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Cyclists to be awarded equality with motorists.

Why do people spend huge sums of money on a car and are then so desperate to get out of the ficking things ASAP?
Because, as it was explained to me during my training, most people behind the wheel are not drivers. They are pedestrians trying to get from A to B with the minimum inconvenience or effort. If you watch them with that in mind you will understand their actions. Driving and particularly stopping very close behind the vehicle in front; works on foot but not in a car. Trying to squeeze through gaps which would require turning sideways; works on foot but not in a car. Not looking at road markings or signs. And many more examples.
 
As a pedestrians, crossing with a light I think your allowed to drop kick red light runners. No one would blame you for protecting yourself from an errant cyclist. Certainly not me and I'm a cyclist.
 
Followed another cyclist on the last stretch home, we stopped at every light, later saw a car run a red right in front of me. Our group also had a car pull in front of us, can’t blame him, there were only about 20 of us so no way could he have seen.

Despite the above ‘evidence’ I don’t think all cars run red lights or all drivers don’t look.
 
Followed another cyclist on the last stretch home, we stopped at every light, later saw a car run a red right in front of me. Our group also had a car pull in front of us, can’t blame him, there were only about 20 of us so no way could he have seen.

Despite the above ‘evidence’ I don’t think all cars run red lights or all drivers don’t look.
Not sure what your point is. Since that’s a post made closely after mine is it somehow related? At no point did I say or imply all cyclists jump red lights. You do give the impression here you think it is fine for cyclists to jump red lights. It isn’t. I see cars doing this too, not as many as cyclists, though.

Let me ask you a straight question. If I had been hit and injured by that cyclist yesterday while I was crossing on a green man, what action do you think appropriate for the cyclist? Assuming he is also sufficiently damaged to not scarper, there is a witness and a cop to hand quickly enough, that is. Please no whataboutism. Just tell me what should happen to the cyclist.
 
There s no way on earth that drivers are jumping more red lights than cyclist s, lol. certainly not by the evidence of my own eyes !. Though for a motorist
to do so ( mass of steel ) is even more dangerous than 2 wheeled man doing it.If everyone could be more considerate of others ?. Thought for the day
 
One thing that genuinely scares me around here is the number of clearly stoned drivers. So often a car will pull up at the lights accompanied by a huge skunk stench. I’ve never liked dope, just not a drug I’ve ever got along with (plus I’ve seen it destroy friends), but I know enough about it to know how it screws up perspective and reaction times at least as much as drinking a hefty dose of alcohol. It doesn’t make the person as aggressive, but I’d say at least as likely to make a mistake and kill someone. No idea how the police deal with it.

It’s a consequence of leaving road policing to cameras - speed and ANPR. The messaging is: ‘don’t speed, or fail to have tax or insurance and you’ll be ok’. Cameras can’t detect drugs or drunks.

This, Tony. Generally, my ilk from the 90's might not have been 'liked' that much, but the 200 or so that I trained between 1991 and 2000 knew their stuff. FYI I was a qualified (CIPD) trainer, and also was asked to run traffic patrol courses, Intoxylizer courses and specialist (HGV and PSV courses).

Spotting a driver on drugs isn't easy. Spotting a driver that's not driving correctly is. Therefore always worth a pull and chat, time allowing.
 
This, Tony. Generally, my ilk from the 90's might not have been 'liked' that much, but the 200 or so that I trained between 1991 and 2000 knew their stuff. FYI I was a qualified (CIPD) trainer, and also was asked to run traffic patrol courses, Intoxylizer courses and specialist (HGV and PSV courses).

Spotting a driver on drugs isn't easy. Spotting a driver that's not driving correctly is. Therefore always worth a pull and chat, time allowing.
Spotting them on drugs is pretty easy, you just have a little drive round certain areas of the Peak District, they will be parked up on lay-bys. Remarkable how often I see it when out cycling on an evening;)

Lack of patrols is the problem.
 
There s no way on earth that drivers are jumping more red lights than cyclist s, lol. certainly not by the evidence of my own eyes !. Though for a motorist
to do so ( mass of steel ) is even more dangerous than 2 wheeled man doing it.If everyone could be more considerate of others ?. Thought for the day
That is not evidence. Just a biased observation, we all confuse the two.
 
Spotting a driver on drugs isn't easy.

Round here you would just need to stand at traffic lights, the skunk stench is so obvious and it really is widespread. It is absolutely everywhere. I assume the police would class a driver as being on drugs if anyone in the car was smoking a joint? I remember back in the ‘80s regularly becoming impaired just through passive smoking by being in the room with users.

PS For clarity I am not anti-drugs. I believe in full legalisation and appropriate taxation just like alcohol and nicotine, but driving or operating dangerous machinery is obviously entirely unacceptable behaviour on any mind-altering substance and needs active policing. FWIW I’d very much like to see random drug-tests in the HoC as it is pretty obvious there is widespread cocaine use in there!
 
When we talk about ‘running a red light’ what do we mean? In the case of cyclists, my anecdotal observation would be that some cyclists approach a red light with no intention of stopping and, if traffic allows, will cycle through. And especially, as Brian notes, when it’s a pedestrian crossing not a junction. With cars, it tends to be chancers who could have stopped when the light changes from amber to red, but don’t. There’s a difference in attitude evident in that.
 
The above exactly my point. If not mad, very few car drivers go through a light that is red as they approach. Some chancers just do as it turns red, but lights are set so that normally, the other traffic flow won’t see a green until even those idiots are clear or clearly in sight.

However a large percentage of cyclists will ignore a light that is red as they approach, simply weaving through the crossing traffic or using the pavement etc. Both are breaking the law ofc.
 
When we talk about ‘running a red light’ what do we mean? In the case of cyclists, my anecdotal observation would be that some cyclists approach a red light with no intention of stopping and, if traffic allows, will cycle through. And especially, as Brian notes, when it’s a pedestrian crossing not a junction. With cars, it tends to be chancers who could have stopped when the light changes from amber to red, but don’t. There’s a difference in attitude evident in that.
Thats funny I was thinking the very same thing as I was watering my garden just now, 2 shay !. Also I find personally that lycra clad man is quite good at stopping on a red.
Its the sit up and beg type bikes and others that are pretty useless. If they were just ambler gamblers, then maybe not so bad ?
 
Seeing as people here are posting all sorts of anecdotal accounts of almost being hit by a cyclist from years ago, check out this actual dashcam footage of a Porsche driver from a couple of years ago that killed a pregnant teacher and tell me that cycles are equal to cars.

To suggest that there is any degree of equivalence is like saying you should get a firearms licence for a toy bow and arrow. This is 2 tons of metal capable of doing ridiculous speeds that any idiot could walk in and drive away. If anyone is suggesting that cylists have to be insured and registered, then, by applying the same thresholds of risk mitigation, cars should be banned.

FWIW, I have witnessed numerous incidents on our local small a and b roads over the last couple of years in which I have seen drivers execute similar, if less extreme, overtaking manoeuvres and it's bloody terrifying.

Maybe I should post this in the adjacent thread about hammering around B roads in Fiesta STs?
 
Well I will confess to cycing through a red light.

In the evening, the lights at the nearest crossroads to home are triggered by an inductive loop. A cyclist does not trigger this loop. There is often very little traffic and there could be a lengthy wait before the lights get tripped in my direcction. I usually stop, look around and wait in the hope it might change, then give up and ride through.

What would you do?
 
Well I will confess to cycing through a red light.

In the evening, the lights at the nearest crossroads to home are triggered by an inductive loop. A cyclist does not trigger this loop. There is often very little traffic and there could be a lengthy wait before the lights get tripped in my direcction. I usually stop, look around and wait in the hope it might change, then give up and ride through.

What would you do?
I’d do exactly the same. There are degrees of wrong in red light jumping, IMHO this isn’t an issue.
 


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