Poll: RLJ'ers

secretsam

Your opinions on RLJ'ing cyclists, please. You can guess where I stand.

cee

i just don't see the point a lot of the time.....

Its not like I don't catch most of them up anyway.

OK, so with no traffic, or pedestrians, I do admit to sometimes being a little keen on the off before it goes to amber, but even then, i try to time it so that it is amber when i cross it.

dang65

I voted, "Yes, they give us all a bad name", but I probably wouldn't go as far as calling them the scum of the earth!

I know it happens a lot in big city centres, but away from those places I rarely (if ever) see RLJ'ers, or pavement cyclists for that matter. Or pedestrians on the pavement either. Just cars everywhere, driving appallingly a lot of the time.

So I just find all the moaning about RLJ'ers and pavement cyclists quite bewildering. But then again, I rarely see anyone wearing a hoodie or drinking in the street, and most places don't have more than the occasional CCTV camera. It's a different world outside of the big cities.

Gussio

I quite enjoy waiting at lights in the sunshine, watching the pretty girls walk past and looking forward to beating the cars off the mark when the green light comes on. Happy days.

dirk_van_gently

Gussio wrote:

watching the pretty girls walk past and looking forward to beating the cars off the mark when the green light comes on. Happy days.

Would be nice if there were some traffic lights on my route, so I could do a bit of oggling :roll:
Voted yes, not sure they are scum though, just reckless.

robmanic1

If it's good enough for Lewis Hamilton, it's good enough for me!

DavidTQ

Its funny theres a RLJer I meet on my route, this chap :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUHGSh52bQ

If I come up from behind and he doesnt know Im there he jumps the light as per the clip. If he knows Im there or he comes up behind me whilst Im stopped at the light he waits at the light

He's an ok guy I talk to him often, just that he does have a habit of pavement cycling and RLJ'ing when he doesnt know Im around and he thinks it will save him some time

Gussio

DavidTQ wrote:

Its funny theres a RLJer I meet on my route, this chap :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUHGSh52bQ

If I come up from behind and he doesnt know Im there he jumps the light as per the clip. If he knows Im there or he comes up behind me whilst Im stopped at the light he waits at the light

He's an ok guy I talk to him often, just that he does have a habit of pavement cycling and RLJ'ing when he doesnt know Im around and he thinks it will save him some time

I like this naming and shaming approach

jonginge

Robmanic1 wrote:

If it's good enough for Lewis Hamilton, it's good enough for me!

I was Raikkonnen this morning I'd been stationary at a red light for a couple of seconds (it'd just turned red) when someone smashed* into the back of me. Appararently he was watching a car that had changed lanes without signalling so was excused from watching where he was going :shock:


* ok, 'smashed' was a bit of an overstatement but didn't stop me berating him while he was still on the deck. (Ankle is a bit knackered now the adrenalin has worn off)

Clever Pun

I'll go through a red on ped crossings where everyone has already crossed, that's the only time I rlj

if it's a junction then I wait

It is annoying sitting at the line watching others creep forward to no effect though

patchy

Clever Pun wrote:

I'll go through a red on ped crossings where everyone has already crossed, that's the only time I rlj

if it's a junction then I wait

It is annoying sitting at the line watching others creep forward to no effect though

ditto - although i would add a couple of quiet crossroads where i know the timings too, and i know that when the green man is on no cars will be coming from any direction.

alfablue

I don't think LH actually went through the red light until he was hit himself. He would have probably gone through had he not been stopped by KR's rear wing though.

As for RLJ'ers, I don't think they are scum, just mindless and selfish.

biondino

We all know there are times when it's 100% safe to jump a red light (i.e. almost never at a junction but every now and then at a pedestrian crossing), but it's people who jump them unnecessarily that does my head in. I obviously wouldn't wish for anyone to be hit by a car but every morning on my commute I see half a dozen people who could seriously do with a big scare - I have to say I'm so tempted to scream LOOK OUT!!! without any reason just to see what the idiots do, but I've never done it yet.

The other no-no is weaving through pedestrians at a red light or on a zebra crossing. There's never any excuse and it'll never save you more than a few seconds in any case.

Jon8a

At most junctions it is not acceptable. Typical crossroads, busy T junctions etc.

The ones I have jumped are the ones at road works where it's down to one lane and the light don't see me. There were a set on a long hill that I couldn't get through in time so I resorted to cycling in the coned area.

The other sort is on my commute where there is an offset corssroad
...... l
->---l---l

---

............l

the left turn is a deadend so no cars go down there. The cars coming from the right never come anywhere near me.

Surf-Matt

Don't see a single set of lights in my 10 mile "commute" every day

dirk_van_gently

biondino wrote:

I have to say I'm so tempted to scream LOOK OUT!!! without any reason just to see what the idiots do, but I've never done it yet.

Why not? go for it.

biondino wrote:

weaving through pedestrians at a red light or on a zebra crossing. .....and it'll never save you more than a few seconds in any case.

I am always bewildered by the concept of "Saving Time", because we can't, we don't have a special "Time" account, that we can store time in for the future.
So why are some folk hell bent on being in a rush?

secretsam

Dirk Van Gently wrote:

So why are some folk hell bent on being in a rush?

Perhaps they really enjoy their jobs? Or are always running late? Or need a thrill in their otherwise dull lives?

Or perhaps they're desperate to sample hospital food?

Belv

JonGinge wrote:

Robmanic1 wrote:

If it's good enough for Lewis Hamilton, it's good enough for me!

I was Raikkonnen this morning I'd been stationary at a red light for a couple of seconds (it'd just turned red) when someone smashed* into the back of me. Appararently he was watching a car that had changed lanes without signalling so was excused from watching where he was going :shock:


* ok, 'smashed' was a bit of an overstatement but didn't stop me berating him while he was still on the deck. (Ankle is a bit knackered now the adrenalin has worn off)

Give him a ten-place penalty for tomorrows commute!

lost_in_thought

I was one of the 'do it occasionally' ones... Sorry to the large percentage who think it's dreadful!

I generally only do it at pedestrian crossings where there are no pedestrians, and very occasionally at junctions I know well enough to cross on the little green man and be safe.

I don't do it for time-saving, more for continued momentum. I can't do that thing where you stand on the bike and keep it still, and prefer not to take my feet out of the clips if possible.

But for crossroads it has to be a good reason, like an aggressive WVM behind me, or being stuck to the left of a truck if I didn't or simply to get ahead of the traffic while avoiding some of the massive potholes on my route.

The bile I get from drivers sometimes is amazing, just this morning someone shouted (censored) 'i hope you get effing knocked off you effing stupid bitch.' Nice!

steve_pushbiker

I voted for an occasional. I stop most of the time and 100% of the time when there is traffic around. It's not worth the scorn of the drivers. But, say it's 6am, there are no cars about, you're going along at a nice pace to a crossroads where the lights go round in sequence and your way turns to red. What do you do?

always_tyred

What do you do about lights that don't trigger for bikes?

Its only a problem when there's minimal traffic. I would happily stand up in court and argue that they had failed to function correctly and I don't think its reasonable to expect the cyclist to wait indefinitely until what the planners regard as "a vehicle" to turn up.

That's the only circumstance that I run red lights. However, I could use some posititve reinforcement from my fellow cyclists. :?

DavidTQ

Always Tyred wrote:

What do you do about lights that don't trigger for bikes?

Its only a problem when there's minimal traffic. I would happily stand up in court and argue that they had failed to function correctly and I don't think its reasonable to expect the cyclist to wait indefinitely until what the planners regard as "a vehicle" to turn up.

That's the only circumstance that I run red lights. However, I could use some posititve reinforcement from my fellow cyclists. :?

If a lights genuinely stuck theres nothing illegal about dismounting walking across and remounting your bike.

I have to say I would prefer that than taking a chance if there was traffic around. Its just possible that with a clear view at "empty road o'clock" I would consider riding through if I had been waiting long enough to be sure, but I doubt it, being as it would be such a rare occurance I would probably do the "right" thing anyway. This however is partly a product of my route not having such problems with traffic sensing lights, and the sheer volume of traffic on most of my commute.

Bassjunkieuk

On my commute through London I'd have to say it's about 50/50 with RLJ's and people who do stop. I personally always stop for red lights, regardless of where they are as I don't really see me losing that much time to make it worth the risk. As one of the previous posters said it allows you time to enjoy the "scenery" - which with the warm weather over the last few days has made London very "scenic"

I stopped at one set the other day on the ped crossing just round the corner of Euston station and an older gent pulled up along side me. Another cyclist came straight through in between us (I was further out to avoid a nasty pothole on the other side) and narrowly missed the people crossing - at which point the old guy just muttered "tw4t"! Couldn't really put it better myself!

gtvlusso

Nice voting buttons! Not biased at all!

I do RLJ, I live with it - commute is 36.4 miles each way at the moment for work. Only reason is to keep momentum whilst clipped in and not be amongst the traffic lanes - i.e. first away in front! I am more cautious in adverse weather and winter with dark evenings - I also

Probably would not do it in London, bit quieter where I live though and the lights/synchronisation and traffic flow is obvious! Although I do cross a motorway junction on a business park - that gets a bit busy and messy!!

Rather be ahead of traffic, after all most drivers are looking forward, not at mirrors, side windows or behind them.

Apologies to those that don't feel comfortable with it, don't mean to give you a "bad" name, if that has occured.

always_tyred

DavidTQ wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

What do you do about lights that don't trigger for bikes?

Its only a problem when there's minimal traffic. I would happily stand up in court and argue that they had failed to function correctly and I don't think its reasonable to expect the cyclist to wait indefinitely until what the planners regard as "a vehicle" to turn up.

That's the only circumstance that I run red lights. However, I could use some posititve reinforcement from my fellow cyclists. :?

If a lights genuinely stuck theres nothing illegal about dismounting walking across and remounting your bike.

I have to say I would prefer that than taking a chance if there was traffic around. Its just possible that with a clear view at "empty road o'clock" I would consider riding through if I had been waiting long enough to be sure, but I doubt it, being as it would be such a rare occurance I would probably do the "right" thing anyway. This however is partly a product of my route not having such problems with traffic sensing lights, and the sheer volume of traffic on most of my commute.

Yes, that's fair enough. The places I'm thinking of are single line alternates across a canal and railway bridge on a rat run. Once the rats have gone home, the road is very quiet.

When I'm faced with the problem in a decent amount of opposing traffic (obviously not going my way or the bloody lights would trip) I've tended to filter left, turn right on that road and come back on myself (again - the instance I'm thinking of makes this somewhat sensible).

spursn17

Sorry, but I RLJ most of the time cycling to work in London.

I don't want to be involved in a drag race to make for the usual one lane on the other side of the lights. I'll do whatever I consider safe for me, although I wont cross pedestrian lights with people on the crossing, and if I do RLJ I always check all roads at the junctions.

always_tyred

the guys say that they RLJ in order to get a jump on traffic through junctions -

Are you talking about crossing the white line, to get immediately in front of traffic, basically making your own advance stop line....

Or are you literally going through the junction at any stage where you judge there to be no traffic....

I have no issue with the former - I do it.

spursn17

Always Tyred, I'm afraid it's the latter.

I don't do it where I live (quiet town just outside London) but consider central London to be a different kettle of fish. Every driver seems so much more aggressive and I don't want to be mixed up in their stupidity.

Clever Pun

Always Tyred wrote:

Are you talking about crossing the white line, to get immediately in front of traffic, basically making your own advance stop line....

I tend to do this if there is a handy railing/post to hold onto while waiting for the lights to change... dependent on the junction really

Alibran

There's one red light (in fact one of only 3 sets on my commute) that I do ride through regularly, because I don't have any other choice. It's a set of lights at a crossroads that automatically goes to red if it doesn't sense a vehicle nearby. I've tried approaching from several different angles and road positions, but the sensors never detect my bike. Short of waiting for a car to come along and trigger them (which could mean a very long wait at 6am), I don't see I have any option but to ride through.

Having said that, I don't consider myself an RLJer, I don't do it at any other set of lights, and I wouldn't do it at those if I felt I had any other choice.

Mike Healey

Alibran wrote:

There's one red light (in fact one of only 3 sets on my commute) that I do ride through regularly, because I don't have any other choice. It's a set of lights at a crossroads that automatically goes to red if it doesn't sense a vehicle nearby. I've tried approaching from several different angles and road positions, but the sensors never detect my bike. Short of waiting for a car to come along and trigger them (which could mean a very long wait at 6am), I don't see I have any option but to ride through.

Having said that, I don't consider myself an RLJer, I don't do it at any other set of lights, and I wouldn't do it at those if I felt I had any other choice.

Get on to your local Highways Department, the sensors need adjusting. Used to do this from time to time with my old employer when I was a p.t. cycling officer. They always solved the problem