Argument with the police

jonomc4

Generally speaking I am a police supporter and appreciate the work they do.

Disclaimer over: Yesterday on my bike I came to a cross road - the lights were green - I was on a bus / bikelane and there is no road for cars. In the opposite direction cars can use the road and cars can turn right at the crossroads I was approaching.

As I approached the cross road the lights had just turned green and I set off going straight ahead - but the cars from the opposite direction decided to turn right across my path - needless to say I had to slam on the anchors hard and gave a "what the F**K" shout.

Two policemen standing at the side of the road - then say "Oy aren't the lights are red"! I had to point out to them that when I had set off the lights were green. To which I get "are you sure". At this point I had just about had enough - nearly knocked off my bike and now two thick coppers assuming I had run a red light.

I took the time to explain to them that in 27 years of driving a car I had managed to learn the difference between a red and green light and they they should take the time to sit there and what the next light change - that way they could see that if I was running a red light then the cars would have to be also as the lights go green on both sides at the same time.

I also explained to them that they were idiots and part of their basic training is not to make assumptions (I.e. that because I am on a bike I have automatically jumped a red light) and that they should have looked at the facts - things like remembering the license plate of the car that had a go at killing me - of course they hadn't they were too busy trying to blame me for red light jumping - sadly for them I am too old and grumpy to take crap from idiots even if they are in a uniform.

What chance do cyclists stand if this is the standard of policing our roads?

rick_chasey

5-0!

5-0!

EKE_38BPM

Maybe if many (not all, not most, many) cyclists didn't RLJ then many people wouldn't automatically assume that you didn't RLJ.

I have nowhere near as much sympathy for you as I know I should.

jonomc4

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Maybe if many (not all, not most, many) cyclists didn't RLJ then many people wouldn't automatically assume that you didn't RLJ.

I have nowhere near as much sympathy for you as I know I should.

My lord - I have an intardnet stalker!

P.s. I think you got too many double negatives in there.

EKE_38BPM

jonomc4 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Maybe if many (not all, not most, many) cyclists didn't RLJ then many people wouldn't automatically assume that you didn't RLJ.

I have nowhere near as much sympathy for you as I know I should.

My lord - I have an intardnet stalker!

P.s. I think you got too many double negatives in there.

Not just on the internet. I watch you riding up Bromley Hill almost everyday!

I stand by what I wrote and how I wrote it. So I won't not never change it for no-one.

jonomc4

Nah mate I have to walk up Bromley Hill - too steep for me to cycle it.

Twostage

I had an 'almost thing' with the police last night. You'll probably have seen we had a bit of weather here yesterday. I was cycling up a road which was closed due to flooding (nice little lake with a car island). I biked through the lake (the nice police lady at the bottom said I could go through if I didn't mind getting wet) and came to some lights. The police at the junction were turning people back at the lights. As I approached they changed to green but a car was doing a 3 point turn to go back the way they came. I moved into the junction and slowed down to let him manoeuvre. As he finished we both set off just as the lights turned red again. I heard the policeman shout and out of the corner of my eye I saw him pointing at the red light. What did he think I was going to do ? turn round or reverse back through the junction ?
Anyway I ignored him and cycled off.

jonny_trousers

Hey, don't assume the boys and girls in blue can't be dickheads too! Apart from the one who drove into me because she "didn't look" when doing a left turn a couple of years ago, I was waiting in the ASL of a junction I use 6 days a week recently with the usual collection of motorbikes and mopeds around me. From my vantage point I could easily see the pedestrian lights turning from green to red, and I knew perfectly well that meant a green for traffic was about three seconds away. Anticipating this, and as I had the SPD SLs on, I clipped in and began to roll very slowly towards the solid line without crossing it only to have some 16 year old copper in a van behind me lean on his horn. When he passed me by his mate started wagging his finger and trying to tell me off and I tried to tell him that I'd done nothing wrong, hoping he'd then pull me over, but alas...

I'm not sure what's annoying me more at the moment, the assumption that all cyclists are just itching to break the law where red lights are concerned, or the fact that so many, ordinarily law abiding people are happy to ride their bikes like utter c*nts and therefore reinforce the stereotype that because you cycle you are inevitably going to RLJ.

davis

I was a witness to a car crash yesterday. A car pulled out (very badly) to overtake a cyclist, and simply drove into oncoming traffic. No-one was badly hurt. I grabbed the cyclist's (who was unharmed) phone number, and he said he had to go and pick his daughter up and left.

I spoke to the police when they arrived, and explained this. The copper that was taking my witness statement said "so the cyclist caused the crash, then legged it, right?". I tried my best to set her straight, but frankly I was a bit of a bag of nerves (car crashes spook me quite a bit).

According to the people following the car that caused the crash, he'd been driving erratically. There was nothing wrong with the cyclist's cycling at all, or his behaviour (well, ok he should've stuck around for the cops really, but I've no idea what situation his daughter was in), but the copper was blaming the cyclist automatically, and almost eagerly. I really regret not tearing into her now, as the default "bloody cyclists" reaction does us no favours, especially when it comes from a supposedly impartial authority figure.

TheEnglishman

You were there, not he copper, so if it goes to court the copper copper would get torn to shreds - sounds like he was trying to lead you into saying something!

gbsahne001

Doesn't really surprise me, I've been run of the road by a police van, seen them reward a driver who'd clearly jumped a red with simply a beep of the horn, despite almost hitting me and after reporting a driver for aggressively trying to cut me up whilst shouting get on the pavement, only to get a response "that if there was a cycle path (there was) I should be on it".

Ben6899

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

I'm not sure what's annoying me more at the moment, the assumption that all cyclists are just itching to break the law where red lights are concerned, or the fact that so many, ordinarily law abiding people are happy to ride their bikes like utter c*nts and therefore reinforce the stereotype that because you cycle you are inevitably going to RLJ.

This. For sure.

You should know; you cycle in Regent's Park, right?

jonny_trousers

Ben6899 wrote:

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

I'm not sure what's annoying me more at the moment, the assumption that all cyclists are just itching to break the law where red lights are concerned, or the fact that so many, ordinarily law abiding people are happy to ride their bikes like utter c*nts and therefore reinforce the stereotype that because you cycle you are inevitably going to RLJ.

This. For sure.

You should know; you cycle in Regent's Park, right?

Indeed I do. Was there Thursday fighting the headwind and found myself dropped by a group I'd tagged onto because I didn't want to run that light that always seems to be on red at the south westerly point. I thought I'd be law abiding and then kick their arses, but sadly only the first part of the plan worked out.

supersonic

The police asked two questions as far as I can see: probably better than pulling you over and charging you!

Maybe they should have watched more carefully though. Maybe they were watching something else at the start, who knows.

team47b

No-one argues with the police here - they wear riding boots, sunglasses and guns :shock:

Makes you think twice about RLJing

arthur_scrimshaw

EKE_38BPM wrote:

jonomc4 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Maybe if many (not all, not most, many) cyclists didn't RLJ then many people wouldn't automatically assume that you didn't RLJ.

I have nowhere near as much sympathy for you as I know I should.

My lord - I have an intardnet stalker!

P.s. I think you got too many double negatives in there.

Not just on the internet. I watch you riding up Bromley Hill almost everyday!

I stand by what I wrote and how I wrote it. So I won't not never change it for no-one.

no not ever never ... never (with some apologies to Ian Dury)

Initialised

Twostage wrote:

I had an 'almost thing' with the police last night. You'll probably have seen we had a bit of weather here yesterday. I was cycling up a road which was closed due to flooding (nice little lake with a car island). I biked through the lake (the nice police lady at the bottom said I could go through if I didn't mind getting wet) and came to some lights. The police at the junction were turning people back at the lights. As I approached they changed to green but a car was doing a 3 point turn to go back the way they came. I moved into the junction and slowed down to let him manoeuvre. As he finished we both set off just as the lights turned red again. I heard the policeman shout and out of the corner of my eye I saw him pointing at the red light. What did he think I was going to do ? turn round or reverse back through the junction ?
Anyway I ignored him and cycled off.

The pigs didn't bother me cycling down the wrong fast lane on a (normally) busy dual carriageway. I think because you couldn't really tell where the river stopped and the road began law didn't really apply.

spen666

Green traffic light only means you can proceed with caution if it is safe to do so.

One should not assume that because lights are green it is safe to proceed

bompington

spen666 wrote:

Green traffic light only means you can proceed with caution if it is safe to do so.

One should not assume that because lights are green it is safe to proceed

Quite right, we should start a campaign to name and shame GLJers

jonny_trousers

bompington wrote:

spen666 wrote:

Green traffic light only means you can proceed with caution if it is safe to do so.

One should not assume that because lights are green it is safe to proceed

Quite right, we should start a campaign to name and shame GLJers

tallmansix

bompington wrote:

spen666 wrote:

Green traffic light only means you can proceed with caution if it is safe to do so.

One should not assume that because lights are green it is safe to proceed

Quite right, we should start a campaign to name and shame GLJers

Haha yes,it frustrates me sometimes when I see RLJ's passing through many a junction with ease while the peds are on green, then I expose myself to oncoming traffic, cars trying to overtake while turning right etc... yes, going on green could possibly be more dangerous than going through on red

Anyway, I'm confessing to making some dangerous GLJ's

merkin

spen666 wrote:

Green traffic light only means you can proceed with caution if it is safe to do so.

One should not assume that because lights are green it is safe to proceed

Thanks for that. :roll: