"PeterE" wrote in message
...

[me]
In the past I've deliberately driven at speeds up to an
indicated 140mph, but these days I make a habit of keeping within
the posted limit.

[you]
You just selectively ignore other parts of the Highway Code that you
disagree with, as you have admitted here before.

No, I don't ignore them at all. I do my best to keep within the rules, but
sometimes find it necessary to break them for my own safety. It is safer
for me to be in front of the line at a light-controlled junction than parked
in the gutter alongside a car. Where I break a rule it is deliberate and
for a reason, and if I'm nicked for it I won't bleat about the injustice.

[bill]
As for the HC - theres a possibility that he's not talking about
places where it applies.

Not the case: I was a speeding motorist for some years. I also used to
drive when excessively tired. Both behaviours have now ceased.

[you]
He has specifically admitted contravening Rule 55 on a regular basis.
Likewise I make no claims to scrupulous adherence to Rule 103.


Yes, I pass stop lines against red lights on occasion, though I never enter
the junction itself. That's a bit Clintonesque, I suppose, but could be
likened to deliberately driving at, say, 33 in a 30 limit. It is a breach
of the law but increases danger only very slightly. Advanced stop lines
allow cyclists to negotiate junctions more safely without the need to break
the law, which is a Good Thing. I have never felt the need to pass the line
where an ASL exists.

Entering the junction against a red light is very dangerous (and I don't do
it). Driving fast enough to trigger a Gatso is sufficient to put you on the
upward slope of the famous U-shaped curve. Both these behaviours are
associated with measurably increased risk.

There is a substantial body of evidence showing that speeding is dangerous,
which is why I don't do it any more. I would be interested to see any
figures on the danger posed to others by a cyclist stopping ahead of the
line at a light controlled junction. Anyone who has such info please email
me: guy dot chapman at spamcop dot net.

As an aside, I have never seen a cyclist attack another cyclist because they
were obeying the law, though I don't discount the possibility that it could
happen. I have seen drivers attack cyclists who were behaving lawfully, and
I have been the victim of three traffic tantrums caused by my apparently
unacceptable habit of driving within the speed limit (and not significantly
below it in these cases).

---
Guy
===

Respectable rules for responsible people: http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk