Police at Red Lights

islwyn
islwyn Posts: 650
edited April 2013 in Commuting general
Seems to be a big increase on this in London this week, at quite a few lights this morning I saw police with many cyclists they had pulled and were issuing £30 fixed fines, for jumping lights.

Anyone else seen em?

Guess they'll think twice if issued with a fine - but annoying... Just makes me think back to the Team GB post I saw on her a few weeks ago saying how the British teams kept riding through lights up North, I also saw 2 police officers casually cycle through lights t'other week, that annoyed me.

Keep an eye out troops... Not that I condone it, just warning you!

Comments

  • seen a few sets along Grosvenor Road/Chelsea Embankment, although on the eastbound direction only for some reason.

    Fair play to them. Hopefully they're also fining cars in the ASL's and motorbikes in the cycle lanes?
  • True...they've been mincing about Buckingham Palace/Mall way too, hauling up cyclists. They don't seem to be pulling cars over though. I actually spoke to an officer last night on the Mall, friendly guy, who said that they focus on certain things at one time. So last night, for example, was all about speed gunning motorists on the Mall.

    Annoying as it may be, it's a good thing to see them so visible out htere.
  • Yes, extra visible po-po might make drivers think twice about pulling certain manouveurs but they should clearly apply enforcement in a consistent manner. If sited at lights, yes, speak to drivers in the ASL, etc as well as focussing on n'er-do-well cyclists.
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  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    Saw a car go through a red light this morning at a crossroads, the car waiting to turn right across him was a police car. Did nothing. Unbelievable! I guess he might have clocked his number plate...
  • I have actually asked the police to come to the junction of Chelsea Bridge Rd and Ebury Bridge road on a number of occasions as im sick of idiot cyclists who think its ok to run the red light turning right. Almost weekly some of these cyclist come inches from hitting pedestrians who are innocently crossing the road on a green man.

    To the people who do this you are complete tossers. No doubt you would be the first to complain if other road users broke the rules of the road and put you at risk yet you have no problem to do it to others. Learn to ride a bike properly.

    Rant Over.
  • dav1
    dav1 Posts: 1,298
    can we get some of this in bristol please? Sick of all the RLJers on the morning commute.
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  • I have actually asked the police to come to the junction of Chelsea Bridge Rd and Ebury Bridge road on a number of occasions as im sick of idiot cyclists who think its ok to run the red light turning right. Almost weekly some of these cyclist come inches from hitting pedestrians who are innocently crossing the road on a green man.

    To the people who do this you are complete tossers. No doubt you would be the first to complain if other road users broke the rules of the road and put you at risk yet you have no problem to do it to others. Learn to ride a bike properly.

    Rant Over.

    Bianchirider - while I am in no way defending RLJ's, if something is to be done about RLJ's something likewise has to be done about ped's just stepping into the road. Any cyclist to have the misfortune of trying to navigate down Lombard Street will know what I mean.
    Nothing sparks me up like when I tell someone I cycle to work and the first thing they say is, without fail, "are you one of those that ignores red lights". They normally get upset when I respond "no I'm not, are you one of those f***ing c***s who step out into the road without looking and/or cross a road where you want?"
  • Big_Paul
    Big_Paul Posts: 277
    Whilst I hate RLJ'ing, sometime I can understand why folk do it, there's a section of my commute where there are 7 sets of lights in the space of a mile, it's entirely possible to get caught at all 7 on red and spend more time sitting at red lights than actually moving. But going through pedestrians is a massive no no in my book, they'll remember the onle RLJ-er, not the 5 waiting at the lights.
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  • I have actually asked the police to come to the junction of Chelsea Bridge Rd and Ebury Bridge road on a number of occasions as im sick of idiot cyclists who think its ok to run the red light turning right. Almost weekly some of these cyclist come inches from hitting pedestrians who are innocently crossing the road on a green man.

    To the people who do this you are complete tossers. No doubt you would be the first to complain if other road users broke the rules of the road and put you at risk yet you have no problem to do it to others. Learn to ride a bike properly.

    Rant Over.

    Bianchirider - while I am in no way defending RLJ's, if something is to be done about RLJ's something likewise has to be done about ped's just stepping into the road. Any cyclist to have the misfortune of trying to navigate down Lombard Street will know what I mean.
    Nothing sparks me up like when I tell someone I cycle to work and the first thing they say is, without fail, "are you one of those that ignores red lights". They normally get upset when I respond "no I'm not, are you one of those f***ing c***s who step out into the road without looking and/or cross a road where you want?"

    irritating but not illegal, to ignore ped lights etc, so what could the police do?
  • Tim.s
    Tim.s Posts: 515
    can we get some of this in bristol please? Sick of all the RLJers on the morning commute.

    Yep, Stokes Croft is becoming a joke. Tonight out of six cyclists four jumped. Tossers.
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  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    Red light jumpers are annoying but I'd rather the police concentrated on other road safety issues.
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  • Saw a fella get pulled over cossing London Wall down Old Broad Street this morning. Had to laugh. To be fair, he was in front of a police van and still proceeded to swan accross the red lights.
  • Yes I've noticed this over the last few weeks but there seems to be more of a purge on this today.

    Good. Someone on my commute jumped every light from Lewisham to Old Kent Road. Boys in Blue pulled her over in New Kent Road...
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  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    Daz555 wrote:
    Red light jumpers are annoying but I'd rather the police concentrated on other road safety issues.

    When was RLJing considered anything other than a road safety issue?

    If you wouldnt do it in a car, dont do it on a bike!
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  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,121
    I was riding home last week and the lights turned to red for a pedestrian crossing so I braked and stopped.

    One of the pedestrians crossing said to me (not in a sarcastic way) "You don't have to stop for traffic lights do you?"
  • ricky1980
    ricky1980 Posts: 891
    saw a number of cars parked along kensington high street junctions. quite a recent thing.
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  • echowitch
    echowitch Posts: 196
    I see this a lot in central Reading. It's always the cyclists on crappy cheapo bikes with no helmet or reflective gear. And they always do it at the most dangerous point near St Mary's Butts where traffic comes round the corner towards them blind and at speed.

    I've seen it on the A33 as well which is a busy road. The worst was one of the guys in my office. He's a full on roadie with a carbon bike (but no helmet stupidly.) He went through two sets of red's blatantly. I wagged my finger at him from the cycle path on the other side of the dual carriageway and brought him up on it in the canteen "jokingly", but making the point that what he did was dangerous.
  • ricky1980
    ricky1980 Posts: 891
    i think the london drive may be the result of the safer road for cyclist panel review. i dont see they stopping crap drivers tho.

    I just filmed 2 drivers on my way home last night that nearly crashed into other cars and wiping me out at the same time...both time they were trying to over take me with very dangerous speeds in highly build up area and on the wrong side of the road. I think I should send the footage to the police.
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  • MrSweary
    MrSweary Posts: 1,699
    Saw police just past the junction of Bishopsgate and Threadneedle Street last night pulling up RLJers. Got two hipster types one of whom seemed to be pretty unhappy about it judging by his arm waving. I think he was probably arguing that the pedestrian crossings were on red and it was just traffic coming out from Threadneedle. I don't suppose he got too far with that one!
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  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    ricky1980 wrote:
    i think the london drive may be the result of the safer road for cyclist panel review. i dont see they stopping crap drivers tho.

    I just filmed 2 drivers on my way home last night that nearly crashed into other cars and wiping me out at the same time...both time they were trying to over take me with very dangerous speeds in highly build up area and on the wrong side of the road. I think I should send the footage to the police.

    I definitly think you should!!
  • Dirty-Boy
    Dirty-Boy Posts: 47
    Really pi**es me off when cyclists think it's ok to run a red light, often putting pedestrians life's in danger
  • anthdci
    anthdci Posts: 543
    gets right on my nerves. But there has been a couple of times where I have had to go up on the curb and back off again at a left turn. Purely because the lights have a sensor and there isn't that many big motor vehicles use it, so there has been times where I have been standing waiting for it to change and it goes through all the other lights 3 or 4 times before I get sick and use the curb. Think I have mostly got the knack of positioning myself and standing up straight enough for it to pick me up.
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,121
    anthdci wrote:
    gets right on my nerves. But there has been a couple of times where I have had to go up on the curb and back off again at a left turn. Purely because the lights have a sensor and there isn't that many big motor vehicles use it, so there has been times where I have been standing waiting for it to change and it goes through all the other lights 3 or 4 times before I get sick and use the curb. Think I have mostly got the knack of positioning myself and standing up straight enough for it to pick me up.
    Report it and say you're treating the lights as faulty until they are fixed i.e. as a give way.

    Then if for some bizarre reason you do get a fine off the police for jumping those light you have some comeback (and hopefully the lights will get fixed too).