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That clip on iPlayer is priceless! The cops were actually very nice in the circumstances to ignore the "drunk in charge of a pedal cycle" charge too.
RLJers do annoy me (edit: I cycle through the centre of Edinburgh daily), especially the ones that sail past slowly and then prevent me getting past further down the road. Having said that a lot of the near misses I have on my commute are with pedestrians stepping off the kerb randomly without looking (including at crossings with a red man showing).
It is mostly just annoying though, not dangerous (well, dangerous for anyone else, most of the time). Drivers who cut cyclists up are on a whole other level of intimidation and scaryness and potential to kill you.
do any of those that dont ever RLJ actually cycle regularly in a busy city?
Not regularly nowadays, but I did at one point, and somehow managed to avoid RLJing whilst I was doing so. Cycling in a big city isn't that good a reason to RLJ even if everybody else is doing it - is just an excuse.
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.
Harrumph!
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Incidentally the answer for me at least is that because otherwise my commute would take about 20 times as long - for no good reason. I never run a run if it will do anyone any harm, i.e., 0% of situations
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.
Strictly speaking that's perfectly legal. However unless you have carbon rims you should also be able to trigger such lights with a carbon frame - certainly there are some sets of lights I happily set of with my carbon bike and alu rims, but not the one with carbon rims. That is of course assuming they're adjusted properly - my local set normally won't trip for a completely metal bike, hence I (legally) pass the lights on red when it is safe to do so (every now and then I report they are faulty and get them adjusted, though they always seem to go back - I find it hard to believe the settings drift, so presumably somebody is setting the sensitivity higher to prevent false tripping).
Incidentally the answer for me at least is that because otherwise my commute would take about 20 times as long
Not 100 times as long or 1000 times as long? You're sure it's only 20? That seems a very small factor for having to stop at all those red lights.
the guy was a tool of epic proportions. he deserved the fine IMO. he thought he was above the law when in reality he was just a pissed middle aged man on a bike who happened to be in contravention of the law!
Degree of hyperbole admitted.
Would make my commute about 1.25 times longer. Would make the particular stretch of road on which there are 3 lights in 30 metres for no apparent reason take 100 times longer!
If I actually [i]had[/i] to stop at every traffic light (i.e. if the consequences were worse than a bit of stick from some STW grumps), I wouldn't bother cycling in at all. The whole thing would generally be sh1t, and in financial terms, the likely increased maintenance cost alone would make it uneconomic (i.e., brake pads and chain wear from all that stopping and starting).
I am overstating the case a bit but it's the internet, that's allowed.
That guy had the look of someone who'd got a speeding fine dropping through his door in the morning and had gone out for a few beers with mates to rant about it. I was just waiting for the phrase "police oppression" to come out.
I don't like RLJs but to be fair on the man he did slow down and take a decent look for any traffic coming. Not that I'm condoning that.
Still, makes interesting reading the old posts of people who had no idea of the actual situation slagging off the cops. He had plenty of opportunities to step down and get his ticking off.
?Aracer - are you sure that is legal? I am fairly certain it is not. if there is no light you can go thru but a red light even if it is malfunctioning you have to obey
However that is one of the situations where I will go thu a red light
teh other one is in some situations it is safer to do so as it keeps you out of the way of traffic. This is contentious and some folk say it never happens but I know two sets of lights I use regularly where this is so.