Cyclists are not given any incentive to obey the law
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I READ WITH interest CM’s Comment in the 21 June issue. At least CM editor Will Shiers has the bottle to say what he thinks about cyclists in London and their total disregard for the Highway Code as far as lights are concerned.
The cycling fraternity believes that they are beyond the law, partly due to the fact that they get total support from Transport for London (TfL), Boris Johnson etc, while CV operators are seen as the bad guys. One of the biggest danger spots in my visits to London are the traffic lights that separate Southwark station from TfL’s offices on the other side of the road. On several occasions I have stepped off the pavement when the little green man says “go” to be nearly struck by a “light jumper”.
I was informed that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as a whole issued approximately 11,000 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) in 2010/2011 to cyclists (according to TfL). On breaking this down further I was told that the MPS Cycle Task Force, as a unit of 10 officers, had issued 1,100 FPNs to cyclists since 2010. Taking this over a two year period, it equates to one per officer per week; no wonder the situation doesn’t improve – there is no incentive to obey the law!
To emphasise the lack of real effort to straighten out the cycling fraternity, TfL states that cyclists who contravene automatic traffic signals, ride on pavements or cycle without lights during the hours, of darkness may be liable for a FPN of £30. Given the figures above, may is the operative word. If cycling is to be the mode of travel in the future, a review of the overall controls needs urgent attention.
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.
Mike Bracey Chairman of the Brewery Logistics Group