I'm a cyclist who joined this site with a confession to make. I run red robots. Not just at night, not just when I'm in a hurry, but as a matter of course. Today a friend cycling behind me commented at how upset a carful of people got when I crossed halfway across Buitengracht over a red (as if I was a pedestrian) because there was a left arrow and therefore I was not crossing anyone's legitimate path. This gave me some food for thought, so I've decided to consciously re-evaluate my attitude and spent a couple of hours on the net. Mostly I'm not a culprit of the other cycling bugbears - I always ride single file, with traffic not against, and I don't ride on pavements. But red light jumping by cyclists is a topic that evokes extremely passionate feelings in people, even here in this country where babies are raped regularly. Why is this? I've asked a lot of people, both motorists and law-abiding cyclists, why they get so upset and the most common reply is along the lines of "it's the law", "cyclists must respect the rules if we are to respect them", "red light jumpers give cyclists a bad name" and "cyclists are arrogant and think they're above the law". But strangely, people don't argue that what the red-light-jumper is doing is dangerous. The consensus seems to be that these cyclists are very careful to cross only when it's safe. That would make sense as most cyclists are aware of their vulnerability and are conscious that a bump from cross-traffic at that intersection would probably be fatal. But almost never could a cyclist cause an accident that would hurt anyone other than him or herself. Strangely also, people don't argue that what the cyclist is doing is inconveniencing anyone. When the cyclist jumps the robot, no one has to wait for them or move out of their way. So why does everyone care so deeply about this issue? My guess is that drivers get annoyed at having to share the road with slower-moving vehicles and point fingers at the law-breaking to justify their indignation. But daily I see drivers on their cellphones, cutting people off, drunk driving, speeding, joking about unpaid fines and even warning others about speed traps and roadblocks on Facebook as if speeding and drunken driving, which kills thousands, is a completely legitimate behaviour. Cyclists are almost incapable of speeding or killing anyone other than themselves. They are doing their bit to reduce congestion and pollution. What reason do drivers have to hate them other than their own impatience and self-righteousness? I would argue, in fact, that red light jumping by cyclists promotes both safety AND the convenience of other road users. France has recently passed a law that allows cyclists to turn right on red (the equivalent of turning left in South Africa). A study done in London showed that female cyclists are more likely to be killed than male cyclists, and states that this may be because they are also more likely to obey red lights, and then collide with vehicles pulling away from the lights: http://www.rudi.net/node/16395 It's rather obvious when you think about it - a stable, moving cyclist behaving in a predictable way in front of you is safer than a cyclist taking off in their wobbly way, amongst three or four lanes of cars doing the same thing. Besides, what driver really wants to share that "go" moment at the robots with cyclists? Do they not realise that having the queue by the robot free from cyclists can only make it more convenient for them? I would really like someone to give me a sensible reason for stopping at the red light. I'm not one who follows the law blindly. If a law is stupid I relish in breaking it. So simply saying that it is against the law is not enough to persuade me to do something. However I'm well aware of the passionate hatred towards cyclists because of this - as irresponsible, unreasonable, misplaced, exaggerated, and downright spiteful as it may be. I still intend to turn left on red. I still intend to go straight at a red with a side street to the right. But as a result of my mini-research mission, I've decided to show some willing and start to stop at red lights whenever my path crosses a lane of traffic that has a green. I'd like to hear some rational debate, or what everyone thinks about my attitude. For once I'd really like to hear people avoid suggesting running the offending cyclist down, opening the car door as he passes or slamming on brakes when he's behind you. If I have one take-home message: it's not an offence worth murdering someone over.
