- This topic has 113 replies, 55 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by johnellison.
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Red light jumping or not ?
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simmyFree Member
Right flame suit on, here goes 😆
Been out on the roads a lot recently due to my local trails being the hiding spot for a wanted man, I don’t fancy tripping over him on my own and, if the Police can’t find him chances are he will find me whilst I’m fixing a puncture……
Anyway, I find I feel less vulnerable moving away from lights just before they turn to green, judging it by watching the opposing lights going red.
This gets me away from that awkward situation when you have to sit it the middle waiting to turn right and also gets away from those lovely people that don’t indicate.
Obviously, I could get in trouble if a police officer saw me do this but, in the etiquette of road riding, would this be as frowned upon as just jumping the lights anyway ?
loddrikFree MemberAm not a ‘road rider’ although I do ride on roads, no problem with jumping red lights, self preservation and all that.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...jekkylFull MemberEveryone does it, try to worry less about what other people think. A check over your shoulder for fluorescent coloured cars before manouvering will suit.
tomhowardFull Memberno problem with jumping red lights, self preservation and all that.
Wait, what?
RscottFree MemberAt 6 in the morning i have no issues doing it outside work but always check for traffic during the day there isnt a chance i’ even try around my way.its easier to filter to the front and get of the line with the traffic,use the space I need and ignore the cars that think I’m a pratt oncethings have got going isimply move to the side to let traffic pass.
crikeyFree MemberI do.
At 6:30 am, with 1 km visibility in all directions, I’m not going to sit there waiting for the lights to change.
As noted last week; a Dutch traffic chappie said that people jumping red lights is an indication that the junction design is crap, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Traffic lights are for drivers who are in need of assistance to drive properly…
FunkyDuncFree MemberDarwin ?
I think it’s ok for cars and trucks to try running lights just as they are turning to red, jees if they are lucky they might even miss the idiot cyclist who has set off before the lights have gone green.
tonydFull MemberSo long as you’re happy with it and feel you’re doing it safely, crack on.
cooganFree MemberGo for it. Can’y say I’ll have any sympathy if you get clobbered.
garage-dwellerFull MemberPlease don’t do it. It gives drivers another excuse to say we are law breaking idiots clearly unaware of their own kinds lawlessness.
Round here jumping a red green transition would be a death sentence. Round here red means stop after another 20 seconds. I have say at green lights watching a stream of cars still turning right across my path against a red light.
IanMunroFree MemberI genuinely don’t get the reason for it. Though I accept I may just be lucky with the traffic lights on my commute. I just occupy the same space a car would, wait the same as a car and accelerate the same as a car. Always feels safe to me.
Last week I saw a cyclist filtered up the inside of three lanes of traffic, stop ahead of the stop line, jumped the lights before they changed then proceeded to veer across the three lanes of traffic as it all accelerated off. All he had to do was get in the right lane in the first place if he was concerned about his safety.HoratioHufnagelFree MemberDon’t be an AMBLER GAMBLER!
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4TDEPP1R9Q[/video]
(in all honesty, sometimes i set up slightly before the lights change, but most of the time i don’t)
orangeboyFree MemberDo not move till the light changes , riding a bike does not give you an exsuse to brake the law
jamesoFull MemberRLJ’ing may be justifiable to yourself, I see the points and don’t necessarily disagree, but on balance the arguments for it are pretty lame. Most drivers don’t get it, don’t care or even use it to justify their own poor attitude towards us. It reflects badly on all of us. It’s inconsiderate for that reason, imo. Red lights are for ‘traffic’ – if you want to be taken seriously or given respect as legitimate traffic, stop at a red light.
I still haven’t heard a convincing argument for jumping lights.
At 6:30 am, with 1 km visibility in all directions, I’m not going to sit there waiting for the lights to change.
well, ok maybe this – if there’s no-one around, it never happened did it )
theonlywayisupFree MemberDo not move till the light changes , riding a bike does not give you an exsuse to brake the law
This ^
I once jumped a red light to get onto one of the busiest roundabouts in Sheffield before the cars. There were no pedestrians anywhere near the crossing. The police officer coming behind on his motorbike didn’t agree with the “self-preservation” excuse and I got a £15-£20 fine.
Lesson learned
CoyoteFree MemberYeah, sure. As long as you are happy for other road users (cars, lorries, buses etc.) to do it then why not? One rule for all is the only way.
postierichFree MemberI come across lights that are on sensors and do not react to me in the early morning so I have no choice but to jump the lights!.Used to run reds all the time on the post bike we are allowed delivering Queenies Mail:-)
pingu66Free MemberLooking at the lights and pre-empting the sequence means you aren’t looking to see if some moron has ran the opposing red who will no doubt be bigger, heavier an moving quicker than you.
Please don’t. First you could get killed, second it’s a really bad example. Yep it’s frustrating waiting for lights sometimes and they might be a crap design but it’s what we have right now.
andrewhFree MemberHang on a minute. Loads of idignation here about how jumping red lights is illegal but there was a thread last week where riding on the pavement was condoned, nay encouraged, by all except me. Why is one form of law breaking worse than another?
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IMHO riding on the pavement is far worse than jumping the lights, the latter generally only endangers the rider, the former many other people.brakesFree MemberThe main reason that I don’t is because it annoys the hell out of drivers, me included, and I don’t drive much.
If I’m sat at the lights on my bike and you go through them on red, the car behind me with the annoyed driver in will have to get past me first. I don’t want an irate driver trying to get past me.
By going through red lights you’re putting all other cyclists in danger.
In a country with growth in cycling we need to do everything we can to make friends with other road users.
If people perceive that cyclists just go through red lights all the time, then that’s what we all do. Perception is reality.butcherFull MemberI think it’s ok for cars and trucks to try running lights just as they are turning to red, jees if they are lucky they might even miss the idiot cyclist who has set off before the lights have gone green.
Let’s remember here that many places have legalised turning left at red lights on a bicycle for the exact reasons the OP states (or right depending which side of the road they drive on). Other places are adopting advanced green lights to give cyclists a head start on the motor traffic, again for the exact same reason the OP states. The advanced stop lines that we’re all used to are there for similar reasons.
Could it not be that the ‘idiot cyclists’ are onto something?
More than once I’ve had drivers try to turn left over the top of me at junctions when I was going straight on…
butcherFull MemberHang on a minute. Loads of idignation here about how jumping red lights is illegal but there was a thread last week where riding on the pavement was condoned, nay encouraged, by all except me. Why is one form of law breaking worse than another?
Because you’re in your rightful place, not holding anyone up. Obviously. 🙄
SuperficialFree MemberI just think of the interval training that red lights provide.
Steve77Free MemberIf car drivers get annoyed at bikes going through red lights that’s their problem not mine. I think red lights should mean give way rather than stop for cyclists and so that’s the rule I follow. If enough people feel a law isn’t right it’s a legitimate form of protest to break it en masse. I’m more than happy to just pay the £20 fine to any policeman that disagrees, but that has yet to happen in 1000s of red lights jumped which makes me think they take it about as seriously as I do
brakesFree MemberCould it not be that the ‘idiot cyclists’ are onto something?
possibly, but at the moment, they are not the rules. and it’s not just about breaking the rules, it’s about everybody understanding the rules. each group of road users needs to understand which rules to follow. if you want to change those rules, idly going through red lights because you can’t be arsed stopping isn’t the right way to go about it.
brakesFree MemberIf car drivers get annoyed at bikes going through red lights that’s their problem not mine
read my post. it’s not just his problem, it’s my problem too as a cyclist sharing the road with him, and it will be your problem when some car driver gets annoyed with you and does something they regret because you’ve agrieved them.
give me a good reason why you need to go through red lights.butcherFull Memberpossibly, but at the moment, they are not the rules. and it’s not just about breaking the rules, it’s about everybody understanding the rules. each group of road users needs to understand which rules to follow. if you want to change those rules, idly going through red lights because you can’t be arsed stopping isn’t the right way to go about it.
I’m more concerned with staying alive than keeping to a set of rules designed around a completely different form of transport.
jamesoFull Member..they’re a set of rules designed around all transport – to stop people crossing paths at 20+mph! But it’s your call – your risk and all of our reputations.
butcherFull Member..they’re a set of rules designed around all transport – to stop people crossing paths at 20+mph! But it’s your call – your risk and all of our reputations.
You’ve never crossed the road before the green man?
DaveyBoyWonderFree MemberI’ve never noticed it before the weekend but twice in the last 3 days I’ve seen roadies (all the kit etc) not even slowing for lights – going through on reds where they’ve been going straight on (so not having to cross traffic, turn right etc).
Either way, they’re doing themselves zero favours with other road users.
jamesoFull MemberLet’s remember here that many places have legalised turning left at red lights on a bicycle for the exact reasons the OP states (or right depending which side of the road they drive on). Other places are adopting advanced green lights to give cyclists a head start on the motor traffic, again for the exact same reason the OP states. The advanced stop lines that we’re all used to are there for similar reasons.
Could it not be that the ‘idiot cyclists’ are onto something?
This is all good and makes sense .. but we’re not there yet. We have the traffic regs that we have. Unfortunately.SuperficialFree MemberPart of the problem that the general public / car drivers have with cyclists is their perceived self-righteous / holier-than-thou attitude. Commuters especially are saving money, keeping fit and saving the environment compared to car drivers, who know this and find it faintly irritating. Add in some self-righteous tool that thinks the rules of the road don’t apply and it just creates friction. And friction is no good for your self-preservation argument.
jamesoFull MemberYou’ve never crossed the road before the green man?
And I never do more than 30 in a 30 zone haha. (Actually I don’t drive, but the point’s the same)
RLJing on a bike isn’t about so much laws, it’s about the fact it makes us all look like idiots in the eyes of so many when we ‘demand space’ in traffic.brooessFree MemberThe law isn’t an option you know? And who’s to guarantee that every time you run a red light, you’ve spotted all the hazards? In the last 3 weeks I’ve seen 2 cyclist run red lights and nearly get killed by traffic coming through on a green and not expecting anyone to be there.
How do you think your friends and family will feel standing around at your funeral or hospital bedside, either getting yourself killed or nearly killed for the sake of a few seconds.
Or the legal bill if you cause an accident…
And thanks for giving the haters the ammunition to justify their prejudices. Yes, thanks very much for that one… makes my riding just that little more likely to end in an ambulance
convertFull MemberI’m in the no crossing junctions when on red camp but I’m in the clip in a few seconds early (assuming you know the sequence) and slowly trackstand/ roll forwards a yard or two over the line, ahead of the cars, ready to do a Chris Hoy at the first flicker of green camp.
CoyoteFree MemberLet’s remember here that many places have legalised turning left at red lights on a bicycle for the exact reasons the OP states
In the UK? We are talking about the UK right?
IMHO riding on the pavement is far worse than jumping the lights, the latter generally only endangers the rider, the former many other people.
If you are riding on the pavement like a knob going for your own KOM then yes, I couldn’t agree more. Considerate riding on a wide pavement where riding on the road could present risk to the rider or indeed endanger life is another kettle of lobsters.
#edit:
And thanks for giving the haters the ammunition to justify their prejudices. Yes, thanks very much for that one… makes my riding just that little more likely to end in an ambulance
This.
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