From Newsgroup: uk.rec.cycling

QUOTE
Why do cyclists go through red lights? We asked them

More than 70 cyclists were spotted running one red light in London in
just one hour this week rCo many on Lime hire bikes. They are now facing a crackdown

Lara Wildenberg | Hodan Sultan | Millie Brigaud
Friday November 21 2025, 11.22am GMT, The Times

Police have been watching a junction at the heart of the City of London
and fining red-light jumpers

rCLCan I just finish this call please?rCY one 46-year-old woman said to the police officer who pulled her over during rush hour. The cyclist, an operations manager, had been using her 35-minute commute to listen to a
work meeting through her headphones when she ran a red light. On any
other day this week, she would have been given a -u50 fine from City of
London police, who had been manning the junction outside the Bank of
England. On Thursday, however, the officer directed her to a pop-up
cycling safety event rCo held with the hire bike providers Lime and Voi,
as well as Transport for London (TfL) and the ambulance service rCo
explaining that running red lights was not just dangerous, but also
illegal. The woman logged off her call as she was ushered towards the
tents. She could be heard saying: rCLIrCOm so sorry, IrCOll have to cut the call short, letrCOs follow up, Magnus.rCY She was one of about 60 cyclists stopped by police that morning and spared a fine thanks to the event.
Only one cyclist was given a ticket, after speeding away then giving a
fake name and address after being chased down.

The team also confiscated four illegal e-bikes, which exceeded 15mph, including one belonging to a delivery driver who was then arrested for
not having the right to work in the UK.

Sergeant Stu Ford, head of the City of LondonrCOs cycling team, said the numbers reflected a rCLfreezing dayrCY after a week of the police being stationed at the same spot. rCLImagine what it would be like on a hot
summer day, without police officers standing in close proximity wearing high-vis jackets,rCY he said. Ford, an avid cyclist with eight bikes at
home, heads a core team of ten who monitor the Square Mile on red
chequered bikes. He said the numbers cycling had rocketed after Covid,
and an average of 139,000 people cycled daily last year.
rCLIrCOve seen too many accidents, too many people get badly injured or
worse, I just want to stop that,rCY he said. rCLWhen I see some of the
cycling skills, the roadcraft, itrCOs not good.rCY

The number his team was able to stop was a fraction of the total running
red lights. Between 8am and 9am on Thursday, The Times counted 71
cyclists running red lights at the end of Lombard Street, one of five
sets of traffic lights at the junction. If a similar number cycled
through reds at each of the lights, the total for the junction could
have been as high as 350. Of the 71 cyclists, 48 were riding hire bikes,
the majority of which were from Lime, as well as a few from its rival
Forest and TfLrCOs Santander-branded bikes.
Ford said that hire bikes accounted for about half of all the bikes he
had seen at the junction this week.

Nearly all the cyclists who were stopped knew that running a red light
was illegal, but did it anyway. Most were apologetic and embarrassed at
having been caught, but a few were annoyed at being delayed further.

Nearly all the cyclists stopped by police knew that red-light riding was illegal. A 35-year-old data scientist who said she had rCLone minuterCY
until her meeting, said: rCLI was going at walking speed. It was green for pedestrians, there were no cars coming.rCY One culprit on a Lime bike, a 33-year-old man who works in sales, said: rCLI go through these every
morning so I know how it works. I knew it was going to turn green, but
at that moment it was still red.rCY Asked if he knew red-light running was illegal, a 25-year-old who works in media said: rCLI knew it was frowned upon.rCY

Some people, including a few on scooters and one on a skateboard,
drifted slowly out of an overcrowded stop box, past a red light to see
if they could go further or turn left over a pedestrian crossing.
Several cyclists stopped themselves riding across a red after seeing the police. Others dismounted and walked their bikes across the red light
instead, which is not illegal for pedestrians.

One woman walking across a pedestrian crossing bumped into a cyclist who
had paused there, and fell onto the road. rCLItrCOs chaos every single day,rCY she said, insisting the fall had been her fault. She said she would be
too terrified to cycle herself, adding: rCLBy Blackfriars is the worst, by
the cycle superhighway they go really fast.rCY

Lime, which has an estimated 30,000-plus bikes in London, pledged to
improve safety in an action plan published in January. Research
published by Lime in July found that 52 per cent of cyclists admitted
running reds at least occasionally, and younger, more confident cyclists
were the most likely to do so. They cited lack of enforcement and
inadequate infrastructure as reasons for running reds. Time pressure
from hire bike payment models was the least popular reason. Hal
Stevenson, director of policy at Lime, said: rCLActually the data showed
that pricing model had a very low impact on whether people did or didnrCOt stop at red lights. We donrCOt subscribe to the idea that people are
making these decisions about their safety, for the basis of 10 or 20p."

Instead, Stevenson said the recent focus on poor behaviour was a result
of the increased volume of cyclists in London, meaning a rCLsmall percentagerCY of riders had become more visible. He said Lime banned rCLhundreds of users a monthrCY for bad behaviour, as reports can trace a
ride by their location and time.

Neil Riley, 52, cycles to his banking job in the City every day. Twice
in the last eight months, he has been hit by another cyclist while
stationary at a red light. Riley was rCLcompletely deckedrCY the first time, leaving him in shock but uninjured. The second time rCLwas just comicalrCY,
he said. rCLI came to a red light and stopped, and then a Lime bike just shunted into the back of me, but had a real go at me. He was effing and blinding, saying rCywhat the eff were you doing?rCO I turned around and
said, rCyIrCOm stopping at a red light.rCOrCY

Riley and the handful of other waiting cyclists laughed, while the angry
rider carried on through the red light. Both incidents involved Lime
users. Riley said the bikes ought to be registered because their speeds
were comparable to motorcycles in the middle of London. rCLI think they
get charged by the minute, so theyrCOre just always trying to get to where theyrCOre going as fast as possible,rCY he said. rCLYou see them not just jumping red lights, but going down one-way streets the wrong way.rCY
ENDQUOTE

A small minority?

Certainly not a small minority in London.
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