London's Rogue Riders

Anyone else read this article this morning??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8201000/8201618.stm

I misread the title. I thought it was for a London Rouge Ride which sounded naughty.

Not much in that article.

^ Now there's an idea...

Only bit that made sense in that article:

I am a cyclist and I jump lights.

The reason why I jump lights is simple ... I want to keep myself seen by motorists behind me and stay ahead of the traffic, this means that I am safe and so are the motorists. I do not jump lights if there are any vehicles crossing the junction and I do not jump lights if there are any pedestrians.

But, if the way is clear I will cycle on ahead. The example I can give is heading onto Shepherds Bush roundabout from Holland Park Avenue; if I am waiting at traffic lights and I have lots of cars behind me who are all about to go into various lanes i.e. turn left into Holland Road, go straight ahead to Shepherds Bush, turn right onto the A40 - then I want to get ahead of all of that traffic, so if the way is clear I jump the lights.

The advantage to motorists is they can then see where I am heading and make a decision based on that knowledge, rather than me being stuck alongside them and they have know idea where I am going, which slows down the traffic as they have to wait for the lights to go green to see where I am going before they can move (which many don't bother doing hence the death rate to cyclists).

I am also a motorist and from that point of view I still prefer it when cyclists are a head of me and I can see them, so I know which way they are going.

I think that done safely then jumping lights is the right thing to do. However, I don't like it when I see adult cyclists on pavements (that is a definite no, no) or jumping lights when there are pedestrians crossing or vehicles crossing.

I heard Joanna Good last week saying that cyclists take up as much space as a car, which I thought was hilariously ridiculous!

If all cyclists started to drive there would definitely be even more congestion and more pollution on our roads. Cycling is a clean, healthy and quick way of getting around London, you only have to go to countries like Sweden, Holland and Germany to understand the amazing benefits of cycling and start to embrace a cycling culture.

I have many people saying to me that they would like to cycle but the only reason why they don't is simply because people are afraid of the traffic and this means they are afraid of cars, lorries, white van drivers, buses but they are not afraid of other cyclists.

So get on yer bikes Londoners!

Camilla

^ Now there's an idea...

Drag ride?
In honour of the late Danny La Rue?

"I heard Joanna Good last week saying that cyclists take up as much space as a car, which I thought was hilariously ridiculous!"

Oh dear, I remember the last time she reared her head and made ridiculous statements about cycling.

Camilla

+1

I last time I was in England I ended up toe to toe with some part time plod in a Porsche who had taken it upon himself to enforce the highway code my crime was not stopping at the white line on a roundabout not like anything was coming mind just he saw it and though he'd make a citizens arrest this is of course why I don't and will never again live in England - the country is full of dick heads

Been updated:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8201000/8201618.stm

its good to see mini cooper on there

"Tom has been investigating the issue of cyclists ignoring the rules of the road and possibly endangering the lives of themselves and others.
It comes as police in Kensington and Chelsea step up their efforts to stop cyclists who ignore the Highway Code.
Residents have complained about the danger caused by cyclists who jump red lights and ride on pavements. Police say they'll be stopping more cyclists from now on."

It is interesting as Kensington and Chelsea are working towards shared space between peds, motorists and cyclists and remove street furniture, including pavements.
http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/exhibitionroad/shared.html
(check the pic before and after: before parked cars, after not a single car??)

I wonder why mini cooper wasn't at West's this week?

"I heard Joanna Good last week saying that cyclists take up as much space as a car, which I thought was hilariously ridiculous!"

Oh dear, I remember the last time she reared her head and made ridiculous statements about cycling.

http://thehippy.net/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1353