[Kermit power]

shakotan said:

Kermit power said:

I do get pissed off with pedestrians who press the buttons on crossings, then just waltz across when they see a gap, leaving the lights to turn red at some point after they've fked off round the corner, leaving everyone else to sit watching an empty crossing.

I have no doubt these tossers are the people who then complain most vociferously about cyclists crossing pedestrian lights.

Nothing wrong with people crossing without pressing the button when it's safe to do so, but if you're going to press the button, then have the fking courtesy to wait until the lights change.

What an irrellivant post...

At the point that they press the button, it wouldn't have been safe for them to cross regardless. Just because a safe spot appeared, it makes absolutely no difference to you, as you'd have had to stop for the red light anyway!?

So it's OK for pedestrians to jump the red light then?

[paranoid airbag]

Kermit power said:

So it's OK for pedestrians to jump the red light then?

Yup. No jaywalking law here.

Regarding the original point, the point made by others above is valid - once the lights pressed, you have to stop, how do you benefit from the pedestrian being delayed? If I may put forward a modest solution - reverse the relationship between the button and the lights. Currently, you press the button anytime you want, there's a ~30s delay in which to cross if safe, then the lights go. What if the lights changed instantly on the button press, but, after turning back to green for traffic, there was a ~30s interval where the button was inactive? Or two buttons, one which controls the lights with no delay and is inactive by default, one which sets a ~10s delay to activate the main one.

Back O/T, is there really anything that could be done about 'Silly Cyclists'? I can see where the numberplate idea comes from...
although there are some fecking useless lights near where I live. I would like to see a 'common sense' approach where if you RLJ and it was obviously safe (from any perspective), you would be legal to do so - and FWIW there's no reason that should be cycle-specific. But that would be very difficult to enforce, once everyone starts turning every trangression into interminable arguing with the officer/camera handing out the ticket.

[AyBee]

louiebaby said:

Haven't we done this before?

Has anyone mentioned how jumping red lights is safer for the cyclist...

You are probably joking, but the only time I jump red lights (it infuriates me in general and I may or may not sometimes make it difficult for people to pass between me and any other bikes stopped at lights by positioning myself slightly sideways ) will be when this is the case. Did one this morning where there were 2 buses and 2 large lorries at the front of the queue and in the bike box at the front so I didn't fancy sitting alongside either!