the author explicitly encouraged people to break the Highway Code, by saying if they only had one set of lights, to have them on flashing
Personally, both as a regular cyclist and as an occasional car-driver, I've found flashing bike-lights distracting and impossible to judge distance from; but they're still better than nothing, and I wouldn't want to argue with the expert advice of the broadsheets.
However, I think there's a big difference between using a different type of light (after all, any light on the road, flashing or otherwise, is likely to be an obstacle/hazard) and behaving in a way that other road users can't be expected to predict. Or do you think that all London drivers/cyclists expect everybody to ignore red lights? In other words, is every London junction effectively a no-right-of-way crossroads, where everybody advances cautiously whether the lights are on red or green? I can't say I've ever noticed this effect when driving in London (it must have been very obvious that I was only a visitor to the city, as I stopped at red lights as if I'd been out here in the sticks!) but I've only done that a handful of times.
There are junctions in London where the motor traffic routinely reacts to a red light by speeding up to get through it
Big deal: this happens everywhere (in Oxford, the buses are particularly frequent offenders). I don't see why it should mean that you have to go through red lights.
(Also, I did not, and do not, advocate anyone going along the pavements.)
What, even if the alternative is being on the road with all the dangerous car-drivers? Dude, don't be a martyr!
That'll be never then, in London.
I thought you said that the justification for your illegal and irresponsible behaviour was that it made you feel safer ... and yet you still "never" feel safe when cycling? That's very sad. Perhaps you should try walking, or taking public transport. (Please stay away from driving, though.)
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Date: 2007-05-28 09:36 pm (UTC)Personally, both as a regular cyclist and as an occasional car-driver, I've found flashing bike-lights distracting and impossible to judge distance from; but they're still better than nothing, and I wouldn't want to argue with the expert advice of the broadsheets.
However, I think there's a big difference between using a different type of light (after all, any light on the road, flashing or otherwise, is likely to be an obstacle/hazard) and behaving in a way that other road users can't be expected to predict. Or do you think that all London drivers/cyclists expect everybody to ignore red lights? In other words, is every London junction effectively a no-right-of-way crossroads, where everybody advances cautiously whether the lights are on red or green? I can't say I've ever noticed this effect when driving in London (it must have been very obvious that I was only a visitor to the city, as I stopped at red lights as if I'd been out here in the sticks!) but I've only done that a handful of times.
There are junctions in London where the motor traffic routinely reacts to a red light by speeding up to get through it
Big deal: this happens everywhere (in Oxford, the buses are particularly frequent offenders). I don't see why it should mean that you have to go through red lights.
(Also, I did not, and do not, advocate anyone going along the pavements.)
What, even if the alternative is being on the road with all the dangerous car-drivers? Dude, don't be a martyr!
That'll be never then, in London.
I thought you said that the justification for your illegal and irresponsible behaviour was that it made you feel safer ... and yet you still "never" feel safe when cycling? That's very sad. Perhaps you should try walking, or taking public transport. (Please stay away from driving, though.)