Right, I used to be fairly laid back about a lot of minor traffic matters but henceforth that will cease.
After riding my motorbike home late last night and watching a pedal cyclist ignore a stop line and a red light to get promptly whacked by a truck, I dashed over to aid the rider, the first words out of his mouth was. " its that fucking trucks fault for not stopping" Jesus..
No.. If I can and it warrants it (ie. I am on foot or pedal cycle ) and I see a cyclist go thru a red light anymore you are getting a ticket. Simple as that
FPN - RED LIGHT PEDAL CYCLE
FPN - FOOTPATH
Until people get it in to their heads the RED LIGHT MEANS STOP !
Oh and if your a fellow motorist and you think its ok to pull in to the Green box past the ADVANCED STOP LINE - Say hello to a ticket as well.
11 comments:
you should see them in cyclecity...AKA oxford, reckon you would run out of tickets there though.
Yes! Thankyou! I'm a cyclist (I'm from Cambridge, lots of other cyclists there) and this kind of behaviour drives me up the wall, gives respectable cyclists a bad name, irritates pedestrians (and sometimes injures them) and MAKES PEOPLE DIE.
Please, write out lots of tickets.
Another cyclist from Cambridge here. Yep. What mattw said. And lots of them, please. I'm fed up with being a cyclist tarred with the same brush as the pavement-hogging, unlit, red-light-dodging, brakeless, ill-mannered idiots others refer to as "cyclists". They are to responsible cyclists as joyriders are to professional drivers!
FL
I remember when I got knocked off my motorbike writing it off. The lady that pulled out on me came over shouting, swearing and pointing her finger at me whilst I was on the floor. I would have shouted back, but realised I couldn't breath... until my lungs re-inflated.... some people.
As someone who cycles through central London twice a day, can I persuade you to add "cycling after dusk without lights whilst wearing a black jacket" to your list? You'd think that people were trying to get themselves killed...
With my personal cyclist's hat (helmet?) on, I'll have to ask whether a pedestrian (standing on a pavement facing a shop window, speaking on a mobile telephone) who suddenly walks backwards into the middle of the road causing a passing cyclist to swerve and almost end up in the gutter is committing an offense, or merely trying to get himself killed by the next passing taxi?
I do my level best to knock cyclists off when I'm on foot. Obviously doing so would be easier in a car, but far more illegal. When I'm on a bike, I'm on the road and obeying traffic lights and road markings, just as I would in my car.
The whole reason for this was, a couple of years ago I got knocked over by a cyclist. He hit me from behind, on the pavement, and cleared off shouting obscenities. Now, I'm 6' tall and about 14 stone - I take a fair bit of pushing to move. If I'd been some wee old man, I'd be dead.
Good for you, gordonjcp! I've taken to cycling down one-way streets on the right-hand side of the road with the right-wing (not an intentional pun) extended as I slow down to stop. I'm sure the chap who caught my hand on his chin as he was cycling, illegally (wrong way and unlit), felt the shock more than I did!
What strikes me (other than the unfortunates who meet an arm across the chin) is the variety of reactions to my standard "This is a one way street, I'm afraid" comment - said in tones of 'I'm sorry to point out your mistake, but you've erred'. Sure, there are a few who stereotypically mutter "muck off" or something similar but I also hear "Yes?" in the tone of "and your point was?" as if the footnote "I accept that applies to motorised vehicles" was supplied. Some are quite polite and say "excuse me" (as they try to find a way through the gap I've left between my front-wheel and the kerb) in very rounded tones which makes me suspect that ignorance of the law probably doesn't even apply here.
The comment which most stuck in my mind was from someone I suspect from her (just happened to be female in this case - not enough statistics to generalise) accent was sufficiently well brought up to understand the highway code: "but there's not manny people around". Hmm. I agree, I was clearly getting in her way to make a point (although we were but a few feet from the doorway I wanted to use on the right hand side of the street) but I would have expected a more reasoned argument about the futility of laws in certain circumstances than that. Probably a student who is not going to do well in a subject requiring the objective assessment of criteria.
Should point out - purely for the sake of objectivity - that the most frequent response is "Oh, I didn't know that". This can be followed by a cyclist dismounting and converting to pedestrian-with-bicycle mode or - more frequently - waiting politely to continue their (illegal) journey.
FL
I too ride daily through central London (jolly cold it was this morning too). Yes! more tickets please against
(1) cyclists who jump red lights;
(2) cyclists without lights;
(3) vehicles in the green are in front of lights;
(4) cyclists on pavements (for any distance more than five meters that is);
(5) bus drivers who pull out whn the cyclist is half-way past them.
(6) vehicle drivers who open their car doors against a cyclist.
(et cetera. Delictorum album longum, vita brevis)
That pic is taken in a car park
Well I am hardly likely to post a real photo.!
hmm
Now I cant quite say I will support some of the comments about the right hand wing slap - :) I know you jest the simple matter is that the reason for the red light and the marked area is for your safety . I really do detest doing paperwork for people who run red lights and get sidewiped or going to a house to tell a loved one is dead cause they did some thing stupid. Its not fun at all
Post a Comment