[Closed] £700 fine for Brighton cyclist.

Sounds like the actions of a teenager rather than a 53 yr old! link isn't working tho?

Sounds like the actions of a teenager rather than a 53 yr old!

That sounds really really funny when taken in the context of the STW forum.. especially if you substitute the word 'actions' for 'arguments'

I'm totally baffled why people think it's OK to go through a red light when they're on a bike. I've had people whizz past me as I've stood in the ASL box and it would appear that they haven't even checked to see if there's anyone coming from either side. I doubt very much that they'd be able to stop if a vehicle was coming at the normal speed.

And yet, drive banned, with no tax or insurance, and get fined £200 or so.....

that's what I thought PP - he's being 'made an example of' really.

failure to stop was what did it. one way to really get a copper agitated.
all he would have had to do was stop and give it the full 'yes sir, no sir', and he probably would have been on his way with a flea in his ear. either that or make bloody sure you don't get caught!

Run away & they take it personally 🙂

no sympathy - I'm afraid

The fine is out of all proportion, he should appeal.

I've been fined in brighton for riding along the (desserted) esplanade on a rainy october afternoon.

I questioned them why this was such a priority, and basically it's what they get the most complaints from from residents. Ironically there have been three drug related murders within 500 yards of my flat in the past 2 years.

Brighton police have been tasked with getting cyclists to obey the rules, which is fair enough, but I do feel that they get priorities wrong while they try to appease the complainers of Brighton.

To be fair I should really put in a complaint about the drug related murders in the area and something might get done!

Red lights are for car users only surely?

uplink - Member

Run away & they take it personally

no sympathy - I'm afraid

Indeed 😀

Haha. Serves him right. I wish they'd do that to all red light jumpers.

So it's a £700 fine and "serves him right" for riding harmlessly through a red light or a [url= http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/399442/macintyre-s-family-seek-500-000-damages.html ]£500 fine for "careless driving" and killing a cyclist[/url].

He deserves to be fined for allowing himself to be caught by the police, ffs... 🙄

MilitantGraham. I said nothing about the proportionality of the fine. Im just glad he actully got pulled up for it. And yes, it does serve him right in my eyes.

dickydutch, although I quoted you, my reply wasn't aimed at you personally.
I just don't get this idea, that is common amongst cyclists, that if cyclists stopped RLJing, motorists would somehow magically stop killing cyclists, as if the one provoked the other.

MilitantGraham - 'riding harmlessly through a red light'

on this occasion...

The big fine is not for the red light jumping - its for failure to stop

GSuperstar - fined £700

on this occasion...

ha ha. have a mental image of the fella sprinting away from the po po's at full tilt!

You'll never catch me!

ahh balls.

MilitantGraham - Sorry, i wasn't arguing with the point you were bringing up, obviously his actions dont outweigh your example of a lower fine, it was more the impression that his Red Light action was harmless.

MilitantGraham. No problems. And I can sort of see your point. I'm just glad someone has been made an example of at last. NExt time they run a red light, they may well ruin somebody elses life, not least their own.

EDIT - No idea why theres a double post?!

GSuperstar, I get what you mean now.
It's just that there's no mention in the article about causing injury or damage, so £700 seems away out of proportion for the original offences. Like TJ says, the failing to stop bit must have had something to do with that.

Definitely. It would make for an interesting watch if it made it's way to Watch Dog or such 🙂

found guilty of ignoring a red traffic light, cycling without lights, cycling on the pavement and failing to stop for police.

I think the £700 really comes down to the number of offences he managed to commit in quite a short space of time, He’s lucky really he didn’t fail a breath test too….

Does he deserve the Hefty fine? Well he’s not helped the image of cyclists, he has actually broken the law 4 different ways, and risked causing an RTA, the cost of scraping his stupid arse off the tarmac treating him and diverting traffic around the scene had he caused one could well have exceeded the amount he’s been charged, so yeah why not?

But round my way (Reading) that sort of ****tery is generally ignored by the Rozzers...

Brighton rider here.
Quite a few busy roads with lots of buses.
Is slightly jumping a light to maintain speed and keep up or ahead of traffic acceptable ?
Lots of tw$$ts out there riding witin the law but dangerously..

Fine seems totally disproportionate to the crime and isn't 'being made an example of' intrinsically unfair and unjust ?

Similar to drunk drivers being given more severe penalties if they are caught over xmas. Is it really worse to d&d then, than at any other time?

Makes a mockery of a 'fair and just' system, when quite evidently it is neither.

£700 seems high, the Argus article has little details, would suggest the crim was not very co-operative.
J.

He’s lucky really he didn’t fail a breath test too….

He doesn't have to give a sample, it's not enforcable for cyclists amazingly.

Quite frankly I'm sick of RLJers both when I'm on a bike and in the car, so I'm glad he ran and was caught.

There's lots of fines/sentences that appear unfair but AFAIK the magistrates have to stick to guidelines

Wasn't there that cyclist that killed a pedestrian as a result of dangerous or furious or whatever cycling gets a 2k fine?
Like the £500 one linked above - it doesn't appear fair or just but I guess it's within the guidelines for the offence

I was once accosted by a PC in Brighton for jumping a red light. I stopped and explained reasonably how the road works, significantly narrowing the junction made it extremely dangerous for me to start out at the same time as the busses lined up behind me (cycle lane but no ASL) so I was getting away in the few seconds before the light changed to enable myself to take up a more central position in the road.

She accepted my explanation and took no further action. In all honesty, at that time the juction was leathal and even if she'd hit me with a spot fine I'd have still done the same thing the next day.

Sorry, not relevant to the OP at all. 😳

Colin-T, that's all well and good if you observe properly and are very slow and careful in your crossing but not everyone is and that can result in danger to everyone else not just you, which isn't acceptable. Red lights are there for everyones safety. If you can't cope with being in a junction with other traffic maybe you should reconsider using that road.

Brighton is supposed to be one of the government cycling towns.
Planning of the cycle lanes is an absolute joke..
Oh and there is no parking in town
Rant over
j.

they try to appease the complainers of Brighton.

Democracy works...

Re the original cyclist - if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. To be honest trying to evade the rozzers is stupid and he deserves to have the book thrown at him.

Colin-T - could you not have positioned yourself in front of the lead vehicle in the middle of the lane and waited for green? It's what I do. Equivalent to what you'd do if an ASL was there.

Is slightly jumping a light to maintain speed and keep up or ahead of traffic acceptable?
Lots of tw$$ts out there riding witin the law but dangerously..

Sorry you've lost me, are you suggesting it’s a straight choice between riding Illegally and riding dangerously but Legally? I can't see why it's impossible to do both...

RLJing in a Car is not "acceptable", and it's believing that Cyclists are a special case that gives all those Clarksonite, Mail reading, road ragers Ammunition to campaign against cycling on the roads, jump a Red or do a bit of Amber gambling if you want, but just remember the filter timings are set for cars not bikes, and I'd have minimal sympathy for you if you get T-boned and pinged across a junction....

If your journey is that important then leave 5 minutes sooner, That’s most likely what any car driver would get told while the Plod print out his ticket for RLJing, Can't see how the same doesn't apply to a cyclist myself.

If we want truly fair and equitable access to the Roads (Which Cycling in this country does not really have at the moment) then it’s right that we abide by the rules and legislation as they apply to us, and accept the penalties for transgression, otherwise you’re asking for “rights without responsibility”; effectively the manifesto of a 4 year old…

Molgrips - doing that where there is no ASL is red light jumping as well.- and I have some of the same issues as Colin and there are times when it is definitely safer to go thru the red light than it is to wait for green.

If by going early you get past a pinch point before the cars catch up with you you are improving your safety. Badly designed roads can make RLJing the only safe way to proceed

From Inspector James Briggs

This behaviour puts both the cyclists and other road users at risk and we will respond robustly to anyone found committing such offences.

That's all well and good but I trust he is responding equally 'robustly' to the myriad of 'serious' crimes, not to mention the Brighton portion of an estimated 2 million uninsured car drivers in the UK. 🙄

Red lights are for car users only surely?

Think you'll find they apply to all road users.

I'm afraid I have no sympathy with the fella, he jumped a light, got caught, failed to stop when instructed to - fair enough IMO. Trouble is though, with other crimes seemingly on the increase the feds are doing themselves no favours in this instance.

For all we know he could have also been a bit lippy to the beak

I can think of at least two situations where I've been forced to jump red lights on a bike. First occaision was a long stretch of temporary lights uphill, no way I could clear it in the time interval allowed. Second situation is traffic lights triggered by induction loops in the road. No chance of triggering them with a carbo road bike. Again due to road works there were no cars in my lane so after seeing the lights cycle several times before I jumped the lights.

Do agree though in the above case he deserved it. I just think we have some huge inconsitencies in sentancing guidelines though.

Never in a hurry when I cycle..
Just do not want to get run over whatever the law says..
I always stop at lights, mand then try to anticpate the green to get myself going.
J.

Hmmm, the term "going early" is creeping in here, reading the pattern of the lights and having the road awareness to set off a second or so sooner than the car/bus/van next to you is not the same as Blatting through a Red light, "The Brighton One" appears to have been taking the piss quite honestly, no lights, RLJing, using the pavement and failure to stop (Probably because he knew the book would be thrown at him), He's hardly a Martyr to the cause...

If we want truly fair and equitable access to the Roads...then it’s right that we abide by the rules and legislation as they apply to us...

Are you suggesting that if all cyclists stopped RLJing, local councils and the Highways Department would then provide proper facilities for cyclists ?
Or, to put it another way, are you suggesting that they don't provide proper facilities because some of us RLJ ?
I can't see the connection.