JoeyBike

I have been running a "flight recorder' on my handlebars daily for a year now. I have captured literally hundreds of foolishness from motorists (along with my own foolishness of course). Today I witnesses a double-red-light-run (two cars at once - included in the vid) which finally pushed me into starting to make some vids stringing all of the mayhem together.

Maybe a little insight on the "culture" of law breaking in New Orleans. It's traditional.

So this is part one of a series - sort of a short teaser. Enjoy! (about 2:00 minutes).

https://vimeo.com/68110558

Also posted in Commuting

Bekologist

hardly mayhem, more like 'humdrum'. looks like every other example of average (read: bad) american driving. Nothing unique to New Orleans.

It's rich in ironic humor that you've pointed out the red light running transgressions of other road users in this video, joey. Some perspective may be in order.

The gray compact suv at 40 seconds in was making a left from the boulevard you were on. i also saw a lot of overtaking too fast for conditions, expecting other road users to magically yield right of way.

Riders need to be very careful riding so blindly into slightly hazardous positions.

the lack of situational awareness shown in this video and the last one you posted of you moving into a large vacant pocket next to turning traffic at a light are showing a marked dumbing down of the traffic skills we've grown to know and expect out of New Orleans.

What happened- did running bright lights make you think motorists were going to treat you like any other road vehicle? I mean, i'm a strong proponent of daytime lights -and on strobe, not steady- but always couch my suggestions with the caveat there's no guarantee a motorist is going to respect your ROW no matter how bright and in the lane you are.

Careful out there, Joey. this video shows some troubling expectations seeping into your riding style.

dynodonn 

Geezus Joey, if you looked at a couple of the "so called" red light running motorists, they where half way through the intersection when the light turned red, a legal maneuver. What needs to be changed is to have the signal lights delay a second or two, with an all way red.

You're charging through the intersection on your "fellow cyclist" shows poor riding/courtesy on your part, you were a half a block back when they were entering the intersection, you do have brakes on you bike?

The car in "your pocket" reminds me of you riding in a few "peds pockets" and the motorist was at an even greater distance than you have given peds in some of your videos.

JoeyBike

My vids have always been useful "How NOT to" tools here at A&S. Happy to be of service.

Yes i have brakes. As you can see watching my hands, i strive to never use them and often succeed. I also strive to NEVER cause a motorist to touch their brakes. That courtesy is not often returned to me.

JoeyBike

From Louisiana RS 32:232

(2) Steady YELLOW indication:
(a) Vehicular traffic facing a steady yellow signal alone is thereby warned that the related green signal is being terminated or that a red signal will be exhibited immediately thereafter and such vehicular traffic shall not enter or be crossing the intersection when the red signal is exhibited.

In other words, if the light turns red before your rear bumper clears the intersection you can be ticketed for running a red light in Louisiana.


I was cycling the 20 mph speed limit. My road has the right of way. All median crossings in Louisiana are treated like stop signs. You STOP, look both ways, then proceed when it is clear, not when a vehicle is going to hit you. Had I been driving a car I would have had to slap on the brakes for sure. A cop would have seen that move as a "failure to yield".

What's your point? Is it OK to brush someone on a bike with a car, or not? Is it OK to brush the driver of that car with my bike next time I see him walking? That car missed me by less than two feet. Not all that unusual except the entire left lane was open for him to slide over a couple of feet. This is why I HATE "Share the Lane" signs. That message tells motorists that we can both use the same lane at the same time together. Instead of Share the Lane signs I would prefer signs that show a bicycle image and read "Change lanes completely to pass".

Bekologist

Joey, an urban rider has got to get used to motorists pulling out in front of them and getting in the lane so you have to move right or slow down to avoid plowing into their bumper. it happens even in small towns.

This is commonplace motorist behavior. no, it's not okay, it's also a situation a rider shouldn't ride into and not expect it to happen, illegal or not.

dynodonn 

Oh **** oh dear, Joey, you're starting to lose it. Calling out out red light runners when you yourself are in it as thick, and not liking to be passed closely. yet you've buzzed peds just as close, and unwilling to cope with cross traffic that was seen well in advance. Time to enjoy the ride, and learn to bend or you'll break.

JoeyBike

I am not calling anyone out. Just sharing with the safety nannies what I go through every single day. This is how I evolved to ride as I do. When in Rome baby. EVERYONE here does whatever they can get away with.

But now I am wondering...do the rest of you see motorists just disregard red lights like I do? Every hour of every day? Is this a national phenomenon?

Also, some A&Sers complain that I am somehow alienating motorists by breaking traffic laws right in front of them. So given the subject of this video (and hundreds more instances to come) tell me...why should I care what motorists think?

tergal

Not really most drivers i see stop at light, give way pass safely and in general do not cause any problems .

I am normally very negative on drivers, but as was pointed out to me a week ago .
If 1 driver every 10 mins cuts me up, passes to close or in general threaten my life while riding on a main road then that means 3 driver in roughly 20 thousand acted recklessly. ( based of the reported 40 thousand cars an hour that travel that road according to our local government , and it takes me 30 mins on that road )

You get cut up more driving on that road !!

FBinNY 

So I don't have a sense of how common this conduct is since you've edited a bunch of clips together. But is seems that new Orleans might rival beautiful downtown Mount Vernon, NY where every intersection is an adventure. Things here are so ridiculous that at one corner I pass daily they replaced the traffic light with 4-way stop signs.

I happened to pull up to a pair of cops hanging near there writing tickets (easy pickens) and commented about the light. The senior officer explained that the city took it down beacus folks had the habit of hitting the pole and it was too expensive to keep replacing.

Chris516

Even though they were halfway through the intersection when the light went red, yellow means 'slow down'.

Turtle Speed

I only saw one person completely blow a red in your video (1:04). Two other vehicles were in the middle of the intersection during a yellow (1:18, 1:34). In your rush to complain, you failed to notice that the car at 0:37 was not obligated to stop at any red light. It had just completed a left turn.

Yes, many of those vehicles made bad judgment calls. Motorists misjudge your speed and turn in front of you - deal with it. Motorists try to beat yellow lights when they probably shouldn't - deal with it. Motorists pass you too closely - deal with it. It happens everywhere. You had plenty of time to react and adjust in almost every single one of these scenarios.

If there really were cars in "disregard" of reds "every hour of every day," you surely would have a nastier collection than the mundane footage here. This thread is much ado about nothing.

And a guy who habitually buzzes pedestrians labels a 2-foot car pass a "horror story." Child please.

JoeyBike

The car buzzed me with the entire road to use. I don't go NEAR the Meanderthols if I can help it. That is the point. And pedestrians run the risk of a close pass when they are breaking the law already (crossing on a red, middle of the block, between parked cars, etc.) I sure as hell don't go anywhere near them for the fun of it. Nor do I pass them within inches at 40 mph when I have the rest of the road to use.

JoeyBike

I have hundreds. Just put this together on a lark as I witnessed the "double red light runners" that day. I just looked back five days in my archives. I have hundreds of days archived (20 minutes each way to work at the shortest, 1 hour each way the long route). I easily have 300 such shots since last year at this time. And that is not counting burned out tail lights and head lights.

dynodonn 

Yellow means caution, and the light is about to turn red, but it doesn't mean slam on the brakes and risk being rear ended. In our city, a number of problem intersections have signal lights that have a momentary all way red in order to reduce the risk of a collision, something that the intersections that Joey videoed would probably benefit from.

Jimi77

I see the same stuff in Denver and Denver is usually near the top of the "bike friendly cities" lists. Personally, I avoid the streets if at all possible. Heck just a few nights ago I got buzzed by truck while walking away from a concert. I'm not sure why he felt I was inconveniencing him since the road was packed and he wasn't going any where fast. Maybe he was just pissed that we were smart enough to park at the bottom of the hill so we wouldn't have to battle the zoo in the parking lot, maybe he was texting, stoned, drunk or just not paying attention. IMHO, a lot of people (maybe most people) just don't give a flying **** about their fellow human being if we're inconveniencing them in some way and there is no better example of that than the roadways throughout America.

Heck if you think it's bad in NO, then you should try Europe some time.

B. Carfree

In a word, yes.

Sorry to jump in with the Joey bashers, but the driving behavior in this vid is pretty much what I have experienced all over the west coast for decades. If anything, your motorists are more law abiding than average and considerably less hostile towards cyclists, at least if your videos are fair examples. I've got motorists going through stop signs at 30 mph with pedestrians in the crossswalk in a 20 mph zone on a regular basis. Something like 8% of males are red-green colorblind, and it shows. I guess their mothers the carriers have some trouble distinguishing these colors as well. American motorists are incompetent, all over America. Ho hum.

AusTexMurf

How about the freakin' school bus, Beko ? Sorry, but, don't think that would fly in my home town, in spite of all the other motorists' bad behavior that is ignored......

And I did find the video ironic. And humorous. Thanks for the share.

Dunbar

Here in Los Angeles you'll see at least one car per cycle of the traffic light blatantly run through a stale yellow that just turned red. By blatant I mean the light turns red before their front bumper enters the intersection Those are the people who I think deserve red light tickets. It's to the point where I look both ways before proceeding when I get a green light.

dynodonn 

I've been doing that for years. I'm sure it irritated more than a few motorists behind me when I slowly accelerate across an intersection upon receiving a green light, whether I'm riding my bike, motorcycle, or driving my car.

JoeyBike

If i am forced to stop at a red, in a car or on a bicycle, i always make sure the crossing traffic is actually going to stop after it goes green. Everyone in NOLA is quite used to this so not to often do i get horn blowing behind me the instant a light goes green.

Jimi77

In Denver you have to double check when you get the green and you get the guy behind you beeping.....

dynodonn 

How dare those red lights, having the gall to impede your progress....

buzzman

This video is a good reminder that all lights- turn signals, traffic lights and the lights on your bike are just that- lights. They are not a guarantee of anything. Sure, put bright lights on your bike but ride as if you're invisible. Sure, the traffic light is in your favor and most of the time drivers will stop but look for the guy who doesn't. Turn signals? For a lot of drivers they are an accessory, an after thought or too much trouble. I treat every car as a potential left or right hook and a glance at the front wheels is often the best indicator of their intentions.

I have no criticisms of Joey's riding in the video, its tough to gauge speed, distance and the full panorama from the lens of the camera. It offers a pretty good view but too narrow a perspective for me to judge your riding.

I appreciate the video. It's funny and appropriately creepy in tone. After all, bad drivers can quickly turn a nice ride into a horror story.

Oh, and you asked if we get bad, red light running drivers elsewhere- Boston makes this video look like a picnic.

JoeyBike

I know this sounds bad, but I am somehow relieved a tad knowing I am not the only one seeing these things nationwide. Another thing...brake lights. I can't even imagine how many burned out brake lights I see in a week, including cops. I love to roll up at a stop light and tell them the have a burned out bulb. They never seem to know if they should thank me or not. "Don't worry officer, this is just a warning..."