Do you remember those road safety adverts which involved UFOs from,
er UFO (the Gerry Anderson UFO), just over the brow of a hill, or
just around a blind corner? Somehow I am reminded of them by:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/oxfordshire/6685903.stm (text below)
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1421251.0.93_cyclists_caught_jumping_lights.php (text below)
The first junction (25 cyclists) has a set of traffic lights at a
crossroads in the middle of town where the main flow of traffic is
between two roads at right-angles to each other and the main flow
of cyclists is in all directions at once. It also has the distinction
of having been the first ASL anywhere near here and for many years
had both a misleading green bicycle aspect permanently lit at a set
of lights at the motorists' stop line and also a blue-and-white
rectangle sign with a protracted essay on it about how to use the
junction.
The second junction, 68 cyclists, is a hundred yards away at a
T-junction where main traffic flow is between one branch and the
leg of the T, but a disconcerting number cyclist routinely cycle
across the top of the T through red lights. It used to be
uncontrolled, and hwne it was there was a regular - perhaps monthly,
perhaps fortnightly, I forget - collision between cyclists and turning
motor vehicles.
There is a proposal to make both these junctions open spaces with
no signage and a vague suggestion of a roundabout in the colour of
the road (but with insufficient room to treat the junction as a
roundabout). It'll be carnage.
[ I declare an interest: I once rode through a red light. ]
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Crackdown on cyclists nets #3000
Almost 100 cyclists have been fined close to #3000 for ignoring a single
set of traffic lights in Oxford.
The police operation on Wednesday was triggered by complaints from
the public about the number of cyclists jumping the lights at one city
centre location.
In just three hours, Thames Valley Police said the cyclists kept them so
busy they ran out of tickets.
The crackdown comes a month after a high-achieving student was killed in
a collision while cycling in the city.
'Pay attention'
Oxford University student Tsz Fok, who was in his 20s, and had seven A
levels at grade A, and 10 A starred GCSEs, was found dead in Oxford city
centre on 18 April after colliding with a dust cart.
Police said 93 people were fined #30 each after they were caught
ignoring the lights.
Some cyclists agreed with the need to be more careful.
One said: "The red lights aren't there for us to obey at our discretion.
They're there to stop accidents."
Another said: "In general principle, it's a good idea because it does
encourage road safety."
"I still think it's perfectly safe to do what I did"
Cyclist fined in the crackdown
But one cyclist who was pulled over and fined did not agree.
"I still think it's perfectly safe to do what I did," she said.
Pc Steven Higa, of Thames Valley Police, said: "At the end of the day,
get off the ipod, stop texting your girlfriend or boyfriend, and pay
attention to the lights.
"It'll save you seconds, but in the long run it could save your life."
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93 cyclists caught jumping lights By Matt Wilkinson
A mother carrying a baby on her bike was among more than 90 cyclists
caught jumping red lights yesterday at the scene of a fatal accident in
Oxford.
Police said they were handing out fines 'like confetti' after 93
cyclists were given #30 fixed penalty fines for running red lights in
Broad Street and Parks Road, where student cyclist Tsz Fok was killed
last month.
Halfway through the stop-check, officers ran out of penalty tickets
because so many had been caught ignoring the lights and at one stage
cyclists were queuing to receive their fines and warnings from officers.
Pc Steven Higa said some of the cyclists fined were wearing earphones or
texting on their mobile phones at the time.
He added: "Horrifyingly one lady with a baby on the rear of her bike
rode through a red light."
Plain clothes officers waited at the traffic lights on the junction of
Catte Street, Holywell Street, Broad Street and Parks Road, and at red
lights on Parks Road, between 8.30am and 11.30am. advertisement
When cyclists were spotted going through red lights, officers radioed
ahead to colleagues who pulled riders over, fined them #30, and gave
verbal warnings and advice on road safety.
In just three hours, 25 cyclists were fined at the Broad Street
junction, and 68 for going through the red lights on Parks Road, just
under one every two minutes.
The total amount of fines handed out to cyclists was #2,790.
Pc Higa said a majority of the cyclists stopped said they were late and
had been rushing.
He added: "I'm astonished and shocked at the result. We will now be at
more locations at different areas in the city centre.
"People make a choice. That choice is 'do I stop at the lights and lose
a couple of seconds, or do I go through the red lights and save a couple
of seconds?' "At the end of the day, if you go through the lights and
have a collision you can end up losing more than just a few seconds.
"We didn't envisage stopping so many. We thought it would be about 40.
When it became clear the number of tickets we had were insufficient, we
had to send back to get more. We were giving them out like confetti."
Third year engineering student Tsz Fok, 21, died after he was crushed by
a lorry at the Broad Street junction in April. Pc Higa said yesterday's
stop-check did not imply the student had run a red light.
After yesterday's stop-check many cyclists said they supported the
fines.
Ido Isrealowich, 35, a student at Wadham College, said: "As painful as
it might be, people should be fined because it is dangerous. I try not
to go through red lights but I'm not the Pope."
Leo Hoole, 27, of Marston, said: "It's a good idea, there was an
accident here, and getting a ticket certainly makes you think."
Paul Gee, 20, of Wadham College, said: "I would have to say I
occasionally go through red lights on pedestrian crossings but I try not
to."