Cyclists who use Zebras as right turn priority lanes...

lotuseater

Riding in this am, Connaught St, West End. Accelerating, up to about 17 mph.

Cyclist coming in opposite direction, suddenly turns right, coming across my path, on the Zebra crossing, and expects me to brake and stop and let him through, as I would of course let a pedestrian. I don't anchor on to stop, but continue and force the issue and he chickens out and stops - but only just. I irritatedly address him "You twat!" as he gets indignant and makes faces and noises suggesting it was his right of way and I should have stopped for him.

This is dangerous cycling and plain wrong in my book. If he'd dismounted then he would have had right of way, no?

PBo

I agree with you, he was wrong.

I see what you mean about dismounting, but unless there was a central traffic reservation, surely he needed to leave the road and dismount, become a "ped wheeling a bike" and use the zebra as normal. I mean, depending on how close you were to the crossing, you may not have had time to stop anyway.

lotuseater

there was a central reservation bit with bollards I think, with zebra going through it. He turned right and pedalled through the reservation into my path.

I have been in my car and had similar suicidal behaviour from cyclists once or twice before. This guy surprised me though because I wasn't expecting a sudden right turn. I am more wary of possibility of bikes being ridden from the pavement on to zebras .

veronese68

He was completely wrong and sounds like a bit of a tool. The speed of a bicycle is generally rather higher than that of a pedestrian. A ped should stop and check it's safe, rather than walk straight out. So for a cyclist to turn right from the carriageway and carry on straight across a zebra is more than a little bit stupid.

msmancunia

Yeah, bit of an idiot. I don't actually feel safe cycling on the pavement, so I don't. The only time I need to cross one with my bike on my route is when I have Friday legs and take the bike on the train home (yeah I know, I'm a lightweight). I just get off on the left hand side by Victoria station (the scummy Mcr one!) and push it across.

jonny_trousers

It's simple: he was riding his bike where he shouldn't have been and is therefore in the wrong. You couldn't ride a motorbike across a zebra crossing so why a bicycle?

People riding across zebra crossings is a pet hate of mine and I've ranted about it here a couple of times. There's a junction about a mile into my journey, which has a zebra crossing over the fairly major road I turn into, and the amount of times I've seen perfectly respectable-looking, perfectly intelligent-looking people on their bikes waiting at the crossing, only too happy to stop the traffic before cycling across it and then joining the road. They must think it's their personal f*cking right-of-way machine! It makes my blood boil, I tell ya!

prj45

I don' give priority to cyclists on zebras, only pedestrians.

sketchley

Highway code says cyclist must dismount to use a Zebra so he was in wrong.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/travelandtr ... /dg_069837

"Crossing the road
79
Do not ride across equestrian crossings, as they are for horse riders only. Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across."

First.Aspect

What is an equestrian crossing? Is that one for upper class people?

bompington

First Aspect wrote:

What is an equestrian crossing? Is that one for upper class people?

Not the really upper class, we get carried in our litters across patrician crossings

veronese68

I realised that I do this almost every day. As I approach kingston Bridge from Bushy Park there is a zebra crossing with a bike lane alongside it. I stop on the island, wait for a gap or a car to stop then cross and use the cycle lane over Kingston Bridge to go passed john Lewis and avoid the tunnel.
I think the important bit is that I don't assume I have priority and just ride across the front of anyone, regardless of their means of transport. In fact, I try to make sure I don't cause any cyclists to have to stop as they usually have the speed off the bridge, or even better the launch ramp off the cycle path.

pdw

Sketchley wrote:

Highway code says cyclist must dismount to use a Zebra so he was in wrong.

plus:

19. Zebra crossings. Give traffic plenty of time to see you and to stop before you start to cross. [...] Wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing.

and

20. Where there is an island in the middle of a zebra crossing, wait on the island and follow Rule 19 before you cross the second half of the road – it is a separate crossing.

Idiots - they're everywhere, and some of them are on bikes.

Koncordski

Lots Road anyone? I've started getting really ticked off with people using this crossing when joining the traffic. Just hop off and walk across if you're nervous, don't ride over the crossing to join the traffic. I just keep going straight and they hesitate enough to avoid me (im obviously covering the brakes as well, wouldn't injure someone to prove a point). Muppets!

veronese68

This is the junction I turn right at.
I get on to the island where the white van is and wait for a gap. If anybody stops, I go. There is a shared path either side of the crossing. It looks as though they are trying to also make a shared crossing but there isn't a standard so they've dropped kerbs next to the zebra and put some paint on the pavement.
The other side is even better as there is the launch ramp before the crossing if you want to join the road. But, there is also the shared crossing option.
What do people think of that as a road/path design?

keyser__soze

Lots Road is annoying, though to be fair on occasions while I've been riding in a small group the group leader has occasionally led the group across the crossing over Kingston Hill Rd to get from Warren Rd to Ladderstile Ride (http://goo.gl/maps/pRJR). Always waited for traffic to stop and never forced bikes into the road. When I do it on my own I always either turn out into the road as usual or dismount and wheel across.

rjsterry

Keyser__Soze wrote:

Lots Road is annoying, though to be fair on occasions while I've been riding in a small group the group leader has occasionally led the group across the crossing over Kingston Hill Rd to get from Warren Rd to Ladderstile Ride (http://goo.gl/maps/pRJR). Always waited for traffic to stop and never forced bikes into the road. When I do it on my own I always either turn out into the road as usual or dismount and wheel across.

The Lots Road turning is a pig to do the right way, and often the only way you can get out is to wait for someone to use the crossing.

rml380z

bompington wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

What is an equestrian crossing? Is that one for upper class people?

Not the really upper class, we get carried in our litters across patrician crossings

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=hyde+park+corner&hl=en&ll=51.501877,-0.148401&spn=0.009417,0.017188&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=9.155704,17.600098&hnear=Hyde+Park+Corner&t=m&layer=c&cbll=51.502584,-0.149623&panoid=B_r_Nze1RaNh-wJ11bZVxQ&cbp=12,239.58,,1,5.07&z=168

If you look carefully at the post, you can see two push-button request units, one at pedestrian-height, the other at horse-rider height so they don't have to dismount.

roger_merriman

rml380z wrote:

bompington wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

What is an equestrian crossing? Is that one for upper class people?

Not the really upper class, we get carried in our litters across patrician crossings

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=hyde+park+corner&hl=en&ll=51.501877,-0.148401&spn=0.009417,0.017188&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=9.155704,17.600098&hnear=Hyde+Park+Corner&t=m&layer=c&cbll=51.502584,-0.149623&panoid=B_r_Nze1RaNh-wJ11bZVxQ&cbp=12,239.58,,1,5.07&z=168

If you look carefully at the post, you can see two push-button request units, one at pedestrian-height, the other at horse-rider height so they don't have to dismount.

there ones in Ham Common and Robin Hood gate as well as around Epsom, and other places I used to support a lad who liked them so we'd visit them!

jedster

annoys me too
I cross Bayswater Road into Hyde Park most mornings. Within a 100 yards there is a combined cycle/ped pelican crossing and a zebra crossing. It P1sses me off the number of cyclists who choose to ride across the zebra rather than a) use the cycle crossing or b) dismount and use the Zebra. Ignorant lazy barstewards.

jonny_trousers

No matter what the circumstance I think I would be far too embarrassed to stop a line of traffic before cycling past them. I know it might take longer for all concerned to dismount and walk the bike across, but I suspect it's less likely to pee motorists off.

tarquin_foxglove

Sketchley wrote:

Highway code says cyclist must dismount to use a Zebra so he was in wrong.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/travelandtr ... /dg_069837

"Crossing the road
79
Do not ride across equestrian crossings, as they are for horse riders only. Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across."

I love this site Uk Cycle Rules, your mild confusion about a cycling legal issue has probably been solved by Blondwig already.

With regards to cyclists on Zebra Crossings, no need to giveway to them but if you ride through don't do it in front of a Police car.