Drivers will be fined £120 for straying into cycle lanes under plans to give local authorities powers to install yet another set of roadside enforcement cameras.
Even minor infringements, such as moving briefly into a cycle lane to pass a vehicle turning right, will result in a fixed penalty. Drivers will not know that they have been caught until the penalty notice arrives in the post a few days later.
(Source: The Times)
So, it appears that errant motorists could be forced to pay the penalty of taking up even more road space than they need, which, as a cyclist, I think is good news. The amount of drivers who don’t look where they’re going, and almost side swipe bike riders when they’re turning at junctions is shocking. And, that’s without those who park in cycle lanes.
Only recently getting on the bike regularly again, I have been amazed at how little road etiquette has changed since I last regularly rode. Still cyclists aren’t given enough room by overtaking motorists, especially if the road narrows. There’s a stretch of road, which pinches in on the way home from the station to make way for a pelican crossing, but over-zealous/ignorant/non-observant (delete as appropriate) drivers still try to shoot past as I’m approaching it, leaving only a whisker of room between them and me. It’s no wonder I sometimes (wrongly) use the path.
Now, the motorists would point their fingers at red light jumping cyclists, and as a pedestrian, too, I would be right in there with them. Walking in London is sometimes extremely hazardous, and junctions can become dangerous places for the unwary. A red light is a red light, is it not? I hear couriers’ cries, but, as a car driver, I have to stop at them.
Motorists may also see it as yet another infringement on their freedom and driving rights, with yet another fine to add cash to the authorities’ coffers. It would certainly make life safer for bike riders, but it’s not without its problems.
Elderly drivers for example. Yes, an argument can be given that if a person who seemingly has all their faculties but has problems with their road etiquette, shouldn’t be driving in the first place. This would appear to be true, but however minor the possible non-incidental wandering could be, they would be collared with a not-too-small fine. If as TfL states, civilians would man the cameras, then there could be some leeway, but wouldn’t that negate the process in the first place?
And would motorists pay for all the new hardware, which needs to be installed? There are lots of answered questions.
As for the idea that giving cyclists more room would make for more of them, I can see the logic, but I don’t think that’s quite how it works. People cycle because they want to, as a way of keeping fit, or because they want to save time getting from A to B. Or, for all three reasons. Not because they have more room on the roads, and it will possibly be safer. I can’t deny that I would like that last bit to be a reality, though. At times, I do feel very vulnerable.
A good idea in principle, but with feet in all camps, I don’t know if it would work, or what indeed the best solution is. Unfortunately, the paradise ideal of cycle-safe paths cutting through our towns and cities isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
The whole idea of more cyclists on the roads is at odds with car lobbyists’ ideal of bike riders being banned from main carriageways, though. Going on that and the new proposed cameras, safe cycle path networks would seem to be the solution to please all parties.
But for now, if rude pedestrians (especially those with buggies) could be fined for walking cycle lanes - even when there is a pedestrian path alongside - we really would be pedalling the way ahead.