tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post2678921210017677191..comments2023-07-28T09:35:11.214+01:00Comments on This blog has moved to www.WillCycle.com: A broken law is no law at allUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-49478336321027798552013-02-11T15:50:01.018+00:002013-02-11T15:50:01.018+00:00I think we could reduce some of the "safer ne...I think we could reduce some of the "safer neighbourhood" police and increase traffic police who have been tasked with dealing with all bad road behaviour as you are right, people get used to getting away with it. ASLs can be a safety issue and care should be taken in designing them and training people to use them, but as a user, I would rather keep them.The Ranty Highwaymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17361350433158148025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-83212002284451347972013-02-06T15:45:50.556+00:002013-02-06T15:45:50.556+00:00I've wondered the same thing. See it all the t...I've wondered the same thing. See it all the time when on my commute, with vehicles of all kinds, including on a couple of occasions police vehicles, positioning themselves as far forward as possible at lights. Not sure why they do this as it confers only a marginal advantage but I assume that if they are turning right across oncoming traffic they hope to beat the oncoming stream and be on their way. I get that sometimes a vehicle may get stuck there if the queue they are in moves slowly and the lights change so they can't move out of the ASL. The only solutions I can think of are, firstly, the reintroduction of public information films on TV. There are lots of "minor" traffic laws broken - indicating at roundabouts for example - probably because drivers have "forgotten" they should do it and aren't aware of the penalties. Re-education through mass media would hopefully address this, including misuse of ASLs. Secondly, why not reprogramme traffic lights so that cyclists can move away on a flashing green with motorists having to wait for a solid green, giving the cyclist time to get across the junction/lane before the onslaught of traffic begins? Or is that a crap idea?ceephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16886797456563173795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-1787182780128299062013-02-06T15:27:33.979+00:002013-02-06T15:27:33.979+00:00There's the result of another FOI request to W...There's the result of another FOI request to West Midlands Police here:<br /><br />http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/number_of_penalties_issued_for_s<br /><br />tl:dr - no FPN issued for ASLs in the whole of the West Midlands (2nd largest Police Force in the UK after the Met) between January 2009 and January 2010.Graeme Shawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488510925719142473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-89910625929993675162013-02-06T09:36:09.023+00:002013-02-06T09:36:09.023+00:00It is becoming increasingly likely that what I sus...It is becoming increasingly likely that what I suspected is correct: no police force nationally is enforcing ASLs.<br /><br />Is it little wonder then the police let cyclists down in so many other areas? And I suspose the only suprise is that more of us aren't killed on the roads, given the lack of support we receive from the police, CPS and the courts.<br /><br />Who pays for the police? Surely we all do, and are therefore entitled to equal protection from them. Also, the police's job is NOT to make the laws, but to enforce them. Since when are they permitted to cherry-pick which laws to enforce and which to ignore, or break themselves?WillCyclehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09867074906833723545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-65736956883927691202013-02-06T00:17:48.133+00:002013-02-06T00:17:48.133+00:00I submitted a FOI request to Greater Manchester Po...I submitted a FOI request to Greater Manchester Police on this very topic. Here's the reply:<br /><br />http://www.flickr.com/photos/soundman/8314491505/in/photostream<br /><br />tl;dr - they've never, ever, ticketed anyone for this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07432095936190263349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-80537637224029748912013-02-05T22:04:35.859+00:002013-02-05T22:04:35.859+00:00I agree ASLs aren't the greatest solution. The...I agree ASLs aren't the greatest solution. The point of all this is to show that the police doesn't enforce things like ASLs, which leaves all cyclists in quite a precarious position on the roads. <br />The police won't act on close overtakes, they won't act on left-hooks that don't result in a collision and they won't act on drivers being aggressive towards cyclists. In these instances it is easy for them to argue that it is subjective and therefore impossible for them to act.<br /><br />They claim that even when video evidence is produced, which beggars belief!<br /><br />But an ASL is different: there is clear legislation, and provided the offending driver was seen driving into an ASL against a red light, is a clear-cut case, yet the police won't even act on that.<br /><br />Where does that leave us? The police claim they police the roads fairly for all users, but the reality is they simply don't.WillCyclehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09867074906833723545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2789220954771177876.post-5990572757678065262013-02-05T20:24:14.162+00:002013-02-05T20:24:14.162+00:00It's worth noting that the ASL may not actuall...It's worth noting that the ASL may not actually be the safest place to be. The vehicle at the front may well be traffic light watching. I.E. looking up at the lights and not what is in front of them. Their aim is to get away as quickly as possible.<br /><br />If there is no traffic on the other side of the junction, then vehicles will see this and will want to get past cyclists to continue making there journey, there is some sort of hard wiring in the minds of a motorist that means they must get in front of they can see open road. This may mean they put cyclists in danger or under pressure because of it. This is easily solved by staying a vehicle or two back, in a similar position, central in the lane for visibility but this time moving away with traffic and attempting to keep up will lead to less instances of the driver behind trying to overtake dangerously as in front of them they can't see clear road, just other motorised vehicles.<br /><br />There is also the issue of cyclists that treat the ASL as a target even if that means riding illegally on the pavement, dangerously up the inside of a large vehicle or stupidly pushing past other cyclists to get into it.<br /><br />Would we be better without them? Nah, they serve a purpose, a limited one in my opinion and as a fast cyclist, I see them as a great tool to make progress past slower cyclists as I accelerate from a standing start.<br />They do however had some dangers, some dangers which are overlooked and an obvious one mentioned in this post, drivers don't know what they are!CycleGazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10174788893004017072noreply@blogger.com