London Banter - View Single Post

Jon Senior · October 20th 04, 12:10 AM posted to uk.transport.london,uk.rec.cycling

Nick Cooper 625 opined the following...
Not just a river in Egypt....

So you claim that a single cyclist stopping at a light prevents others
from doing so? Or perhaps that a car stopping at a light does not
prevent other cars from doing so? Or perharps you just didn't read what
I wrote?

There is a five-way junction outside Lambeth North Tube station, which
I use as it's the closest to where I work, and so have to negotiate
it as a pedestrian at leat twice a day. Despite the heavy traffic, I
genuinely can't recall the last time I saw a motor vehicle jumping the
lights. Cyclists jumping reds or avoiding them by swerving onto the
pavements, though, are virtually a daily occurance.

Good for you. There are around 10 sets of lights between my flat and
work by the most direct route. Every day I see a succession of cars
accelerate when they turn amber with at least one car passing through
well after they have turned red. At one junction this is such a common
occurence that there is no point attempting to go forwards when the
lights go green because there will _always_ be at least one car still
travelling across the junction.

At the same junction I have _never_ seen a cyclist jump the red
(Probably for fear of their lives!) nor have I seen one mount the
pavement to cross it. I do see this from time to time and don't deny
that people do it (I sometimes ask them not to), but the fact that you
haven't seen a car jump the reds implies you have a limited circle of
travel or that you're too busy watching the cyclists to notice what the
cars are doing!

Jon