Spiral Notebook: Red is the new green

There is a busy T-junction near my home. It is guarded by traffic lights. Cars obey. Pedestrians wait for the little green man. Cyclists ignore it all and do what the hell they want.

I cannot recall a single time a cyclist has stopped at these red lights if jumping them posed no risk to their safety (and theirs alone).

This observation could be made of any traffic light anywhere in London. Cyclists see them as mild inconveniences, much as they do the pedestrians they target when they take to the pavement for a shortcut.