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news
Red light jumping cyclist (via West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team on Twitter).PNGWest Midlands Police catch red light jumping cyclist on camera (+ video)
It’s more than two years now since West Midlands Police put themselves at the forefront of trying to make Britain’s roads safer for cyclists through their award-winning close pass initiative, since adopted by forces across the UK.
But a tweet from their Road Harm Reduction Team yesterday emphasises that cyclists too have a responsibility for their own safety.
Jumping a red light at any time is of course illegal, though there is perhaps a difference in doing so at a pedestrian crossing where no-one is crossing the road and there are no motor vehicles around, and this example where a rider – unlit at night – takes a chance going through a busy junction.
“We'll do all we can to protect vulnerable road users but we need them sometimes to protect themselves,” the tweet read.
“Behaviour like this is inexcusable,” it continued, adding that the rider concerned had been prosecuted.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Coolkitty 34 min 20 sec ago
I agree, however, it works both ways and cyclists should learn the highway code - especially in todays traffic
- David9694 1 hour 20 min ago
Clevedon: Controversial end of free parking 'will be monitored' after outcry...
- cardch 1 hour 29 min ago
That is a great idea. And surely someone will call them Arsegos.
- chrisonabike 1 hour 53 min ago
Agreed - but with a bit more set-back from roundabout. Also how well respected is this in practice?...
- ErnieC 2 hours 29 min ago
I'm a bit screwed then, one bike has straight carbon forks and the other straight steel forks ...
- muhasib 12 hours 6 min ago
"the cost to rebuild the M25 junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange is £317 million. The project is expected to be completed in 2025. "
- mark1a 12 hours 29 min ago
I think they did, from memory back in the 70s/80s... haven't seen one for years though, our current milkman uses a standard van, albeit hybrid.
- S.E. 14 hours 16 min ago
Yes, sleep apnea produces more CO... I'm not aware of any doping effect but what do I know....
- Gd29 16 hours 24 min ago
That's true enough. But doesn't address my point that the chainset you get as a replacement will not physically fit chainrings from the chain set...
- brooksby 16 hours 54 min ago
In all fairness, it almost certainly NEVER happened…
Add new comment
13 comments
The WMP are really annoying, I’ve uploaded a number of videos of appalling behaviour by drivers with no response from them. They claim to be so wonderful but ‘can’t respond to each individual due to the high volume of incidents reported to close pass’!
Pathetic, can’t be bothered to prosecute dangerous driving, but quite happy to hide behind their ‘success’
The WMP are really annoying, I’ve uploaded a number of videos of appalling behaviour by drivers with no response from them. They claim to be so wonderful but ‘can’t respond to each individual due to the high volume of incidents reported to close pass’!
Pathetic, can’t be bothered to prosecute dangerous driving, but quite happy to hide behind their ‘success’
I normally get quite vocal towards cyclists who jump red lights. As it does not exactly endear the 4 wheeled community toward us, due to the fact they think we are big enough cunts already. I am certainly no angel by any stretch, but I do not purposely do stuff to piss off motorists. As I will lose every time.
Don't even get me started on those twats who take their dogs out on bikes, with one hand holding the lead and one hand wobbling precariously on the other bar. That is animal cruelty in my book...
I tried that. After the second death threat, I gave up.
Well, unless you're prepared to follow through on them...
I think that this is completely the wrong method.
Can you please stop giving me a bad name?
Maybe it's the right method?
Imagine if all the motorists realised what a bad name they get from all the other bad motorists and started enforcing the speeding laws? I would be quite happy to share the road with motorists that angrily beeped at any driver using a mobile phone or overtaking at inappropriate places. Even better would be motorists ganging together to move all the inconsiderately parked vehicles that block pavements and prevent prams/wheelchairs from using them.
I'd like to see what happens on the motorways when everyone going over 70mph gets aggressively beeped/swerved at.
I wouldn't! There'd be a constant cacophony of car horns!
What does anyone really think is going to happen for calling out transgressions by other road users. Whether it be cyclist-on-cyclist (having a go about jumping red lights for example), cyclist-on-motorist (like the video recently where the driver hit the car in front) or driver-on-driver.
Drivers KNOW that mobile phone use is wrong. The guy in the recent video, he knew he'd been caught red-handed on film and the correct response should be to immediately drop the phone and apologise and feel embarrassed. But it wasn't, it was outright rage and an argument. Even though he was clearly in the wrong.
Same with telling someone not to jump lights. What do you realistically think is going to happen, the cyclist is going to apologise profusely to you? They're going to tell you to sod off and mind your own business (quite rightly IMO).
About the only time I've ever had anything like a positive response is pointing out to a driver that they haven't got their lights on and even then it's usually just an embarrased shrug and flick the lights on. Very rare you get any thanks.
It's not worth the hassle to be policing other people's behaviour. Ride your bike, be safe and considerate (and that by the way is not necessarily the same as obeying the law) and avoid the twats.
Mind you, the last time that I shouted out at a cyclist after she had gone through a red light, I got a positive response. However, I shouted that she was carrying a pizza box all wrong - they need to be flat, not vertical and she laughed and said that it'll be fine.
I have been known to snarl at cyclists who jump a red when I'm crossing as a pedestrian with a 'green man'. Or even if I see them do it to someone else. ( I've also been known to immediately regret it when I belatedly notice they look like they could be one of them knifey-youths we hear so much about these days)
Self-interest both demands and entitles me to complain when they menace peds.
But if it's just between a cyclist and motorists it's really none of my business. I'm not inclined to demand other cyclists show respect to our motorised overlords by scrupulously following the very rules that those motorists regularly and habitually ignore.
Nor am I inclined to try to persaude them that if only we all did that and maintained it for long enough, motorists would eventually see the error of their ways and obey the rules themselves and/or stop killing vulnerable road-users. Because I don't believe that myself.
PS - 'take their dogs out on bikes' gives me a mental image of dogs on special custom-framed bikes riding alongside their owners. Sounds kind-of cute to me.
Well, at least when the "Cyclists who jump red lights should be prosecuted" argument is presented, you can point to this one and say "They are".
<“Behaviour like this is inexcusable,” it continued, adding that the rider concerned had been prosecuted. >
Not that that minor fact he was prosecuted will stop the Daily Fail turning this into a 20 page spread about the evils of 2 wheeled ninjas running amock on the UK streets... and of course calling for the heads of all who dare to venture out on 2 wheels.