Red Light jumper, 8am Victoria road, Glasgow

So riding up to the junction of Victoria Road/Allison Street this morning and lights at red. Guy on a bike in front of me decides to just go straight through, then saw him do the same at the next set of lights – on a blue road bike, courier bag, khaki shorts. Now at 8am this isn’t a mega busy junction – the main road I was on crosses a one way street at both sets of lights.

Now I can understand to some extent why on very busy junctions people on bikes feel justified to jump red lights as they feel they are ‘in danger’ if they go with the lights. I wouldn’t do it and if you ride on the road then you play by the rules. Anyway this isn’t a dangerous junction by any means so this guy obviously thinks the rules don’t apply to him.

Perhaps instead of jumping lights to get to your destination quicker you should learn to ride faster as even though you had about a 500 metre head start on me I still caught up with you by the time you got to the bus station.

The only thing you managed to achieve, and the reason it bothers me, is to piss off other road users – let’s hope they take their angst out on you and not me or some other cyclists who rides by the rules. Unfortunately other road users only remember the cyclists riding like an idiot not the ones following the highway code.

And yes I know people will come back with the argument that car drivers break the rules all the time, but that isn’t a valid argument.

And the reason for posting on here is that he looked the ‘type’ that would hang around on here. I’m sure if you’re reading this you know who you are.

And what is it to do with you?

Can you read?

looked the "type" who would hang around on here – I have a feeling there is a real mixed bunch of people on this forum, fat ,thin, young, old, rich, poor… oh and of course bitter and twisted! 🙂

Another misguided soul thinking anyone who rides a bike must obviously be on the stw forum 🙂

he looked the ‘type’ that would hang around on here

go on then – give us a caricature 🙂

why didnt you tell him as you caught him up instead of posting here into thin air ?

Vicky Road's a nightmare for RLJ'ing, the most frustrating ones being the folk you overtake, you stop at the red light, they sail past you, you overtake them again, you stop at the red light, they sail past you, you overtake them again, you stop at the red light, they sail past you, you overtake them again, you stop at the red light, they sail past you, you overtake them again, ad infinitum…

The wife drove me into work this morning and there were some shockers on Pollokshaws Road, including the couple riding two abreast at <5mph who refused to ride in single file…

Apart from the last sentence, I couldn't agree more (IME, there is no trend to red light jumpers…).

Having 'had a word' with a few of them, and presented exactly your arguments of '…playing by the rules…' and that their actions tar me with the same brush in the eyes of the average car driver, the usual response is 'f&*k off and leave me alone, it's none of your business what I do'.

Yours, frustrated-in-Bristol

Sorry can I rephrase that since you all seem to be getting hung up on a point.

And one of the reasons for posting on here is that he looked the ‘type’ that may hang around on here.

why didnt you tell him as you caught him up instead of posting here into thin air ?

Because I was on the outside of the road turning right and he was going straight on and there was a taxi between us.

oooooooooh jumped a red light. i sometimes cross the road when the red man is on too.

oooooooooh jumped a red light. i sometimes cross the road when the red man is on too.

Which is perfeclty legal I believe. Is that all you have to contribute? Well done.

"piss off other road users" As an "other road user" speeding and talking on mobile phones when driving piss me off because they can both result in me being dead. Running a red light on a bike on a quiet road will not.

he looked the ‘type’ that may hang around on here.

Did his bike have a sticker on it that read "my other vehicle is a very high horse"?

BTW – I agree with your main point

I didn't say it was a quiet road.

Running a red light on a bike on a quiet road will not.

Absolute b*llocks

You're driving along approaching a junction and someone jumps a red light as you're approaching. You slam the brakes on, crash into a lampost and die.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/text-driver-jailed-for-cyclists-death-14742

"piss off other road users" As an "other road user" speeding and talking on mobile phones when driving piss me off because they can both result in me being dead. Running a red light on a bike on a quiet road will not.

In this hypothetical situation, you're making the judegment that the road is quiet and therefore safe to ride through the red light…. no doubt the car driver will equally say that he thought it would be OK to be on the phone 'cause the road conditions allowed it. Both are still illegal and the dangers to themselves/others won't become apparent until after the accident. Next.

Edit: BoardinBob puts it more eloquently 😉

Here's the road in question

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?source=ig&hl=en&q=Victoria+Road+Glasgow&lr=&ie=UTF8&ll=55.836265,-4.257889&spn=0,359.962492&z=15&layer=c&cbll=55.83398,-4.265748&panoid=J26djZTzNjabN_DGhywtdA&cbp=12,11.81,,0,7.06

It's a long road, with crossroads all the way up it. At each junction, you won't be able to see traffic approaching from the left or right, yet it's notorious for RLJ'ing

rider goes through red light, makes car driver angry, angry driver cuts up next innocent cyclist he sees, cyclist falls off and dies. Yep all innocent fun.

And there are also cars parked on both sides of the side roads with a slight bend on allison stret meaning that if a speeding car was approaching the lights there was no way you could see it. Still it's his life. But then again a car may swerve to avoid him and hit me.

I think you should re phrase your post to "I am so annoyed that some bloke cheated in my imaginary race with him by running a red light."

If you were so annoyed you could have taken a few minutes out of your day to catch up and tell him of your issues. Whilst you are at it you could also flag down any cars that may be doing 32mph in a 30 or have a broken tail light… infact if you wore a special uniform so that others could see that you were the road rule enforcer it would be even better.. you could be like dog the bounty hunter!!!

:o)

jeez are you my mum!

Well if I caught up with a car going through a red I would certainly have a word with them.

Tell me maxray are you happy with cars going through red lights if it appears quiet enough to do so?

jeez are you my mum! No but I could be your dad.

Why, exactly, does it piss so many road users off? I mean, to get pissed off with somebody who's actions are likely to have ZERO impact on their own journey is entirely pointless, surely.

So what really is the problem? Given that 5.5m drivers have penalty points on their licence (and many more, anecdotally, have just never been caught) for speeding, what right do they have to get pissed off with me for judging a light safe to jump?

I can understand where BlackDog is comming from as he sounds like he tries to obey road law and then there are those who don't and that may give reason for car driver to think they way they do. I guess there a few sentences that have been taken out of context.

he looked the ‘type’ that may hang around on here.

I guess you mean a cyclist who is fairly keen rather than a 'once in a while cyclist' and so maybe a member of STW? Thats my take – I think BlackDog just wanted to get his annoyances off his chest! Thats my take on it.

Why did you start this thread? Stop shouting. Some of us skip across on reds when it is SAFE to do so and some of us dont, and it all depends on the time and place so stop lecturing.

Ever smoke a joint or munch on a disco biscuit? Do you ever drive your car at 75mph?

Blackdog – I commute on Pollokshaws road and there are loads of redlight jumpers. It gets annoying when you have to constantly overtake them so I can understand your point.

maxray – that's all well and good, but as others have pointed out here, once we accept the basic premise that it's okay to decide when we'll obey the traffic regs and when we don't, then you give permission for the mindset that allows anyone to make subjective judgements about appropriate speed, use of mobile phone, alcohol levels, observing signals, signs etc.

If they screw up and crash into another car, chances are it'll be nothing more than inconvenience and some paperwork. If they hit BlackDog, there's a much higher likelihood that his next journey will be inside a wooden box in a long black car.

Cyclists, and other road users, who don't obey the traffic regs are unpredictable, and a significant element of road safety is about making it easy for other road users to predict what you're going to do next.

I live just off vicky road and im shocked by how badly people cycle along the road and pavements. It is the consequences on the other cyclist that concerns me when someone pisses off a driver. I avoid certain roads in Glasgow, Pollokshaws road being one of them because I am fed up with pissed off drivers not giving a toss and verging on killing me.
So I guess im wondering that if all cyclists were to be more respective on the road would drivers eventually come to respect us? With more bikes on the road hence some of the drivers turning to cycling, will cycling become safer?

And there you go – mcboo proves my point perfectly.

What does mcboo prove? That he's normal?

Ever smoke a joint or munch on a disco biscuit? Do you ever drive your car at 75mph?

So, if you've done some things that are against the law, that means that everything everybody else does is now OK and you can't comment on it? Or is this a variation on the argument that it's OK to do wrong things as long as somebody else is doing something worse?

Blackdog, I get really pissed off with people doing the same on Lothian Rd in Edinburgh. For example at the West Approach Rd there is no point in jumping the red (i.e. you gain no time and do not make it safer for yourself) as you would hit the next light 100 yards down the hill at red. Yet people consistently do it day after day.

I see some crazy antics with people squeezing up the inside of big moving vans/lorries on tight left-hand corners and I wonder how they manage not to be dead.

Obviously there are lots of shocking drivers too (save that for another thread) but the blatant disregard for the law some cyclists have really makes my blood boil. Have had a quiet word with the occasional one and they seem completely oblivious – i.e. they just think that's how you ride. Jeesh!

It sounds a bit like Pollokshaws Road has become a pit ot "road anarchy"!

Anarchy – "a state of lawlessness and disorder"

I think…………

Bikes are alowed in bus lanes,

Bus lanes quite often run contraflow down one way streets

So the red light at the end is never green, unless the IR camera/pressure pad sees a big red bus in the big red bus lane.

So if I sit there waiting for a green light i'd be there all day!

Once you've jumped that one, why not jump them all?

And I've had a lot more near misses/angry rants at useless co**s in cars waiting for the green light and fighting it out with the trafic than I've had waiting for a gap in the trafic and pulling out like you would at any un-trafic lighted junction.

Maybe you have reached some zen like state where car divers magicaly give you plenty of room and dont half overtake you and then squeeze you into the barriers, but untill I achieve this zen like state I will keep jumping red lights as and when its safe to do so.

For the love of god, don't come to London – your head might explode with all the RLJ going on. At least the police seem to be (trying) to do something about it, a couple of times a week I see a couple of police officers just down the road from notorious spots. Not sure if they're fining people or just having a chat though.

Can I ask again why car drivers get pissed off with RLJing?

What impact does it generally have on their own journey?

Blackdog – agree 100%

My commute would be so much more pleasant in Glasgow if people would stop pissing off the taxi drivers by red light jumping in front of them. Its those of us that stop at the lights that get the grief.

David.

Taxi drivers getting pissed off with RLJing. Oh the irony.

Maybe you have reached some zen like state where car divers magicaly give you plenty of room and dont half overtake you and then squeeze you into the barriers

Well I generaCar drivers don't magically give me room but I know when to take my lane and have very good road skills. I also find that going by the rules does earn respect as does a wav or a nod if a driver is curteous to me. It's about give and take.

Can I ask again why car drivers get pissed off with RLJing? What impact does it generally have on their own journey?

It's not about the impact on their journey it's about people having a blatant disregard for the rules of the road. Would you be happy for a car to go through a red light as long as it doesn't have any impact on your journey.

I ride on the road so follow the rules of the road. Roll on winter.

Jumping a red light on a bicycle is nothing like driving a car drunk or texting whilst driving a car. The delay between light changes can be a perfect time for cyclists to avoid competing with cars, maybe there should be a light in between amber and green for cyclists?