To quote from the introductory section "Wording of the Highway Code":
Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’. In addition, the rule includes an abbreviated reference to the legislation which creates the offence.
(My emphasis)
Neither Rule 72, nor Rule 169 say "MUST" and both leave it up to the cyclist's view as to whether they should, depending on whether it is safe.
Oh and, PS, FYI, as a cyclists/ biker/ driver myself, yes, it does piss me off when riders jump red lights etc and I've shouted at them for doing it, but there again, on my road, there's a part where another road crosses it with Give Way lines on each side which, as Rule 172 says: "The approach to a junction may have a ‘Give Way’ sign or a triangle marked on the road. You MUST give way to traffic on the main road when emerging from a junction with broken white lines across the road."
I have seen people stop three feet beyond the Give Way line and on at least one occasion, drive *straight through* the junction without stopping. Had I been about ten yards further up the road on my bicycle, they would have flattened me.
So, again, let's remind ourselves that *ALL* road users have examples of bad/ dangerous/ illegal behaviour, instead of slagging off just one.
Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’. In addition, the rule includes an abbreviated reference to the legislation which creates the offence.
(My emphasis)
Neither Rule 72, nor Rule 169 say "MUST" and both leave it up to the cyclist's view as to whether they should, depending on whether it is safe.
Oh and, PS, FYI, as a cyclists/ biker/ driver myself, yes, it does piss me off when riders jump red lights etc and I've shouted at them for doing it, but there again, on my road, there's a part where another road crosses it with Give Way lines on each side which, as Rule 172 says: "The approach to a junction may have a ‘Give Way’ sign or a triangle marked on the road. You MUST give way to traffic on the main road when emerging from a junction with broken white lines across the road."
I have seen people stop three feet beyond the Give Way line and on at least one occasion, drive *straight through* the junction without stopping. Had I been about ten yards further up the road on my bicycle, they would have flattened me.
So, again, let's remind ourselves that *ALL* road users have examples of bad/ dangerous/ illegal behaviour, instead of slagging off just one.