Comments on: Red, white and green

By: I’ve got a bike, and I’ll ride it how I like « Come On Up To The House

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:13:39 +0000

[...] Velorution article gives the precedent in Utah, where cyclists can treat a red light as a ‘Yield’ [...]

By: mdn

mdn — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 09:56:43 +0000

Do you have any idea why cyclists do not stop at red lights?

1. They don’t because: Thay may be hit by another driver, coming from the back when a cyclist is standing on the red light.

2. The cyclists don’t want to sniff the fumes and other polution that comes out of the car’s ‘black eyed peas’

3. We don’t want to waste energy that is required to ‘accelerate’ from the lights. We are not equipped with the engine !!!!!!!, The Human muscle power is not endless!!!!!!!

For Example: I may travel through the city center of London, as well as the outskirts of it to Cambridge and then from the university town back to the capital ONLY when I SAVE MY ENERGY!!!!!

Stopping at reds is not a good solution to save some power.

Cheers, mdn

By: Velosopher

Velosopher — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 22:57:51 +0000

I’m with Keith on this. We’re road users like anyone else. Stop signs and red lights exist because it’s necessary to give priority to the flow of traffic in turn in different places.

I almost got into an accident (on my bike) with a cyclist that ran a red light. No thanks. Follow the rules. http://www.johnforester.com

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:38:42 +0000

Actually, If you read the Highway Code, UK cyclists ARE legally obliged to stop at red lights. They are, after all, a road user. If a Police Officer sees you jumping the lights he or she can, and probably will fine you. It’s only apathy that prevents them from doing so in most cases. You can also be fined for speeding, as a friend of mine was, just after he’d tail-ended an articulated lorry and bitten his tongue almost in half…

The fact that many of us don’t follow the law to the letter proves we have the same disregard that motorists have for rules and regulations. There’s also a little bit of self-defence in there as well.

Adult cyclists riding on the pavement really set my teeth on edge. The buggers should be kicked all the way to gaol.

By: Rory

Rory — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:53:48 +0000

I agree with the idea of modifying the law for cyclists to yield at red lights.

Cyclists who jump a red light or ride on pavements at speeds endangering pededestrians should be fined, cyclists who first check for the space before jumping a light should be allowed to do so.

Is jaywalking illegal in Britain? There is not alot of difference between cyclists and pedestrians in the danger to other road users they represent, so the laws should reflect this.

The Stopatred website is hogging the debate, someone should create a new website petition; redmeansyield.com

By: Londonist

Londonist — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:31:49 +0000

Cyclists And Red Lights – The Debate Continues

At the end of last month we posted about a parent’s groups who were protesting over cyclists’ behaviour at red lights in Stockwell. It’s always a controversial topic this one, and the comments we received on that post confirmed that. Andrea from the…

By: gwadzilla

gwadzilla — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 04:16:16 +0000

oh….
when I drive my car I drive within an acceptable increase of the speed limit
as driving the speed limit is dangerous and incites road rage
I know…. I tried it
it was dangers for all around me
and worse yet me
but… when I make my complete stops at stop signs at the stop line
then check for clear passaage
I almost always grit my teeth as I see the car behind me nearly rear end me
as they seldom expect someone to drive in such a sensible fashion

okay
back to my own blog
I have not posted there in a few days
guess it would be more sensible to rant there instead

good day
and
good night

By: gwadzilla

gwadzilla — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 04:12:38 +0000

ah…
the old Stop Sign debate
car drivers exceeding the speed limit always yell at me to stop at the stop signs
when I am doing just as they are doing… modifying the laws a bit
the only difference is that I have not removed common sense and common courtesy out of the equation
I am viewing the sign as a yeild sign
giving other users the right of way, the right to their space, and most importantly their right to safety
speeding cars move about the city as if they were old steam engings with cow catchers attached to their front bumpers
forcing pedestrians and cyclist to fend for themselves

for the most part…
a cyclist running the stop sign is moving to everyone’s advantage
the momentum favors the movement of traffic
if I made complete stops at each and every stop sign
not only would it defeat the purpose of moving about the city via bicycle
but
there would be a line of cars waiting for me to make my complete stop
the for me to slowly regain momentum and then top speed

I would like to see cars make a complete stop at stop signs…
rather than rolling through the stop line
walkers, joggers, women with strollers, small children, and cyclists are all at risk from the ignorant movement of the average car driver (I can only speak of the assholes in the united states)
seems that the car drivers here in the states are all stuck in auto-pilot
and they have lost some of their sensibilities
I think that they need to
hmmmm… was it the beastie boys that said
“you better check yourself before you wreck yourself”?
or worse yet
before the wreck someone else

the worse case scenario is aweful
but someone blocking the box is bad enough

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 03:09:33 +0000

Car drivers are killers, some of them are quite open about their pathological hatred of cyclists. It is ridiculous to try to “deal with those motivations one by one” These are people who are so selfish they are destroying the whole planet just because they are too lazy to walk or pedal.

Cyclists should always have priority because we aren’t polluting the planet and our vehicles do not endanger anyone. The right to jump red lights should be enshrined in law, that would stop motorists complaining about us breaking the law.

By: Max Christian

Max Christian — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 14:38:28 +0000

Hmm, I find myself disagreeing here. Drivers aren’t going to go away anytime soon, and in any case when they do there won’t be an debate left to have. They are allowed to get away with murder because this is a democracy and the nation has decided, wrongly in our view, that the incalcuable human cost is worth it for the convenience of the car. That will not change during the age of the car; we have to share the roads with these people for the time being and that means give and take. We need to find out what motivates the drivers who think that cyclists don’t have any right to use London’s roads, and who demonstrate that in their driving, and we have to deal with those motivations one by one. I’m sure jumping red lights is one of them.

(Disclaimer: I’ve only been riding a few months and have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.)