Is it time to start calling out bad cyclists?

Big old monster of a lorry (of the sort that has to swing out hard to the right before turning left) got caught at the reds on Southwark Street with his front portion in the ASL and his left blinker on. Legally, of course, since he was in the box when the light went red.

Why oh why oh why oh WHY would you filter up his left and just sit there in his blind spot?

Oh that's right - you're protected by the mysterious powers of the blue paint.

Cos they don't know about lorry blindspots?

I'm beginning to suspect that everyone who doesn't drive and hasn't has proper cycle training genuinely doesn't know about the power of invisibility aka blindspots.

Cos they don't know about lorry blindspots?

There were about 15 of them... You'd think one of them would have the nous not to do it.

I was patronised the other day for being in a lorry blindspot.

I was in the middle of the ASL at the end of Lambeth Palace Road (middle lane as I was turning left towards Westminster Bridge but then turning right down the Cyclists/Bus only bit of York Road).

A big tipper truck pulls up behind me and stops behind the first STOP line.

I make sure I get eye contact with the driver and he's perfectly aware I'm there.

Another cyclist pulls up next to me, goes past me a bit and then turns to tell me I should move forward as I'm in the blind spot of the lorry behind and the driver can't see me.

"Thanks but it's fine, I can see the driver and he's seen me."

"No, you don't realise how big the blind spots are, they can't see a spot on the floor 6 ft in front of their cab!"

"I'm not on the floor, I'm five and a bit feet off the floor and, if you turn round and look, you can see the driver quite clearly, and the driver is looking at us too, he can see us."

"But, the blindspots..." and thankfully the lights turned green.

Seems you can't win poor sod was just trying to help ;)

Unfortunately it doesn't surprise me 15 ppl did a silly thing, when it comes to traffic situations we often "follow the leader".

The problem is that you never know who knows and who doesn't, seems like this guy was probably a bit overzealous, but it's something I find myself needing to do.

The other day I was heading up blackfriars road and was filtering to get to the ASZ when the guy in front of me stopped underneath a lorry's mirror, forcing me and 6/7 other riders to be in its blind spot. When it was pointed out that he was underneath the mirror he moved on, problem solved. If nobody had said anything it would have probably ended very differently.

Did he have REALLY loud squeaking brakes?

Some douche mamil today in sharp garmin kit grunted "go, go, GO!" At me the second the lights changed to green, then couldn't keep up a speed to actually get ahead of me so jumped 2 reds and rode up and on the pavement to go around a bus at traffic lights. Idiot.

Chap on a battered old hybrid(?) with the chain falling off coming down Bedford Road towards Clapham North this morning.

First, don't make a disgruntled noise at me as I stop for the zebra crossing and you speed up my left hand side and in front of the peds on the crossing.

Second, you then proceeded to blast through every red light you saw, and despite this disregard for other road users managed to muster your own indignant anger towards the driver that saw you at the last second and slammed his brakes on.

I tried to catch you up to tell you this to your face, but your RLJ'ing made it impossible.

Have a nice day.

some gumby on a halfords special having a pop at an RLJing kencycler for not wearing hi-viz / helmet. RLJ went unremarked upon. Wind your neck in, chumptimus prime.

Calling out some old lady from yesterday afternoon. Kept stopping so far ahead of the lights, she couldn't see them change. I asked her what the point was, apparently she didn't need my opinion. At the next set of lights she set up to my right and veered across my path very slowly. Much comedy.

Saw a guy make a rlj by cx dismount into one pedal scoot across the junction, cos that makes it ok yeah... top marks for style though.

Disputed legal territory.

Something like this? https://www.instagram.com/p/-URwQzm1GF

Scooting through a red light is, in the eyes of the law, exactly the same as cycling through it.

What about dismounting and walking though? See so many people doing this and it puzzles me a bit. I usually just ride through if it's an obviously clear red ie ped crossing with nobody in sight. Otherwise stop and wait. Never in such a rush that I have to mash sf all the way to work

There is a theory that you have to lift your bike over the stop line to be legal. All untested as pretty much everyone has much better things to do with their lives than argue the toss over this in a court of law.

Dismounting and walking is possibly OK, that's a slight grey area from what I remember.

I've dismounted and walked across the line several times in front of the police. Once was right in front of two police motorcyclists at an empty pedestrian crossing. They never said a word.

^ Implies police have a full and thorough understanding of the law and their role within it. Ha!

Dismounting and walking is possibly OK, that's a slight grey area from what I remember.

The offence is something along the lines of: "propelling a vehicle across the stop line whilst the light is on red". So the ambiguity is whether dismounting and pushing the bike is still propelling it across the line, likewise lifting it and carrying it over. Until it goes to court and is challenged there is no official answer. The subsequent crossing of the junction could also be seen as dangerous or inconsiderate cycling (or whatever that offence is) depending on whether the junction was busy (with pedestrians or other road users).

I've dismounted and walked across the line several times in front of the police. Once was right in front of two police motorcyclists at an empty pedestrian crossing. They never said a word.

I've seen the Police do nothing as someone drove past blatantly using a mobile phone. Doesn't mean it's legal.

It is a grey area indeed, but "safely" pushing across an empty crossing is very unlikely to even get a reaction, let alone prosecution for a "grey area in the law".

Unlikely yes, but remember that people get prosecuted and convicted for some very bizarre things. I think the Daniel Cadden case is pretty good example of this:-

https://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/71/article14.html

Eventually the right result was achieved, but that's after prosecution and conviction for the original offence, and then a lengthy appeal.

Agreed, what a bizarre prosection!

If that happened to me I would be so angry that my head would explode.