Red lights are for cars, right?

I think that regardless of your stance on the red light issue, all road users — pedestrians, drivers, cyclists — can agree that the flow of traffic can be improved.

While it’s true that experienced cyclists ought to be able to pull away well ahead of accelerating cars, what about inexperienced cyclists who don’t have the burst power or confidence to do so? And while it’s true that inexperienced cyclists might increase their risk by jumping red lights, why not make it optional rather than legislating against the entire cycling community? It’s a difficult problem to crack. There are so many aspects to think about that it’s tough to find a solution which is both acceptable to all road users and — this is important — costs little to nothing to implement on a city-wide scale.

One of the quickest, easiest, cheapest (it’s free) legal measures that can be taken immediately is to allow cyclists to turn left at red lights, provided they give way to all other vehicles or pedestrians who have the right of way. I come from America, where we drive on the right side of the road and it’s legal for cars to turn right on red, provided drivers yield to any entities who have the right of way. From my perspective, it seems odd that, in the UK, where you drive on the left side of the road, cars (and bicycles!) are prohibited from turning left on red.

Part of Boris Johnson’s 2008 mayoral campaign was to allow cyclists to turn left at red lights. Earlier this year, he wrote a letter to the DfT outlining his plan, but he never submitted a formal proposal to change the left-on-red law for cyclist. It’s a shame, really.

In Copenhagen, quite possibly the ideal urban cycling encironment, there are dedicated cyclist traffic lights. A similar solution in London would be too costly to implement, but there’s a cheaper alternative: simply lengthen the phase of the yellow light before it turns green. The new rule would be, “Cyclists treat the yellow light as a green.” As little as 3-5 seconds would make a big difference and ought not to anger even the most impatient drivers. Of course, this solution is not without expense, but it’s way cheaper than

What do you think? Left on red? Longer yellow lights? Would these measures improve the overall flow of road users, without adversely affecting anyone?