Over half of cyclists ignore red light at crossing outside one of London's busiest hospitals, study finds
1 September 2024, 10:21
Over half of all cyclists jumped a set of red lights at a pedestrian crossing outside one of London’s busiest hospitals, a study conducted by The Telegraph found.
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During the two rush-hour traffic counts conducted near St Thomas’ Hospital, on Westminster Bridge Road, 559 or 54.2 percent of the 1,032 cyclists required to stop at the lights ignored the signal.
Cyclists were seen mounting the pavement, riding in the wrong direction and reading their mobile phones as members of the public, including children and elderly pedestrians visiting the hospital, attempted to use the crossing.
Others were seen riding without holding the handlebars, performing wheelies while one teenage cyclist reportedly mounted the pavement before coming to a halt just inches away from children.
The footage from the study has led to calls from the families of pedestrians killed following collisions with cyclists for ministers to back commitments to introduce tougher laws to protect the most vulnerable road users.
This comes two weeks before the Lords holds a debate on “safety and regulation issues involved in the use of pedal cycles on the road network”.
The study was conducted for two hours from 7:45am for cyclists heading into London and for another two hours from 5pm as commuters heading out of the capital.
Of the 559 cyclists found to ignore the red lights, 54 percent broke the rules in the two-hour period in the morning while 48 of them avoided red lights by riding on the pavement.
Four pedal-powered pedicabs – also known as tuk-tuks or rickshaws and used by tourists – ignored the red lights, with one driving on the wrong side of the road yet no cars were found to disobey the signals.
Relatives of those killed in collisions with cyclists are calling for those on a bicycle to be dealt with by the law in the same way as motorists.
Gerard Griffiths’ mother, Hilda, 81, died after colliding with Brian Fitzgerald, a cyclist who was travelling at up to 29mph in a 20mph zone in Regent’s Park.
He said: “Thankfully there were no collisions during this study, but when so many ride in such a way it is only a matter of time before more collisions cause serious injuries and deaths.
“Attitudes need to change, and cyclists who ride with impunity need to be held accountable.”
Christine White, whose father, Jim Blackwood, 91, was killed after being hit by an e-cyclist on a pavement, said: “There is an extremely selfish cycling element who don’t care where they cycle as long as they get to where they are going, and damn everyone else.”
Matthew Briggs has campaigned for changes in the law following the death of his wife Kim in 2016 after being hit by a cyclist on a bike without front brakes.
He said: “Unlike the equivalent offences for motorists, had one of these cyclists injured or killed a pedestrian, the Crown Prosecution Service would have no functioning laws with which to prosecute them.
“During the election campaign, Labour gave a commitment to bringing forward new laws of causing death or serious injury by means of dangerous or careless cycling with equivalent penalties to those which motorists face.”
Currently, cyclists who kill while riding dangerously can only be jailed for a maximum of two years for “wanton or furious driving” and while a manslaughter charge is available it is an unlikely verdict if the lesser charge is available.
In May, MPs from all parties unanimously passed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which would have seen tougher new laws introduced to target illegal cycling, but the Bill was lost after the election was called.
Mr Briggs added: “We look forward to the Government acting on their commitment to finally regulate cycling with these simple, effective and meaningful laws.”
Sarah Gayton, of the National Federation of the Blind of the UK, who has filmed on the bridge, said: “Blind and visually impaired people cannot jump out of the way and are at risk of being hit or having their guide dog frightened due to this reckless behaviour. Either cyclists don’t care or they think they are above the law.”
