When is it OK to RLJ

linsen

I agree. It gives evryone the right to criticise. BUT... if I leave work late and I'm the only thing waiting in the queue for the lights out of the road from work, the lights ignore me. I get off, go to the pedestrian crossing, wait, walk etc etc
What a palaver - note to self - leave work earlier

anweledig

I can't see the problem. I am, after all, a better driver than most so it is quite reasonable for me to use my judgement about which traffic laws to obey. I can safely ignore such trivial issues as speed limits, tiresome irritations like restricting my right to use my phone when I know it is safe to do so and foolish constraints such as stopping at red lights when I can avoid any delays by keeping going. Of course some ignorant fools fail to recognise my obvious superiority and try to hold me back at their own sluggish pace but I usually just ignore them and carry on regardless.

Of course when I am on my bike I am still superior and can apply the same philosophy and get most self righteously upset when some lesser mortal suggests I should behave differently.

Gilbie

I voted yes :oops: The only red I will jump is a left turn on the way to work at the start of a steep hill. A259 Bexhill road / Harley Shute turning. Whilst the cars are sitting behind a red light I can usually clear the hill without having some impatient driver sit on my back wheel.

Eat My Dust

You go away for a day and you come back to another RLJing thread. Why am I surprised?

always_tyred

Eat My Dust wrote:

You go away for a day and you come back to another RLJing thread. Why am I surprised?

You aren't surprised. You are dismayed.

chas67

I vote yes - as long as you're not getting in anybody's way - just gets a bit tiresome looking over your shoulder for the plod before each rlj ..... anybody else been stopped by the police for this? Did you get anything more that a telling off?

DonDaddyD

I RLJed several times yesterday. - But not at a junction and only when the crossing was clear and there wasn't any pedestrians looking as though they were gonna cross.

Why? I was worried that at any time my back wheel was gonna collapse on me (several loose spokes) and was desperate to get to the bike shop as quickly as possible.

gtvlusso

Always Tyred wrote:

ChrisInBicester wrote:

Spitchips wrote:

If you approach lights and they turn red why not just jump of bike and push it across the road and then leap back on and carry on cycling - no laws broken their and shortens waiting time at lights.

See I'll treat all RLs as a Give Way, but got berated for saying so on here last week. The theme that emerged was that we can't pick & choose which laws to obey (to which I say cobblers, I'm a 46 with young kids. My judgment call is my own decision).

But this reply [above] gets me. Cyclists are a fine line between peds and traffic. It doesn't make sense to me that getting off and pushing the thing round a corner is in any way different to going at exactly the same speed, using half the road space, by staying aboard and using the eyes & ears to be sure that it's safe. Walking in the road is ok, but being on it is a big no-no?

RLJing is everything from flying through a busy zebra crossing in town scattering peds left right & centre, to sidling through a deserted junction with no-one for miles around. Yet the zealouts can't distinguish. Shame. I'll carry on thanks.

I don't think many people argue with the general sentiment - for sure some will always be more cautious than other though - the point is that the day to day reality of motorists' attitudes is unrelated to the finer points of fact, tehy only see that someone is moving when they are stationary, "Grr" (or enough of them do to worry me).

Maybe it depends where you live? I'm far more worried in certain areas of the city than others, and in some cities than others. I've had enough experience of motorists (a tiny minority) getting so angry that they drive deliberately at you, or try to run you into parked cars, that sort of thing, to make me absolutely convinced that as a simple consequence of being smaller, lighter and more easily damaged than a car, I should give the appearance of objeying traffic laws (and to refrain giving the finger to people with dilated pupils and dodgy complexions.... that's another story..)

So when these debates drone on about how somoene's judgement should be allowed to be excersised, etc, is to totally miss the point.

Agree with the "where you live" sentiment. I think the Laaandon crowd on here get the worst traffic, junctions, driving attitudes and so on - So, I don't blame any of them for stopping at everything - in fact I admire them for just cycling in the place! However, back in the outlands here, we just don't have the complex road systems/signage, aggressive traffic/drivers and sometimes don't see a soul on our routes....the law is the law I guess, but if it really is not hurting anyone....and their is nothing about!

gtvlusso

ellieb wrote:

See I'll treat all RLs as a Give Way, but got berated for saying so on here last week. The theme that emerged was that we can't pick & choose which laws to obey (to which I say cobblers, I'm a 46 with young kids. My judgment call is my own decision).

Err.. have you ever met anyone who thinks that they are an incompetent moron who is unable to judge how to drive/ride correctly. I'm involved in aviation & the lives of millions of people pass through my hands each year. Does that mean I should be immune from the law and decide what I think is best every time I use the road/?

'Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools'

Unfortunately, the idiots are the only ones who live by this maxim.

I think you are taking this out of context and a bit too far.....Aviation and road cycling are not really comparable in this thread.....

spen666

why is it OK to RLJ?


When the law is changed to allow it and not until then

ride_whenever

I've done it a couple of times, in the dead of night when there is no-one to see me and it is really raining. The only other time is if the light is going amber-red and I don't think the car behind me is planning on stopping.

Eat My Dust

ChrisInBicester wrote:

The theme that emerged was that we can't pick & choose which laws to obey (to which I say cobblers, I'm a 46 with young kids. My judgment call is my own decision).

46? You should know better. Young kids? What a great role model.

Spitchips - BANNED

why cant we have during off peak traffic times all traffic lights flashing amber. So when they flash amber they mean giveway. You can approach the junction/lights if its safe too cross then go. This applies too motorists and cyclicsts. Whats the point of waiting around at lights when the roads are deserted - that could really speed up traffic flow too.

Or just allow cyclists to jump the lights andf make it legal. Obviously thr cyclist will need commonsense and apply basic road sense, if the coast is clear and no motorists then jump the ******* lights!!!!!!!! Simple, in fact, one further, pure and simple.

With that sort of incentive I bet ity could get loads of people out of those motorised armchairs and get pedalling!!!!!!!!

alfablue

I think an expectation of common sense is way too optimistic! There is a significant degree of idiocy amongst all road users, cyclists' idiocy just causes less death than motorists' idiocy.

iain_j

I voted "no". It's a pain in the @rse to get stopped at a ped crossing when there's no-one about but hey it's only a few seconds. Riding around the city I expect to get caught at traffic lights so it doesn't bother me.

The only times I have RLJ'ed is when I know the sensors haven't detected me - been stuck at that junction outside Bangor station, and in Preston, waited through nearly 2 cycles of green lights around the junction before I realised I wasn't going to get a go, so got off and walked across. At that moment a car rolled up behind and hey presto, my road got green.

cee

anweledig wrote:

I can't see the problem. I am, after all, a better driver than most so it is quite reasonable for me to use my judgement about which traffic laws to obey. I can safely ignore such trivial issues as speed limits, tiresome irritations like restricting my right to use my phone when I know it is safe to do so and foolish constraints such as stopping at red lights when I can avoid any delays by keeping going. Of course some ignorant fools fail to recognise my obvious superiority and try to hold me back at their own sluggish pace but I usually just ignore them and carry on regardless.

Of course when I am on my bike I am still superior and can apply the same philosophy and get most self righteously upset when some lesser mortal suggests I should behave differently.