Four in every ten cyclists in Ireland are routinely jumping red lights, despite it being just three weeks before penalty charges come in.
A Sunday Times survey of nearly 500 cyclists passing through four main junctions in central Dublin last week found 177 breaking the traffic law.
One of the junctions even has a permanent police presence, as it is by Leinster House on Kildare Street.
Mike McKillen, chairman of the lobby group Cyclist.ie said: “We do our own surveys, but we also track every bus, coach, taxi, private car, van driver and motorcyclist who breaks a red light.
“All road users are breaking red lights, though of course the percentage of cyclists who do is higher — but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as high as four in every ten.
“There is a world of difference between a 15km bicycle going through a red light and a bus, coach or taxi. There is no evidence from pan-European road-safety research literature that cyclists breaking red lights cause any harm to road users.”
Paschal Donohoe, the minister for transport, has brought in a Euros 40 fine from July 31 for cyclists who jump red lights.
It will also apply to seven existing road traffic offences, including failure to have a light during lighting-up hours and cycling without reasonable consideration.
Linda Pototzki of AA Roadwatch said: “We polled our members in the past on cyclists’ behaviour, and one in eight drivers told us they had a near miss or collision with cyclists.
“It could be that some . . . were as a result of a cyclist breaking a red light. Of those incidents, 48% occurred during daylight.”
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11 thoughts on “Survey: 4 in 10 cyclists in Dublin still jumping red lights despite new penalty”
I jump the red light because
I jump the red light because I can see the other lights are also red so I get the junction free to myself, and avoid losing the traffic light grand prix with the dick in the M3.
RLJs in Ireland thus proving
RLJs in Ireland thus proving that arseholes are an international phenomena.
I don’t jump red lights
I don’t jump red lights because it puts cyclists and pedestrians in conflict, but the assertion that it’s dangerous for cyclists doesn’t stand up to scrutiny: http://www.roadjustice.org.uk/node/28
Between 2001 – 5 only 2 cyclists were killed jumping lights. When this is measured against the statistic that about 80% of cyclist casualties happen at or near a junction that fatality figure looks like a below par score for junctions. Using your own judgement at the lights may be safer.
It seems I’m not the only one who thinks this way. So do the French.
A report by the Metropolitan
A report by the Metropolitan Police for the DfT backs this up. It was reported here.
“Meanwhile, according to police reports studied as part of the research, wearing dark clothing at night was thought to be a possible cause of just 2.5% of accidents resulting in serious injury to the cyclist, with not using lights or jumping red lights each blamed in 2% of cases. ”
http://road.cc/content/news/12065-report-dft-casualty-stats-says-cyclists-not-blame-93-cent-cases
Perhaps I should add I never RLJ. Apart from anything else it gives a stick to beat us with.
ron611087 wrote:I don’t jump
So, out of 500 cyclists that died, 2 of them were jumping lights, and how many died precisely because they did not jump lights – dozens.
Jumping lights is safer than not jumping lights.
kie7077 wrote:ron611087
So, out of 500 cyclists that died, 2 of them were jumping lights, and how many died precisely because they did not jump lights – dozens.
Jumping lights is safer than not jumping lights.— ron611087
And that appears to be supported by the interesting results of the Parisian experiments in allowing cyclists to procede judiciously at certain red lights:
http://road.cc/content/news/157275-cyclists-paris-allowed-ignore-red-traffic-lights
Amazing the difference in attitudes:
I do wish the authorities,
I do wish the authorities, the press and it’s seems everyone else would stop mixing up RUNNING a red light which isn’t sensible – and waiting at the front of a line of impatient motorists at a red light , seeing the cross lights change to amber with nothing coming and then JUMPING the red light before it turns from red to green to avoid getting swamped by the traffics behind – furious that you are at the front.
I jump red lights whenever I can. It’s safer. Especially in a local village where you need to take a right then take the right hand lane when the road splits into a dual carriageway to turn right again at the next lights. I never have and never will run a red light.
Why did you not observe the
Why did you not observe the red light, Dave?
You are putting our mission in jeopardy, Dave.
With the home office guidance
With the home office guidance and cyclists safety in mind, in many situations there’s no need to jump a red light. If you feel the traffic light controlled junction is potentially dangerous then mount the pavement giving priority to foot pedestrians and navigate the junction slowly and safely until you’re clear to rejoin the carriageway. That completely complies with the guidance.
Some may be uncomfortable with that, but you could do it and have a defence to riding on the footpath. The problem is the fixed penalty offence which simply shows ‘riding on the footpath’ as an offence. With the home office guidance that offence should really be ‘riding dangerously on the footpath’. Massive difference.
A lot of motorists see us a nuisance on the road rather than us being seen as vulnerable road users which is why they become irked when already annoyed that we slowed them down for 3 – 5 seconds, get outraged when we pass that solid white line on a red light.
I believe a lot of motorists are content for us riding on the pavement because then we don’t slow them down, whether or not it’s wrong. And you cannot jump a red light on the pavement.
Probably not possible for many inner city junctions where there are no pavements and I don’t have an answer for that, but certainly valid for many junctions. It’s just much safer. It’s the red light jump that annoys motorists not pavement riding.
Personally, most of the time I just wait at the red light but there have been occasions where I feel it’s just too busy and for my own safety mount the pavement and cross the junction. But I slow right down to walking speed and give foot pedestrians right of way.
Critchio wrote:
I believe a
I’m sure they are. Pedestrians, on the other hand, would prefer cyclists to stick to the the road.
FluffyKittenofTindalos
I’m sure they are. Pedestrians, on the other hand, would prefer cyclists to stick to the the road.— Critchio
And I’d like to ride without having to come into conflict with either. #space4cycling