More than 40 cyclists fined in Manchester crackdown – but police find motorists are committing double the offences

I cycle through manchester city centre twice a day on my commute to Oldham and the story is alwasy the same,

An amber light means go faster

Talking on a phone is a legitimate way to multitasking

The box junctions are entirely optional (even when the include a tram line)

Cycle lanes are actually parking spaces

Finally and most importantly

The likelyhood of the police or a PCSO seeing, then acting upon any of the road rules is so small you've got nothing to worry about

Driving in the Bolton area is truly shocking and some of the worst I have ever come across. Cycle lanes are routinely parked in. It's just a terrible place to drive in. Manchgester itself isn't too bad in comparison.

I take my hat off to anyone who has the courage to cycle in this part of the world. And this begs the question of how long it will be before it becomes acceptable to "run a red light"? If there have been no accidents, then surely there is no danger, and we need to look at changing the law. They are not slowing the traffic down they are possibly speeding up the flow, so we should be looking at improving the infastructure to accommodate more cyclist.

Taxi drivers are probably a bigger danger to the population as a whole. They are a law unto themselves.

Wait until you see the money they have spunked away on the disasterous Oxford/Wilmslow Road.

Does "double the number of motorists" mean literally that or 'per 1000 transport-mode-users' or what? Given that I imagine that there're a lot more than double the number of motorists than cyclists on the road then I hope it's the latter. Numbers need context, people.

Motorists warned, cyclists fined. This policy doesn't seem right to me.

The police themselves stated that motorists were seen committing double the number of offences, but they didn't stop them and charge them?

Were the officers involved briefed to deliberately carry out an anti-cycling operation, as opposed to performing policing that maximises public safety?

Another police force with a clear excess of funds, where's Gideon when we need him. 

Crazy-legs is right. I have to cross the chaos that is the huge juction where Trafford Rd crosses the A56 onto White City Way every morning (in my car). There are idiots in the wrong lane everywhere, people ignoring the red lights, ignoring the box juctions and causing gridlock. The traffic management is absolutely appalling, they need red light cameras on EVERY traffic light to dissuade all the cretins.

I wouldn't dream of cycling in urban Manchester and have huge respect for the few of my colleagues who do. 

Traffic in and around Manchester last night was awful, really heavy. Near gridlock in places. Literally every other driver was using the phone, presumably texting home to say how late they'd be. Junctions blocked by idiots turning in and across with no exit available. Red lights being routinely ignored.

And yet you get one cyclist without lights and you'll have a SWAT team round them in seconds. Well done Manchester! Focusing on the real issues of the day!

Were the drivers cited and fined as well?

Wow.  Stories like this are beyond annoying, they're anger inducing.

In Northampton the drivers here vary between careful and pretty considerate to outright lethal and will drive through you/at you without a second thought.  It is part of the unofficial war that government refuses to acknowledge.

We too have limited road policing (Camerons 'road safety' cuts but he does at the same time of course think road safety is important - you work that out) so considering the real threat on the roads why do police feel the need to continually compare cycling offences with motoring offences?

When I'm driving (with actual respect for human life around me) yes of course I get annoyed by a cyclist with no lights but you know what, if they choose to court danger by choosing not to be seen they've kind of brought that on themselves (Hey, we're all adults so don't stand on the train line and moan if you get hit by a train)...

However, in Northampton we have various Highways Agency signs attached to lamp posts threatening cyclists with £50 - £80 fines if they're caught riding on the pavement.

Firstly, purely out of self preservation many of them have no other choice.  Police and government refuse to engage with the motorists who are forcing those around them to have to ride there in the first place.

Secondly, we have a huge pavement parking problem and do the council or Police do anything about that?  Of course not...it's a car isn't it.

So, if someone has to step into the road to walk around it and are hit by another driver who is responsible?  The driver of the car blocking the footway?  The driver of the car who hit the pedestrian?  The council/police for failing to promote intolerence to blocking these routes?

I suspect none of the above as the pedestrian/cyclist will have to take the impact solely.

If of course the pedestrian calls the police to remove the car they won't be interested.  If the pedestrian climbs onto the car and walks over it the owner can call the police using a criminal damage claim and then of course the police will be interested.

To wrap up the police are clearly caught up with the concept that cyclists are just as dangerous as motorists when the opposite is categorically the case so why do they choose to use their extremely limited resources targeting the group that represents such marginal peril to society instead of focusing on the real danger out there?

Obvious example of wasting tax payers money if ever there was one.  Can't see the wood for the trees can they?!