I’ve spent many years cycling to work, I get it. We’re in a rush, we left it a little too late to get to work for the customary pat-dry-chemical-shower-get-dressed-get-breakfast etc. Maybe the kids were playing up, and no one wanted to put their shoes on. Maybe you wanted to beat that guy who’s been tailing you for the last few kilometres. I never ran red lights; the jeers from other cyclists scare me into submission. I also catastrophised more than a few times about being knocked over by a lorry and no one mourning me because it was all my fault.
I am, however, in the minority. Between July 2023 and April 2024, 944 fixed penalty notices were issued to cyclists by City of London Police, including for running red lights or putting themselves or pedestrians at risk. In a survey for Lime last year, 58 per cent of daily cyclists admit to running red lights, and 82 per cent of cyclists recognise that it is dangerous. In August 2025, an ITV News camera caught 200 cyclists jumping the red light at a busy central London location during rush hour in just 60 minutes. What would it take for you to take it seriously? Hurting yourself in an accident? What about a child?
