Police spotting (junction watch)

As far as the ASL thing goes, I was starting my journey from Parkway and I walked onto the road on the pedestrian crossing (while the green man was there) from the left of the streetview pic below and mounted my bike about where the Speedy van is, between the ASL and the pedestrian crossing, to wait for the green light to cross the junction which Mr Plod told me was effectively the same as jumping the light. I'm genuinely confused and I haven't found anything useful from the google but it seems to me that technically I joined the carriageway after the lights so can't have broken them. I'm happy to be corrected by anyone who knows better than me though

He may not have seen how you got there and might have thought that you had crossed the stop line on your bike in order to be further ahead. It sounds as if he was upbraiding you for this potential 'offence', which most people commit. Stop line discipline is generally low. What you did was blameless (as the others said), and you could actually quite lawfully have cycled on across the junction, as there was no give-way line or stop line to stop you. Needless to say, this would usually not be a good idea at a four-way junction. :)

Can I jump off at every red light, take 2 steps over the line and then ride on? I think I would only do this in front of police to annoy them.

“In my judgment a person who is walking across a pedestrian crossing pushing a bicycle, having started on the pavement on one side on her feet and not on the bicycle, and going across pushing the bicycle with both feet on the ground so to speak is clearly a ‘foot passenger’. If for example she had been using it as a scooter by having one foot on the pedal and pushing herself along, she would not have been a ‘foot passenger’. But the fact that she had the bicycle in her hand and was walking does not create any difference from a case where she is walking without a bicycle in her hand.”

Essentially. Probably not.

Jump on the pavement, walk around the line and back on the road, cycle off? They'd probably do me for being a prick.

Fair cop guv'.

Ah, found it.

It's very tiny, can't believed I didn't notice it before.

Looks highly inadequate to me, although I suspect they could counter that for a bike to use a ped area/footpath etc it has to be specially allowed i.e. with the blue shared use signs, and hence if there's no signage / nothing visible you aren't entitled to assume you can use it.

However - you might counter that if they felt necessary to use any sign they are obliged to use one that is actually visible and sufficient.

Crank v Brooks - appropriate names for a case involving bikes. Memorable.

Can I jump off at every red light, take 2 steps over the line and then ride on? I think I would only do this in front of police to annoy them.

The guy next to me on my commute home did this two nights ago outside Aldgate East station on CS2. The police officer stepped out to hand out his safety advice flyer and the guy next to me hopped off his bike and walked out to the island in the middle of the junction before he could hand the piece of paper over.

To be fair the Police officer was in a good mood and found it a bit amusing.

cops on bow road today. east bound carriageway between mile end station and the magistrates court.

traffic levels down. traffic speeds up.

be careful everybody.

A PCSO in Victoria impressed me today. I was sitting in a cafe observing him watching for RLJing. He fined a woman for riding onto the pavement to the bike racks rather then getting off. Then stopped a guy for not having lights and fined him. While writing the ticket he stopped a car in the ASL and fined the driver for stopping in there. He also fined a couple for RLJing. All in under an hour.

I spoke to him when I left, asked him about hi-viz and helmets and he said he didn't give a toss about them as they are opinions not law. I'm impressed.

^ Wow.

Proper Copper!

he stopped a car in the ASL and fined the driver for stopping in there.

asked him about hi-viz and helmets and he said he didn't give a toss about them as they are opinions not law. I'm impressed.

me too.

and fantastic to hear of a car being fined, not just told off for ASL offence. i remember that day ages ago when it made the news that they were going to start enforcing the ASLs in London and for one day had police at lots of traffic lights, telling drivers they could have fined them £60 or whatever it was. i was really annoyed that they didn't actually fine them all, on day one, make some waves, get people talking.

He must be a keen cyclist himself. Wish there was more like him. I had a heated debate with someone in a cafe just on Monday about cyclists have the right to cycle in the middle of a lane if we think it's safer to do so. He says by law cyclists are meant to stick to the far left, as close to the kerb as possible coz it's safer or if cyclists get knocked off in then it's it's our fault. He also says if we don't wear hi vis and have reflective everywhere then don't blame the driver if we get run over coz we can't be seen. People who don't cycle need educating.

Very low level, ignorant trolling- often encountered in office environments.

I find that offering a thousand pound wager on the person finding said "must be in the gutter" law by say lunchtime tends to make them change their tune.

I find a swift punch in the cock followed by "if you tell anyone, I'll kill your children" also solves any debate around cycling issues.

3 plod and a moto at Shebu green this morning. They seemed more interested in footpath goings on though so perhaps they're issuing safety notices to all the cunts that reguarly sheepwalk onto the roads now?

[QUOTE=Dammit;3976708]Very low level, ignorant trolling- often encountered in office environments.

And i think Troll HQ is the pub at the end of my road, High percentage of London taxi drivers in there. I'm like the smelly kid when they see me walk my bike in, even the rare occasion I'm not the smelly kid

"Does your father know you danced for men to pay for your cab?" as you walk in.

the pub at the end of my road must sell the most J20 in the world, - the car park and the road / pavement outside is always rammed with minicabs and tradesman vehicles.

And i think Troll HQ is the pub at the end of my road, High percentage of London taxi drivers in there. I'm like the smelly kid when they see me walk my bike in, even the rare occasion I'm not the smelly kid

Sounds like a new forum drinks venue. In.

Brixton plod out in force again. It's slightly disconcerting seeing bikes neatly lined up in the ASL on red, motorbikes neatly behind the line and cars/buses behind them, all waiting till the lights change. Like being in a parallel, more polite universe.

There even seem to be fewer peds leaping out between the stationary buses these days.

Hah- lady on a bike got taken off by a ped doing the usual lemming-rush across Brixton high street last night.

I stopped and circled back to check- she was fine, and was soon surrounded by coppers.

I saw a woman fall down all by herself last night. I felt sorry for her. She had the green man and all.

Very low level, ignorant trolling- often encountered in office environments.

I find that offering a thousand pound wager on the person finding said "must be in the gutter" law by say lunchtime tends to make them change their tune.

This is just a never ending debate between people who cycle and people who don't. I really should learn to ignore it.

Very low level, ignorant trolling- often encountered in office environments.

I find that offering a thousand pound wager on the person finding said "must be in the gutter" law by say lunchtime tends to make them change their tune.

These laws don't exist here, but in areas of the US--also known as FRAP or 'as far to the right as possible' laws.