RLJ on foot

brianandrews

I was waiting at red lights in Shepherds Bush the other day at the same spot that I was taken out a few weeks earlier,when I saw another cyclist stp, get off his bike and walk across the junction while our lights were red and get back on the other side of the junction.
I don't think i've seen such stupidity in quite some time...

dhope

Happens plenty, always amuses me. Never anyone that I haven't repassed within 30 yards of the lights going green.

Ian.B

If you do it at Blackfriars, it saves you a whole light sequence onto the down ramp. Just saying. Not sure why it's so stupid?

Paul E

If I know its a long sequence and it's easy to walk the bike over and carry on at the same pace, no one I have gone past has ever come back past me.

EKE_38BPM

Mixed mode commuting, ennit? It makes me chuckle, usually as I cruise past the RLW (Red Light Walker).

cookeeemonster

Wouldn't do it myself but I got no problem with that. Better than red light jumping in my opinion

jds_1981

Not sure why you think it's stupid. I'm sure pedestrians are allowed to cross there when they think it safe?

First.Aspect

I'm not sure either. Its not really practicable if you are in road shoes and most strong cyclists simply can't be bothered. However its perfectly legal and doesn't trouble anyone. So what is there to object to?

Pufftmw

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mixed mode commuting, ennit? It makes me chuckle, usually as I cruise past the RLW (Red Light Walker).

Had to re-read that as I thought you'd bypassed the swearfilter

I think I prefer what I originally thought I saw and its actually a group terminology for everyone who abuses the Red Light system because they can't be bothered to wait a few seconds & includes that particularly annoying breed of cyclist who plonks themselves in front of you & moves off slowly...

Paul E

At the moment there is only one point that it helps on and thats the light leading back onto tooley street from under one of the arches due to the road works, its a ped crossing and it's on red for ages so I walk the bike across it and as it's a one way system it's not into the path of any other vehicles

Headhuunter

I don't understand the problem with this.... Ok you may pass the person shortly after but clearly they are further ahead than they would've been, they're just slower riders and it means they have avoided the usual jostling by car divers as they try to accelerate past when the lights turn green

squired

It is something that I do regularly on my commute, particularly in the winter. In my case I'm pretty fast, but I certainly don't see the problem with people doing it, fast or slow. It is totally legal and especially when it is cold is better than standing around for minutes at a time. Mind you, my commute takes just short of an hour. If it was shorter I'd probably not bother.

CiB

Add me to the puzzled shrug dept. I don't see the issue, and it's nothing to do with some other cyclist catching & passing - it's all about reducing the time one's own journey takes surely. If I can save sitting through a 2 minute TL cycle by walking across a ped crossing showing green : safe to cross, I might well do that. Criticising it is a bit churlish.

rolf_f

I don't see what the fuss is either. There's one place I sometimes do it. I turn a corner and 50 feet infront of me is a traffic light at which I need to turn left at. 100 yards past that light is another traffic light. That will have turned red about the same time as the first one has turned green - so I always know that I'll have to wait for the full sequence at the second light every time.

If as I turn the corner, the first light is changing to red, I know I have plenty of time to dismount, walk round the corner, wait for the traffic to pass, get back onto my bike and reach the second lights whilst they are green. This saves me the wait of a full sequence. I can't see any reason not to do this. If I turn the corner and the first lights are red I'll always wait because I won't know if they've been red for a while and are almost due to change anyway.

As for criticising people for doing it and not being fast on the bike - that makes no sense to me. However slow you are, you are still faster when moving than stationary!! It's just good time management!

mroli

I've seen someone do this on a scooter, which I thought was pushing it (literally) a little bit... What we do if people started doing it in a car?

jds_1981

mroli wrote:

I've seen someone do this on a scooter, which I thought was pushing it (literally) a little bit... What we do if people started doing it in a car?

There is a Mr Bean sketch...

adskis

Perhaps the reason that some people don’t like the RLW’r is the same reason that some car drivers don’t like bikes filtering to the front of traffic queues. While it is not illegal, it somehow goes against the truly British pastime of orderly queuing. By finding a way around ‘the system’ (for want of a better term) it just grates a little.

mtb-idle

I occassionally do it too. It's not RLJ'ing because I'm crossing on the green man at the pedestrian crossing whilst pushing my bike.

There's only two points on my commute that i will consider it tho and only if the lights turn red as i approach them.

One is at the crossing near Tooting Broadway and Garrett Lane on CS7 and the other is at the junction of Royal Mint St and Leman St on CS8.

in both instances this is because they a) have long changes so it's worthwhile and b) I know that next in the sequence is the green man on my left as i dismount.

I only do this in the mornings heading into London, I never botherin the evenings.

Headhuunter

Adskis wrote:

Perhaps the reason that some people don’t like the RLW’r is the same reason that some car drivers don’t like bikes filtering to the front of traffic queues. While it is not illegal, it somehow goes against the truly British pastime of orderly queuing. By finding a way around ‘the system’ (for want of a better term) it just grates a little.

If you're walking your bike on the pavement or across the road it's definitely not illegal, in fact it's perfectly acceptable and legal! You have as much right to wheel your bike on the pavement and across roads as you have to wheel a suitcase!

tetm

Might just be cyclocross training.

First.Aspect

Number of posts = 1.

Taxi driver? General builder perhaps?

Pufftmw

So difference on this to jumping onto the pavement to ride round an obstruction?

First.Aspect

Pufftmw wrote:

So difference on this to jumping onto the pavement to ride round an obstruction?

Riding?

brianandrews

Maybe I didn't explain clearly enough. When the guy got off his bike to walk through the red light the other light was green. This meant that the traffic with right of way from his left could have mown him down because he was walking through the middle of a busy junction. Personally if I was going to RLJ I would do it on my bike - at least I am moving quicker. Not that I think this is a good idea either If you think it's a good idea to cross a busy junction like this why not let you kids do it.

jds_1981

brianandrews wrote:

Maybe I didn't explain clearly enough. When the guy got off his bike to walk through the red light the other light was green. This meant that the traffic with right of way from his left could have mown him down because he was walking through the middle of a busy junction. Personally if I was going to RLJ I would do it on my bike - at least I am moving quicker. Not that I think this is a good idea either If you think it's a good idea to cross a busy junction like this why not let you kids do it.

Meh, pedestrians are stupid and sometimes cross at unsuitable points/times. You're preaching to the choir

First.Aspect

So, basically he was jay walking, and happened to be wheeling a bicycle?

Did he cross safely and was that by luck or good judgement?

EDIT: By the way, when you are on foot, you can go forwards and backwards and side to side. On a bike, you can go forward or stop. So, aside from the fact that he wasn't RLJing as such, he was getting across the junction more safely than RLJing by bike. Or less unsafely, perhaps.

Kieran_Burns

First Aspect wrote:

So, basically he was jay walking, and happened to be wheeling a bicycle?

Did he cross safely and was that by luck or good judgement?

EDIT: By the way, when you are on foot, you can go forwards and backwards and side to side. On a bike, you can go forward or stop. So, aside from the fact that he wasn't RLJing as such, he was getting across the junction more safely than RLJing by bike. Or less unsafely, perhaps.

Jay walking does not exist as a legal term in the UK.

First.Aspect

No one likes a smart ar$e. What is the legal term then? (Not that I was using it as a legal term).

Kieran_Burns

First Aspect wrote:

No one likes a smart ar$e. What is the legal term then? (Not that I was using it as a legal term).

There's no such thing as Jay walking in the UK full stop. Over here our laws actually allow people to make a decision for themselves and take some responsibility.

First.Aspect

Kieran_Burns wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

No one likes a smart ar$e. What is the legal term then? (Not that I was using it as a legal term).

There's no such thing as Jay walking in the UK full stop. Over here our laws actually allow people to make a decision for themselves and take some responsibility.

Although funnily enough the Northern Ireland constabulary collect data on jaywalking. :?

meanredspider

At what point does a pedestrian pushing a bike become a cyclist? (Realised I don't know). Do you need to be astride the thing?