Red lights, cycling helmets and the police
Post categories: Cycling
| 10:25 UK time, Wednesday, 28 July 2010
A very good friend of mine was pulled over by the police for shooting a red light on his bike.
Now, yes, he broke the law of the land and took his punishment like the hardy Scotsman that he is, but if you stand at most red lights in London you will see many cyclists doing the same.
In fact, the Mayor Boris Johnson has been filmed doing it himself. So it's not uncommon.
This time not only was he sternly told off by the police, he was also told his helmet and his bike were not safe enough to be cycling with.
Is that a new thing?
Are the Metropolitan Police now able to tell when a bike is safe, or indeed have the police been briefed on the controversial debate about helmets?
Is all of that, part of the training now at Hendon?
In my friend's words the officer described his helmet thus: "It's cr*p, look at the state of you. If a car hit you, it would come right off."
Anyway, I digress slightly.
I did wonder if there was a crackdown by police on cyclists jumping red lights.
Transport for London said, yes, there was a crackdown ahead of the launch of the bike hire scheme.
The press release says:
"The Mayor, Boris Johnson, Transport for London (TfL) and the capital's police forces are stepping up the number of operations targeting cyclists and drivers who disobey the rules of the road.
Over the coming months, police will regularly target key locations across the capital to crackdown on road users who disobey traffic signals, encroach on advance stop lines, cycle carelessly or on pavements, or use their mobile phones."
The old spin alert kicked off a bit at that so I thought I'd chase it up further.
Our Home Affairs producer Nick Beake called the Met and initially they were none the wiser.
However, once we sent them the press release from TfL they did say:
"In Westminster, Strand and Whitehall, Safer Neighbourhoods Team is supporting these operations by patrolling the streets around Trafalgar Square to tackle anyone using the road in a dangerous and irresponsible manner and to hand out advice to cyclists/motorists about the sensible cycling/driving.
Officers will also be on hand to offer crime prevention advice to bike owners, around cycle security and not becoming a victim of cycle theft."
They also sent us the latest figures about the extent of the issue.
These are the number of cyclists issued with Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) of upto £60 in Westminster. Many more get a dressing down, as happened to my friend.
- In 2008/09 - 1051
- In 2009/10 - 2225
So in just one year the number of offences by cyclists in Westminster where a FPN was issued has gone up by 112%.
That's even before this latest crackdown started...
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~07~RS~)
© 2012
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The abbreviation of Fixed Penalty Notices, not surprisingly, is FPN, not FCN.
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The worst place for mad cyclists must be near Sainsbury's in Camden Road, London. Ironically it's right outside a British Transport Police Station.
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It'd be nice if the police took even half the amount of time to police vehicles in ASL's, never mind jumping reds, or driving around whilst on their mobile phones. Cyclists might seem to flout the law, but compared to motorists, we're a pretty law abiding. The trouble is, we're also an easy target.
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I know it's not a popular view but I really don't think the obsession with red lights is especially helpful. Far more cyclists are killed and injured by drivers running red lights than as a result of the cyclist doing so, most cyclists readily understand that to pass a red light into conflict with other traffic is dangerous, most pass red lights into clear space or completely gridlocked traffic. Most red lights are, after all, there to regulate the problem of excess motor traffic - not only are cyclists not part of that problem, they are actually part of the solution.
I think that riding on the pavement is more dangerous and more antisocial, and it brings exceptional risks at any point where you emerge back onto the road - something often forgotten by cycle planners who paint cycle lanes on pavements.
The best safety advice to give to a cyclist in London is: never ride up the left side of a large vehicle, and if you find yourself on the left of a large vehicle near a junction (for example if it is passing you) then brake and get behind it as soon as possible. Over half of all cyclist deaths in London are due to crushing by large vehicles.
Second to that would be to ride in a purposeful and predictable way, not less than a metre from the kerb. That doesn't necessarily mean fast, just purposeful. The one metre is your emergency space, in case (as very often happens) a passing driver forgets that they are not past you the moment you disappear from their straight-ahead view.
One important job TfL could do is to extend the work they've been doing on mutual understanding between goods vehicle drivers and cyclists. Most drivers, in my experience, sincerely believe that cyclists are usually to blame when they are hit by cars, but actually where blame is assigned it is to the driver in between 2/3 and 4/5 of cases. And of course whoever is to blame, the driver is almost never hurt. It is great that more people are cycling in London, the more people who cycle the safer they are because drivers are more likely to have experienced cycling and to expect cyclists. Let's not make it a war, eh?
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Cyclist seem to want to commit suicide… you never see motorcyclist trying it.
When I see the light are green I know that I have to triple check because you know a cyclist can’t be bothered stopping and when they hit you car…. It the drivers fault!!! It a massive joke.
Cyclist also don’t understand the difference between a footpath, cycle path and road…. I know that there are loads of cycle paths but they use the foot path or road… what’s the point of spending the money when they don’t want it anyway!!!!
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Agree very much with Guy Chapman.
Also, re red lights, cyclists crossing junctions when it's safe to do so on a route they know well, where they know the light sequence well, can only benefit other traffic, i.e. allowing traffic to turn safely without waiting for cyclists. It's also far safer for cyclists. However, they/we have to pay attention to pedestrians too.
Why crack down around Trafalgar Square? There is no traffic movement to speak of there. It makes more sense to police the new superhighways or anywhere where there is a high incidence of accidents/potential for conflict between cyclists and motorists. Or is thus just yet another fund-raising drive?
Of course, what is really required is real, segregated cycle lanes.
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We live near Henley on Thames, Oxon. My wife was cycling into town on a road commonly known as the Fairmile. This is a long stretch of road with a 30 mph sign about 500 yards from the Town. As she passed the 30 mph sign she was stopped by a policeman who asked her if she could slow down. Her current speed of 22 mph was causing drivers of cars to break the 30 mph speed limit whilst overtaking her.!!!!
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Of course London motorists never jump red lights, ignore pedestrians at crossings, park illegally or break speed limits. It's only these anarchic pedestrians and cyclist who flout the law.
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I think the work to improve London's cycle network is fantastic and the new super highways appear to be working well. I have however seen this crack down in force and within the past two days on my 30 minute journey have observed the police issue no less than 6 tickets. I accept that the law is the law but the route I used this morning had a button operated traffic light system. This was something brought to the attention of myself and the queue of cyclist waiting behind me only after 5 minutes when the police officer monitoring these particular lights had finished issuing a ticket and probably wondered why we were all just sitting there. The button was tiny, there was no signage present and one assume traffic lights on a 'super highway' would work on a sensor or timer system. The officer actually admitted he had been issuing tickets to cyclists even though there was a chance they may have not realised they should press the button and that they possibly thought the lights were faulty. Surely the more reasonable option would be to inform people of road rules and give them a caution for a period of time while these systems are brought in to operation?
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I'm a scooter ride and cyclist on London's streets and I constantly see cyclists breaking the law by going through red lights. They think they save themselves time, but they don't realise what they can cause. Today it came to a head. I'm sat here writing this with a suspected broken foot, smashed up knee, damaged scooter, and needing a knew crash helmet after a cyclist decided to go through a red light across Kingsway this morning at 8.50. I was waiting for the lights to change, they did, the cyclist coming across the junction chanced it by going through a light that had turned red, I'm then about to hit him as i go across the junction, broke hard to avoid him and ended up skidding to the ground with my left leg trapped under my bike. As he is not insured like other road users, what chance do you think i have of claiming from him the £1000 of repairs needed to my scooter, replacement helmet (my head smashed on the ground) and costs for having to take time off work? He was completely unharmed. Maybe next time i will not stop and just plough into any cyclist that decides to break the law.
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