Comments on: What is your traffic light strategy?

By: Destry

Destry — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:28:14 +0000

Hey, you\’re the goto exrpet. Thanks for hanging out here.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:12:12 +0000

if there is a car in the green “advanced stop” area reserved for cyclists i wil do my best to get in front of it and stay in front of them.
even when i pull off i will sometimes stay in a central road position to make them aware that the space they were in was for me, to give me a head start on them to get me out of denger – from them!
they need to learn that space is for me, as a cyclist it is all mine (well, shared with other cyclists)…..

i am not sure if motorbikes are allowed to use the green advanced stop area? can anyone clear this up for me?

By: dl

dl — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 23:23:04 +0000

Interested to know the legality around – Plan G: Wiggle your way to the front.
As a cyclist/road user are we allowed to squeeze through and move up between traffic when there is not officially a lane marked.
I’ve just been involved in a incident where I was ‘wiggling to the front’ past a lorry on the right, in the right turn lane and a stationary car on the left in the straight ahead lane. Light turned green before i got to the front. (As you can all imagine – I’m thinking; oh dear I’m definitely not in a good spot here) The lorry veered left as he moved off before he did his right turn, as he veered left he crushed me against the stationary car (it hadn’t moved because of traffic ahead) I managed to unclip and get off but the lorry’s front mud guard caught my handle bars, up ended my bike and smashing it into the ground. Bent bike, I’m ok.
Now the legality. Am I allowed to be moving up between stationary traffic? Officially there is not a lane for me so maybe not? So assuming I’m not allowed there, it’s my fault for being in the wrong place. However if I am allowed there then the right turning lorry that has decided to veer left a bit before he swings his right turn is moving into a blind spot that he can not see putting him at fault.
Really i’m just grateful to be alive but if I could get a few quid for my nice bent reynolds steel frame that would be good too. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:11:57 +0000

if I’m being truthful I se traffic lights as advisory however i do enforce some rules on myself. If pedestrians are crossing or about to, I stop in fact I always give way to pedestrians even when they’re in the wrong… Way I see it they’re lower in the food chain so be nice and hopefully that white van man will be nice to you.

secondly when i approach a red light i instinctually slow and scour the junction for traffic and assess the safety of the situation. as a very experienced cyclist and driver for that mater this is almost instant and i’ve never yet been found wanting. Where there is any possibility of risk I give it a wide berth

As you say timing your roll up to a red is good practise as well as watching the traffic signal for the other direction which usually gives you a 5 second head start on the rest of the traffic

Always move to the front of the traffic if at all possible though be careful i;ve been stuck between two large vehicles as the lights change. best response I’ve found is to pedal as fast as you can to get to the driver before he starts to move thus giving him/them sight of you

By: John

John — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:42:27 +0000

Gearing down when approaching a red light is a great suggestion but I rarely see cyclists doing that on my North London commute, instead they all seem to stay in their cruising gear and then struggle to take off on the amber/green light.

By: a good day to be a bicyclist « adventure. write. repeat.

a good day to be a bicyclist « adventure. write. repeat. — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:14:52 +0000

[...] the signals.” As we moved forth, I thought about this. At what point did it become “optional” to obey the [...]

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:42:11 +0000

I’ve never suggested that cyclists or anyone should ignore red traffic lights. Rather, I’m suggesting it be made legal for cyclists — and indeed drivers — to turn left on red provided they have come to a complete stop, checked that no pedestrians are crossing, and checked that there is no oncoming traffic, before starting the left turn. This works just fine in North America.

By: Phil Russell

Phil Russell — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:21:39 +0000

Mark—-when you ignore red traffic lights, you annoy half-a-dozen motorists to the point where they’d like to see all bikies registered, with on-bike number-plates, compulsory helmets, “road-tax” paid, MOT’d, insured, and confined to cycle-lanes at all times. Their resulting high blood pressure is unlikely to improve their courtesy and respect for us, as fellow road-users. When you see drivers shooting through on red, how does it make you feel?

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:53:50 +0000

In that case I think the safest thing is to dismount the bike, skip up onto the pavement, and press the pedestrian walk button. When traffic stops and you get your green man, walk the bike across, then re-mount alongside cars at the now-red light and wait for the green.

By: Bigbananafeet

Bigbananafeet — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:17:34 +0000

What about traffic lights that don’t register my presence as a cyclist? I have a left turn from the side road on T junction to make which is normally fine but first thing in the morning or very late at night it changes priority to keep the traffic flowing on the major road. Last night I had to wait a very long time for a car to approach the lights behind me and trigger the light sequence. What do you do in this situation?