Cyclists going through red lights. Localised colour blindness?

[Cyclone 10]

What is it with cyclists and Lycra ? I love Formula one, but i dont wear a fireproof racing suit and a crash helmet when i drive.

 

Perhaps we should assume that you don't take part in any kind of sport or physical activity, but it's not unusual to see runners wearing clothes made for running, go-karters (or other motorsports) wearing appropriate clothing, swimmers wearing swimming costumes, cricketers wearing some kind of all white ensemble and so on.

How is it that after seeing this in all kinds of amateur sports for your entire life, it surprises you that some cyclists wear clothing designed for cycling?

[ads36 217]

back on topic,

 

i cycled through a red light this morning.

 

i was going 'straight on' from Bank street, to Castle street. Cars aren't allowed to do this, but that didn't stop the car behind me. Which turned right (illegally) around the little island, and then just drove into the space where i was stopping for the red light.

 

i saw this happening, and realised that if i stopped, he'd just drive into me. so i carried on, diagonally through the 'light', and onto the pavement.

 

by my count, 4 people tried to kill me this morning, but that's just cycling to work in Sheffield.

[Cyclone 10]

Mount a camera on your helmet, send footage to the police!

[WalkleyIan 10]

I’m afraid its driver silly season again. It’ll calm down soon. Schools are back, Uni coming back, 10% more traffic on the road, no one has left enough time for the queues. Give it a few weeks and we will be back to standard levels of driving

 

Last week I nearly started a new thread

 

“Drivers going through red lights. Localised colour blindness?”

 

It was bad, both as a driver and a cyclist on various journeys around Sheffield. I had loads incidents on Saturday and Sunday of cars failing to stop on red. I don’t mean amber gambling, its taking a chance driving through several seconds after the red and hoping the car on green doesn’t get a flyer.

 

One woman in Walkley failed to stop at the lights by the library and then stopped to give me a mouthful for setting off on the green. Couldn’t hear a word she was shouting, windows up in the Scooby and a/c on. her passenger doing that sheepish look when you know the driver has just done something stupid but you daren’t tell them. Maybe if I was in the 95 she wouldn’t have tried it..then again

 

The same day a car straight through the red lights at on west street back of the city hall, saw the driver check round to make sure he could make it.

 

As for meadow street crossing of Netherthorpe Road, it’s just silly levels of cars going through long after the red. Needs a traffic signal camera and a few fixed penalties winging their way

 

This week it’s been cars failing to give way on Portobello. I’ve had 3 blissful months of cycle commuting with drivers obeying the give ways, this week 3 times cars have failed to stop.

 

The queuing over the super crossing at Brook Hill has started again. When its green for you, you have to hope that the cars on red don’t decide to suddenly move forward to clear the crossing. If you’ve queued across the crossing just stay put when it goes red so the cyclists and pedestrians have a chance to get across safely.

 

But hey lets have a pop at the cyclists. I mean none of us drivers ever do anything wrong in a tonne or more of metal do we? and if we do its always someone else fault

 

I’ve put the camera back on the bike for the new season. Probably get a car mount as well after some idiot on Bradfield Road decided he wanted to change lanes while I was in the lane alongside him.

 

As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus used to say: Hey, let's be careful out there

 

---------- Post added 06-09-2018 at 12:16 ----------

 

back on topic,

 

i cycled through a red light this morning.

 

i was going 'straight on' from Bank street, to Castle street. Cars aren't allowed to do this, but that didn't stop the car behind me. Which turned right (illegally) around the little island, and then just drove into the space where i was stopping for the red light.

 

i saw this happening, and realised that if i stopped, he'd just drive into me. so i carried on, diagonally through the 'light', and onto the pavement.

 

by my count, 4 people tried to kill me this morning, but that's just cycling to work in Sheffield.

 

 

Happens often. Lot of drivers make that illegal right turn. As you say safest thing to do here is jump the red if it is clear so you don't get run down. Then be very careful for busses and taxis failing to stop at the giveaway on Waingate to Haymarket. Seems the double fatality here has quietly been forgotten.

[ads36 217]

Happens often. Lot of drivers make that illegal right turn

 

you're not wrong - although usually they don't try to drive over me...

 

(i *was* half expecting it, which is why i had an escape plan ready to go)

Edited September 6, 2018 by ads36

[Magneteer 20]

Had a very near miss this morning whilst biking along Taplin Rd , a small red car came whizzing down Oakland Rd and straight across Taplin, no looking, giving way etc nearly took out a car and myself. A split second later I would have been a gonner. Would never put me off biking the 8 miles to work though. I do pity the poor souls queuing up on Parkway and Mosbrough bypass in a morning, it must be a soul destroying experience having to go through that every day.

[katkin 10]

I was enjoying cycling in to work 2-3 times a week over the summer - my route was so much quieter and (felt) safer.

 

I'm not a confident road cyclist, so I'm dreading taking the bike now, even though I'm one of the lucky ones with a good bit of my journey covered by cycle paths... it's the bits where I come into contact with MVs...I reckon I'll be slipping the go-pro on next time.

[Cyclone 10]

Where's RootsBooster to share in the condemnation of drivers?

 

---------- Post added 06-09-2018 at 14:01 ----------

 

Actually RB had a perfectly valid reason to start the thread and was very reasonable about it. It's later posters (the usual suspects) who start demanding VRMs, tax and insurance for cyclists.

[fill 10]

back on topic,

 

i cycled through a red light this morning.

 

i was going 'straight on' from Bank street, to Castle street. Cars aren't allowed to do this, but that didn't stop the car behind me. Which turned right (illegally) around the little island, and then just drove into the space where i was stopping for the red light.

 

i saw this happening, and realised that if i stopped, he'd just drive into me. so i carried on, diagonally through the 'light', and onto the pavement.

 

by my count, 4 people tried to kill me this morning, but that's just cycling to work in Sheffield.

 

as a lifelong motorcyclist i can empathise with that ... its an old biker saying.. its not paranoia if they really are out to get you... meaning all other motorists including the two wheeled kind

 

i ride safe, relaxed and , at all times i hope , fully aware that potentially the average car driver is inattentive the average van driver dangerous and the average lorry driver though generally the most courteous can't see you. by no means does this apply to all but apply it to all anyway so you don't miss the one .. .

 

i can also be confident that i have the power to get out of trouble if needed and hopefully the 360 degree awareness to reduce the number of times i put myself in additional danger. .. like when overtaking or filtering

 

i accepted from the start that two wheels is the most at risk means by which to travel on roads... most pedalists either do not know this or refuse to accept it, perhaps in the naive hope it isn't true or does not apply to them.

 

1 in 5 new drivers of any kind will have an accident an RTA in their first year in a car or van it usually a bump or scrape and a tooth rattle no biggie... expensive maybe but nothing major. bear in mind any similar incident whilst on two wheels is potentially life threatening.

 

most pedalists have had no training and have no proof of their competence to be on public roads (and pavements, footways etc) their confidence to be on roads is therefore unjustified

 

i'll just mention kamikazi pilots had more training than most pedalists ever will

 

i'm willing to bet that more than half have not even read the highway code never mind demonstrated a working knowledge of it whilst being assessed and that even of those that have read it most never check for updates.. twice annually is recommended btw.

 

but if you choose to play or use your bicyle on the public roads whether you actively consent to it or not you are accepting the potential risks and the potential consequences so live with it or better yet...... don't do it.

 

---------- Post added 07-09-2018 at 12:50 ----------

 

What is it with tax dodgers, happy to slag off cyclists for not paying any 'road tax', and yet are happy to buy illicit cigarettes, avoid paying the appropriate tax, thereby funding people smugglers, the IRA, amongst others.

 

---------- Post added 05-09-2018 at 21:45 ----------

 

 

They are, of course, equally accountable. The difference being they are identified differently. Maybe go and find out what accountable means.

 

to be fair they are simply funding their own smoking habit... with money they usually paid tax on once already when they earned it. as for the tobacco smugglers becoming people smugglers that is their decision and bugger all to do with smokers.

 

and i hate hair splitting .. the truth is that it is much more difficult to hold pedalists to account than all other road users, except horse users, because they are not as easily identified, make and model of bicyle is irrelevant and unknown to most people and as is often mentioned they do not have a licence plate so when they ride off all we usually have no idea who they were.

 

and that as they say.... is an indisputable fact.

 

and you can bleat whinge wriggle and squirm all you like .. but you know its true even though you don't want to admit it.

 

no road use without identification does not seem to be an unreasonable thing

[The Joker 10]

. . . the truth is that it is much more difficult to hold pedalists to account than all other road users. . .

 

and that as they say.... is an indisputable fact.

 

and you can bleat whinge wriggle and squirm all you like .. but you know its true even though you don't want to admit it.

 

nobody is bleating, whinging, wriggling and squirming. Except the militant motorists.

 

Yes, it’s easier to identify motorists simply because motor vehicles have the potential to do far more damage than cyclists if their vehicles is misused.

 

For what it’s worth, I’m strongly in favour of mandatory licensing for cyclists, pedestrians and dog walkers since they’re just as likely to injure other pedestrians. I’ll include pram pushers too (sorry to all the new mums out there)

[stifflersmom 11]

as a lifelong motorcyclist i can empathise with that ... its an old biker saying.. its not paranoia if they really are out to get you... meaning all other motorists including the two wheeled kind

 

i ride safe, relaxed and , at all times i hope , fully aware that potentially the average car driver is inattentive the average van driver dangerous and the average lorry driver though generally the most courteous can't see you. by no means does this apply to all but apply it to all anyway so you don't miss the one .. .

 

i can also be confident that i have the power to get out of trouble if needed and hopefully the 360 degree awareness to reduce the number of times i put myself in additional danger. .. like when overtaking or filtering

 

i accepted from the start that two wheels is the most at risk means by which to travel on roads... most pedalists either do not know this or refuse to accept it, perhaps in the naive hope it isn't true or does not apply to them.

 

1 in 5 new drivers of any kind will have an accident an RTA in their first year in a car or van it usually a bump or scrape and a tooth rattle no biggie... expensive maybe but nothing major. bear in mind any similar incident whilst on two wheels is potentially life threatening.

 

most pedalists have had no training and have no proof of their competence to be on public roads (and pavements, footways etc) their confidence to be on roads is therefore unjustified

 

i'll just mention kamikazi pilots had more training than most pedalists ever will

 

i'm willing to bet that more than half have not even read the highway code never mind demonstrated a working knowledge of it whilst being assessed and that even of those that have read it most never check for updates.. twice annually is recommended btw.

 

but if you choose to play or use your bicyle on the public roads whether you actively consent to it or not you are accepting the potential risks and the potential consequences so live with it or better yet...... don't do it.

 

The problem with your approach is that you've already demonstrated that you don't understand the Highway Code by either willingly misinterpreting it, or by making things up. That suggests you don't carry out the refresher review. The vast majority of adult cyclists will also have driving licences, so your view that half of cyclists haven't read the Highway Code is likely to be way wide of the mark. For insurance and identification, it really will cost more to administer than it will offer in benefits. If you have a non-injury motoring incident try seeing how far you get with the police about it, and then think about how that would work with a cycling incident. Identifying motorists with licence plates hasn't stopped hit and run, dangerous driving, faulty vehicles etc etc. It would benefit the whole of society if those elements were tackled first rather than trying to find a scapegoat in cyclists.

[Resident 1,185]

The problem with your approach is that you've already demonstrated that you don't understand the Highway Code by either willingly misinterpreting it, or by making things up. That suggests you don't carry out the refresher review. The vast majority of adult cyclists will also have driving licences, so your view that half of cyclists haven't read the Highway Code is likely to be way wide of the mark. For insurance and identification, it really will cost more to administer than it will offer in benefits. If you have a non-injury motoring incident try seeing how far you get with the police about it, and then think about how that would work with a cycling incident. Identifying motorists with licence plates hasn't stopped hit and run, dangerous driving, faulty vehicles etc etc. It would benefit the whole of society if those elements were tackled first rather than trying to find a scapegoat in cyclists.

 

So if it's not stopped it then why bother with number plates for motor vehicles? The fact of the matter is that it's stopped countless instances due to the fact that the driver and vehicle have been identifiable.

 

Effectively what you're saying is that we shouldn't apply steps to kerb in the same way for cyclists breaking the law and ignoring the HC until ALL motor vehicles don't?