Left turn on red

You probably heard about the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson proposing that cyclists be allowed to turn left at red traffic lights. It stirred up quite a reaction in the press and cycling circles. Generally I think it was opposed. Safety is a big issue for London. I sold a bike to a woman from Spain living in London last year and in our email conversation I warned her to be careful of the lorries. I had to explain what they were and why they are a danger. I hope she is all right because I read today about two more tragic fatalities in the capital. The thought of being in a road collision is frightening enough without contemplating the outcome where a heavy goods vehicle is involved.

The chap in the photo above doesn't appear to think about such consequencies. He's crossing out into one of the local area's accident black spots. The bit of the road he is in is a dual carriageway, which although a 30mph limit, sees cars ripping through at over 50mph. There's been quite a few sidewipes of vehicles emerging from this junction being hit by vehicles from the right, some of them quite serious. I'm at the line, but there is no advance stop line for cycles so it's always a problem to be wary of vehicles turning left here.