Last month I was not a cyclist and like a lot of the general public I didn't really understand why so many cyclists jump red lights and ignore other rules of the road. But over the last few days I seem to have acquired the urge to cross red lights, and ride across pedestrian crossings and other road rule breaking behaviour.
When I'm at a traffic light junction , I start thinking if I can see that no cars are coming from either side and I feel it is safe to jump the red, which will give me a bit of a headstart over white man van who thinks he's playing mario kart and wants to knock me over with a red shell, why not do it?
It's kind of the feeling when you're driving on the motorway, you know the speed limit is 70 mph, but you don't see any harm in doing 80. Everybody else seems to be doing it and you don't feel any unsafer by going this little bit faster.
Yes both things are wrong and you are putting your own and other peoples safety at risk by basically breaking the rules. But I want to make the point that it's not just cyclists who think they can circumvent the highway code on occasions, those on four wheels do the same but just in different ways.
Also read:
Respecting the Red on The Trusty Steed.
the myth of the red light jumping cyclist on ibikelondon
The Highway Code : Rules for cyclists
Please don't... resist the urge... don't become part of the problem and give more reasons to hate us...
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Don't do it. If you follow the rules maybe the other cyclists you meet will do so too. You really don't save that much time and I don't agree at all that its safer. Just pull up in front of the queue of traffic and stop in the middle of the road so no-one can overtake you until you get to the other side of the junction.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above commenters - it just gives a reason for drivers and pedestrians to hate cyclists so I don't do it.
ReplyDeletethe only times i do it is when there are no cars behind me and the lights never turn green (sensor?)