RLJ (Red Light Jumping). (The definitive bikeradar thread)

So move out the way for dangerous prisoners and VIPs being escorted but not for someone needing to get to hospital quick sharp.

To clarify, I'm not saying don't do it. I still would, the chances of an officer giving you a fine on the spot is very small. They would more than likely use their discretion not to fine you (depending how you RLJ of course - if you use it as an excuse to barrel through a junction then that's just stupid).

In a car with a NPR camera trap, you could appeal, they might let you off, but if they don't then that law is not on your side.

That's what the law says.

View post on imgur.com

My brother got a fine for ducking into a bus lane to let an ambulance past, straight back out after it had passed.

Camera was on the back of a bus and clearly showed the ambulance and his actions.

Appeal failed.

Guess if you want to save £140 you just have to hold up the emergency vehicle temporarily if you've got nowhere else to go.

#cbs

In 2004-5 I worked in bus lane enforcement at TfL.

It was specifically hammered out to us during our training that any drivers seen entering bus lanes to avoid emergency vehicles were not to be fined. At the end of each day all of our 'contraventions' would also be reviewed by a more senior member of staff, and if we'd fined anyone accidentally for making way for emergency vehicles they were then cancelled, before even requesting the data from the DVLA. Additionally at appeal anyone found avoiding an emergency vehicle would have their fine cancelled.

So either the policy has changed in the past ten years, or your brother's anecdote (assuming it was a TfL camera - we also took on work for other London boroughs on a contractual basis) was a very very very unusual and unfortunate case.

I suspect the problem is that once it's in the system, they are very unwilling to reveal what the usual policy is, so will fight the appeal, as otherwise that would mean another loophole. I would agree it's sensible to use common sense here, though.

The police have been putting this advice out for a while now. About 2 years ago they had a bus stop picture campaign about stopping to let emergency services pass rather than changing lane that looked similar to the give room to cyclists signs.

http://www.sussex.police.uk/help-centre/ask-us/roads,-driving-and-cycling/what-should-i-do-when-an-emergency-vehicle-%28ambulance,-police-car-or-fire-engine%29-is-flashing-its-blue-lights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHvQEIkcU

I think the very half assed way they went about changing the advice they are putting out has just made more confusion, 50% will move left and 50% will stay in lane jamming the entire road.

tl;dr--you had to be there.

Indeed - describing a road incident is doomed to fail.

I see what you did there at the end

https://imgur.com/gallery/aDKT52Y

Wow!

repost from further up the page!

Ah shit. Soz about that. Is there a simple way to imbed gif files so we can avoid this kind of misposting in the future?

No idea, I couldn't make it work. I think that's more to do with imgur than gifs in general though

Imgur gifs are givf / webm, not gif

Just a post to say be careful out there.

Saw a guy almost get taken out this morning as he cained it through an essentially changed light. Driver was turning right across the lights after waiting for the on-coming traffic to stop.

The driver probably should have been a bit more aware, but equally wouldn't have been anticipating 25-odd mph of cyclist coming through a red.

It would have been a silly way to go.

I've recently noticed people arrive at a red light, dismounting from their bike, running across the junction and then getting back on their bike to ride off.

I'm not one for telling people how to ride their bike but it looks ridiculous.

This comes up about once a month.

It's debatable whether it is legal or not but the opinion of a prominent cycling QC is that it is more than likely no different to a normal RLJ.

They certainly look like twats doing it. It's mostly slow people who do it anyway (they must be since I end up overtaking the majority of people who adopt this tactic).

"it's no better than getting out of your car and pushing over an intersection" in 3... 2...

Cue link to Mr Bean video etc

53: Conversation starter.

"Red light, dickhead!"
"Fuck off"

^^^^ There's a couple of junctions on my commute where (phase depending*) it can be much quicker to stop, get on pavement and walk across then remount back on road and continue.

Might look twatty, few shits given.

'* either the programmed pattern of the junction, or that there's low traffic that way and they typically only change if a car or heavier vehicle approaches

I've started doing this across Portland Street if I'm in rapha in the morning, it stays red for fucking ages and you can more or less be the other side of town by the time it changes if you wait.

If you're going to jump a redlight, then just jump it.
I've seen people, dismount, walk bike across, do the half dismount, one pedal push thing, and do the ride up and through traffic islands to then turn right across junction.
I don't understand it, I'd much prefer they accepted their actions and just rolled straight through.