Well, I guess I'd better stop being a Liberal Democrat and say what I think about this.

First, I don't really give a lot of weight to anyone who goes on about 'breaking the law of the land'. I mean, who hasn't broken the law of the land at some time or other? As I type, Ohna has a photo on her desk which shows her driving our car in a bus lane. She's about 10 yards from the road she's turning left into and her indicator is clearly on, but it's still illegal so she has to hand over 40 quid. And of course we all know that car drivers, motorbikers, cyclists and pedestrians all break the law every day. (I have to say, mind you, that it seems to me like motorcyclists are the most law-abiding of the lot - at least in town). So I think we probably want to separate the question of what the law should be from what our moral attitude is to breaking it.

Second, I don't have that much faith that changing the law or road layouts or traffic signals would have much effect. How often do cars stop between the advanced stop lines for bicycles at traffic lights? How many motorists understand the rules for mini-roundabouts (identical to those for ordinary roundabouts, btw)? How many pedestrians understand that a cycle path is a thing people will probably go cycling on? How many builders with skips/vans/whatever to park could care less? (My favourite cycle path obstacle is the ice cream van which regularly parks on the path in Whittington Park). I don't think cyclists should get too upset about all of this. It's just stuff you need to think about and be aware of and cycle around.

Which leaves the moral question about whether cyclists should break the law or not. My feeling is that nobody should break the law but that if you get upset every time someone does you're heading for dangerously high stress levels.

So what do I do when I meet a red light? Well, usually I stop and wait. I have been known to sneak through when it's really obvious nothing else is moving in the vicinity. And the one place where I think it makes sense is at a busy junction where getting away early means you're out of the way of the motorists before they've got a chance to plough into you.

Anyone want to start on the cycling on the pavement question?

B-)