Police spotting (junction watch)

it's pretty annoying as the ASL is a poorly though out infrastructure in the first place.

Pedant time.

Nobody has ever been fined for entering an ASL, because it's not an offence. The offence is is failing to comply with with signs / markings, in this case the first line.

Yes, and this has to be witnessed by an officer to be enforced. (I don't know if CCTV evidence of the offence is admissible, but at any rate would probably be difficult to obtain--I suspect the camera would have show both the vehicle in the ASL and the current state of the lights.) It is lawful to stop in the ASL box if the lights turned red when the driver had already crossed the first stop line.

I've said this many times before, and I'll say it again, but I don't consider ASL infringements a great problem, partly as I think that there is a big logical mistake inherent in how ASLs are conceived--but it takes a while to explain. The issue that prancer highlights with this example, that of unequal treatment, is quite a different matter.

Oliver, I agree entirely. It was the pisspoor policing, and clear agenda of fining cyclists whilst ignoring the car drivers pulling into the ASL when the red light was showing that pissed me off.

Be careful what you wish for. Technically, it is also an offence for cyclists to cross the first stop line away from the entry lane (or the little gap that they put in where they don't put in an entry lane), under the same circumstances under which it is an offence for motorists. For full 'equal' treatment on this issue, cyclists would have to be fined for crossing the stop line at red, too. :) I don't know if an FPN mechanism has been defined for that, though.

Personally, I think for ASLs to ever work you either need a change in primary legislation on how stop lines function, or introduce a new kind of stop line as the first stop line, with the second stop line remaining as stop lines currently function. Until such changes occur, there will always be problems with them.

Outside sainsburys hq on holborn

Theobalds road this morning too

Police spotted making mad cash at £30 a pop off RLJ'ers on Old St this morning, waiting at the Charlotte St / Rufus St intersection. Myself included :Z

Probably the most jumped spot on Old St.

Police spotted making mad cash at £30 a pop off RLJ'ers on Old St this morning, waiting at the Charlotte St / Rufus St intersection. Myself included :Z

Probably the most jumped spot on Old St.
£30? Sounds like a reasonable licence fee to RLJ. I'd bet this police policy will detract from the purported goal of reducing RLJing. (But obviously won't hurt the police petty cash float)

Police woman on a bike this morning on the Holborn Viaduct entrance to Holborn Circus issuing tickets to motorcyclists in the ASL.

I was very tempted to applaud.

I know a junction where there are never Police: Amen Corner in Tooting. I regularly see all sorts of offences there, but it isn't on the route from the adjacent cop shop to the pie shop, I guess.

Last night, there was a really rarty motorbike wheelieing at an insane speed past the Police Station.

Nothing. Not a sausage. No wonder motorised fuckwits feel like they can offend with impunity and stick two fingers up to the rest of us. The Met should be utterly embarrassed.

If they don't like going out in the cold, then a quick five minutes at Amen Corner should give them enough paperwork to stay in a nice warm office for the rest of the day.

Police woman on a bike this morning on the Holborn Viaduct entrance to Holborn Circus issuing tickets to motorcyclists in the ASL.

I was very tempted to applaud.

Now this has to be a better money spinner than RLJers.

Heads up to anyone Central this afternoon, part-time-care-in-the-community Nods pulling peddlars off bikes around Tottenham Court Road area for the extremely minor 'pedalling onto a footpath' type offence, just seen a guy blitzed for 60 rips for such a minor RTO........ surely a wrap on the knuckles would have done..........

Funny thing happened to me the other day. Got pulled over for cycling through a green light as I was cycling past the pedestrian crossing outside Aldgate station.
No other traffic around apart from me (which was a bit wierd considering it was about 6pm), so the peds were just crossing the road on a red man. I cycled though them as I was on a green light. I'd noticed two policemen on the right of the crossing, then 50 yards further on there was a third standing in the middle of the road telling me to pull over to the right hand side. Conversation went something like:
Popo: Do you know why I've stopped you?
Me: No.
Popo: What colour was the light you just went through at the ped crossing?
Me: Greeeen.
Popo: Really? Were the peds crossing on a red man then?
Me: Yup
Popo: Ok, I'll take your word for it as I couldn't actually see what colour the light was.
Me: Ok, it was definitely green.

And then i just cycled off thinking what a proper bellend that policeman was.

To be fair he did admitted his mistake and let you go, so not quite a bellend...

cockshaft?

Was he not actually admitting his mistake, and inadvertently blaming bellend and ballbag by the station for such a monumental balls up? And wrecking your ride too......

Vauxhall bridge, albert embankment crossing this morning.

Saw the Vauxhall Bridge Rd 'excitment' this morning. When I cycled by they had about 3 cyclists beign spoken to - including someone on a snazzy looking red lo-pro.

Of course they were doing sod all about mopeds etc in the ASB.

That said I do wonder about those who red light jump here - not only can it be a bit iffy but what are you lookign at when you cross a junction? Did you not see about 15 police in high viz jakets standing at the corner of the junctions?

if you are heading north and taking the first right after crossing vauuxhall bridge which requires you to be in the far right lane, it really is madness to not creep well ahead of the traffic before it tears up behind you . po po can do one.

More plod at Hammersmith, following email has been sent to them.

"This morning police were at the Hammersmith Gyratory, stopping and fining cyclists for running the red light.
I perfectly understand this and believe that road traffic laws apply to all road users.
However I asked the officers if they were going to enforce the ASL. The car in front of me had pulled into the ASL blocking my access to it whilst the lights were red.
The response was "should we be doing something about all three cars?" as there were 3 cars filling the entire ASL, so I replied yes, it appeared to be part of their job.
The officers then explained it was not their job. I asked why they were only bothering cyclists, and not enforcing all the infringements that were occuring at the junction. I pointed out that the cars occupying the ASL (and entering it when the lights are red) constitute a safety hazard to cyclists.

I find their attitude really poor. If you are deploying staff to enforce penalties they should actually be doing so, not selectively targetting a minority of road users."

Wow.I just had a call from the Met.
We discussed the potential dangers of cars in ASL’s and that they never seem to be enforced. We covered the particular dangers of cyclists attempting to filter forwards, expecting to end up in the ASL only to find the safe space occupied and that the vehicle may be intending on turning left when the cyclist wishes to proceed straight ahead.
They are now considering having trainee police officers monitor a junction for ASL encroachment and to explain the dangers to car drivers.

Could I suggest a few more people report ASL encroachment to the Met? It may well help strengthen the case for enforcing the little green boxes

Good Work DJ

Nice one dude. Where did you write to?

The City of London police used to fine motorists for this - I remember a cycle campaigner asking a policeman at a meeting as to how many vehicle they had fines - expecting a zero response. The numbers were in the hundreds which surprised all of us. That was a few years ago now though.

City of London PoPo were pulling soutbound cyclists over at the junction of Bishopsgate / Spital Square / Primrose St this morning for RLJing. In fairness they seemed to be doing it in a very non-confrontational manner and were letting people go after a little talking to - no lectures or FPNs.

The Metropolitan Police Service are fining away (I saw four finees) at the north east entrance to Victoria Park, (Molesworth Gate I think?) where cyclists come off Wick Road and go over the little triangle of pavement WIHOUT DISMOUNTING.