Cyclists see red – and won’t have to stop

London Mayor Boris Johnson has called for cyclists to be allowed to turn left at red traffic lights, according to this report in The London Paper.

Johnson’s scheme, which has been put to the Department for Transport in writing, is intended to save cyclists lives. The move will allow riders to move ahead of vehicles at junctions – an area where the rate of cyclist death is particularly high, usually at the hands of lorries.

Currently, bicycle users ignoring red traffic lights can be fined £30.

In a comment today from the Department for Transport, the body said the proposal would have to go through the appropriate channels:

"To allow for cyclists to be exempted from red lights requires a change to the current legislation. This would need to go through the appropriate parliamentary processes before it could take effect."