A man was ordered to pay £220 this week for cycling through a red light, prompting the Institute of Advanced Motorists to call for bicycles to be allowed to ride through some red lights.
32-year-old Jurjys Renins was fined £220 for failing to stop at a red signal in Norwich city centre, as well as a £22 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.
Police district commander Superintendent Dave Marshall has urged cyclists to stop at red lights for their own safety, particularly if going straight at crossroads.
Denmark cyclists allowed to turn right at red lights
He told the Eastern Daily Press: “This is a significant issue. It’s extremely dangerous because vehicles travelling through green lights don’t expect to see cyclists going through ahead of them.”
Supt Marshall said the offence also causes “a lot of upset between motorists and cyclists.”
However, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) told road.cc though all road users should respect the law, the UK should consider allowing cycles to proceed through certain red lights, as Denmark has done.
Bicycles turning right on red was found not to increase collision rates after a two year trial on 33 Danish junctions, and the movement will become legal from 1 September on those junctions.
Martin Woodhouse, Norfolk and Norwich branch secretary of the IAM, said of cyclists jumping lights: “They are breaking the law but perhaps we should be looking at amending the interpretation of the law to make it safe for them to do so in certain circumstances.
“Cyclists going through red lights are probably more of a danger to themselves than anyone else. If they have a collision with a car, it’s them who is going to come out of it worse off.”
Norwich Cycling Campaign secretary, Margaret Todd, said there needs to be more enforcement for all traffic offences, not just for cyclists.
“We think there has been a drop in traffic enforcement. We don’t think cyclists should be treated any differently,” she said.