Cyclist got fixed penalty notice
Discussion
for riding through a red traffic light at pedestrian crossing in central London, Constitution Hill, at 3.30am Sunday morning.
Offence code 509, fail to comply with ATS - pedal cycle.
Whilst my colleague accepts he has broken a law - and if he was driving would have stopped - he feels that due to circumstances, the offence warranted a warning or caution rather than a £30 fixed penalty notice. The road was very quiet and there were - unsurprisingly - no pedestrians around.
Any thoughts or suggestions as to can this be appealed, or other any other comments would be welcomed.
Graham
Offence code 509, fail to comply with ATS - pedal cycle.
Whilst my colleague accepts he has broken a law - and if he was driving would have stopped - he feels that due to circumstances, the offence warranted a warning or caution rather than a £30 fixed penalty notice. The road was very quiet and there were - unsurprisingly - no pedestrians around.
Any thoughts or suggestions as to can this be appealed, or other any other comments would be welcomed.
Graham
So many cyclists feel that traffic lights simply don't apply to them......well wake up! Trying to cross the road in London's West End for example, when the lights are red is still stepping out into the unknown....cyclists just don't give a sh1t. And when you shout after them, that the lights were red, they just hurl abuse back at you. I have much less than no sympathy towards a large number of cyclists (not wanting to tar every cylist).
Rant over.
Aware that this incident was in the small hours with no pedestrians.
Rant over.
Aware that this incident was in the small hours with no pedestrians.
Guess what? No sympath either.... lucky to get a £30 fixed fine too (though admit that there is little else that could be levied here). All too often cyclists ignore the rules of the road:
1) Riding across pedestrian crossings
2) Ignoring red lights
3) Riding on pavements
4) Not signaling
5) Riding on the wrong side of the road
etc
The highway code applies to all users of the road - and that includes cyclists. Just because they dont use petrol, they think that they can get away with murder..... morons.... next target caravans I say....
P.S. number 1) above is my particular bugbear...
1) Riding across pedestrian crossings
2) Ignoring red lights
3) Riding on pavements
4) Not signaling
5) Riding on the wrong side of the road
etc
The highway code applies to all users of the road - and that includes cyclists. Just because they dont use petrol, they think that they can get away with murder..... morons.... next target caravans I say....
P.S. number 1) above is my particular bugbear...
The Wiz said:
No sympathy sorry. The guy ran a red light. End of story. Its about time that cyclists were forced to obey traffic rules like every other road user.
Agreed, but it does taste of plod who had nowt better to do at 3.30 AM!!!!!, when during the day there are thousands who do this right under BiBs noses!!!!
Keep 'em coming; I work in Holborn and get angry on a daily basis at cyclists at traffic lights ignoring them when I'm crossing on a green man. Often thought a golf umbrella through the spokes might have an interesting deterrent effect, so broadly am in agreement.
Bearing in mind that PistonHeads is a performance car website, would the response be different had it been a car driven at 3.30am on a deserted 3 lane motorway at 95mph, car capable of nearly twice that and perfectly maintained, experienced driver? Stopped and NIP issued.
JMGS4 hits the nail on the head as to why the question was posed in the first place. The irony is that I have never seen or heard of a cyclist being issued with fixed penalty - I do see tens (I would say hundreds if I walked around central London all day) of such infringements, but no enforcement.
>> Edited by grm500 on Tuesday 20th July 12:15
>> Edited by grm500 on Tuesday 20th July 12:17
Bearing in mind that PistonHeads is a performance car website, would the response be different had it been a car driven at 3.30am on a deserted 3 lane motorway at 95mph, car capable of nearly twice that and perfectly maintained, experienced driver? Stopped and NIP issued.
JMGS4 hits the nail on the head as to why the question was posed in the first place. The irony is that I have never seen or heard of a cyclist being issued with fixed penalty - I do see tens (I would say hundreds if I walked around central London all day) of such infringements, but no enforcement.
>> Edited by grm500 on Tuesday 20th July 12:15
>> Edited by grm500 on Tuesday 20th July 12:17
The Wiz said:
No sympathy sorry. The guy ran a red light. End of story. Its about time that cyclists were forced to obey traffic rules like every other road user.
JMGS4 said:
Agreed, but it does taste of plod who had nowt better to do at 3.30 AM!!!!!, when during the day there are thousands who do this right under BiBs noses!!!!
I can see both points of view. But...Who was the cyclist endangering at 3.30 AM? (Bearing in mind we only have one side of the story) Wiz, if you support blanket enforcement of traffic laws without any discretion, then presumably you have no issues with the current speed enforcement policy?
I realise the situation with red lights is different, but crossing a deserted red light is arguably less dangerous than driving a deserted motorway at 80 mph.
As someone who cycles in London I agree with this. There are so many w**kers who seem to think that this is an all out race, rather than a road, with rules that should always apply, regardless of time or mode of transport.
I think there are too many cyclists who are looking to get squashed, and the sooner someone reminds them that they must still obey the rules of the road, the better.
I think there are too many cyclists who are looking to get squashed, and the sooner someone reminds them that they must still obey the rules of the road, the better.
No sympathy from me either. I just wish more cyclists were fined for this - crossing the road outside work (Lower Regent Street) is a deathtrap. Some cyclists go through very fast indeed and i've seen several knockdowns this year alone.
Question for plod: Can we have a crackdown of cyclists ignoring red lights please? A couple of hours standing by the lights outside Lillywhites, Regent Street would be a good start.
Question for plod: Can we have a crackdown of cyclists ignoring red lights please? A couple of hours standing by the lights outside Lillywhites, Regent Street would be a good start.
Quite right (and about time), I've seen a number of cyclists doing this sort of thing right in front of BiB.
For example, police car was at the front of a que of traffic at the red light, (I was the car behind) cyclist went up the left hand pavement, through the pedestrian crossing then after the junction crossed to the other side of the road, mounted that pavement then turned right (still up the pavement).
Result - nothing. Had that been a motorbike the guy would now be in jail!
It's probably pretty harsh getting done at that time in the morning but it should be one set of rules for all.
For example, police car was at the front of a que of traffic at the red light, (I was the car behind) cyclist went up the left hand pavement, through the pedestrian crossing then after the junction crossed to the other side of the road, mounted that pavement then turned right (still up the pavement).
Result - nothing. Had that been a motorbike the guy would now be in jail!
It's probably pretty harsh getting done at that time in the morning but it should be one set of rules for all.
I'm a very keen cyclist and cycle to and from London city centre every day. I also run either 5 or 8 miles every lunchtime and face many cyclists on my route.
Whilst I disapprove of the of a cyclist in the post breaking traffic law, I've also been known to behave in a slightly different manner than if I was in my car. Non-cyclists may not have considered some of these points:
I've come across many sets of traffic lights which have radar to detect cars but appear not to 'see' cyclists - especially temp lights at roadworks. This obviously does not include pedestrian operated lights.
Why can't pedestrians get FPN's for faffing about / looking at tourist attractions on a crossing when the red man is showing? This is an annoyance to all road users.
At what point is a dismounted cyclist actually a pedestrian anyway?
When moving away it is common for a cyclist to wobble about a bit. Should a cyclist be at the front of the queue when there is a red light, I would consider it safer if the cyclist was (legally) able to get a 2 or 3 second headstart.
But when I'm in my car I agree that the majority of cyclists should be fined for some of their actions. Perhaps enough to subsidise car drivers for road tax, MOT tax, Insurance tax, Petrol duty etc etc etc.
Whilst I disapprove of the of a cyclist in the post breaking traffic law, I've also been known to behave in a slightly different manner than if I was in my car. Non-cyclists may not have considered some of these points:
I've come across many sets of traffic lights which have radar to detect cars but appear not to 'see' cyclists - especially temp lights at roadworks. This obviously does not include pedestrian operated lights.
Why can't pedestrians get FPN's for faffing about / looking at tourist attractions on a crossing when the red man is showing? This is an annoyance to all road users.
At what point is a dismounted cyclist actually a pedestrian anyway?
When moving away it is common for a cyclist to wobble about a bit. Should a cyclist be at the front of the queue when there is a red light, I would consider it safer if the cyclist was (legally) able to get a 2 or 3 second headstart.
But when I'm in my car I agree that the majority of cyclists should be fined for some of their actions. Perhaps enough to subsidise car drivers for road tax, MOT tax, Insurance tax, Petrol duty etc etc etc.
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