Do you disregard traffic laws during your commute?
 

Why or why not

Yes, mostly stop signs and speed limits.

I don't like to loose whatever momentum I've gathered for a stop sign (when no one's coming), and 15mph is too slow on the bike path, so I speed.

No. The law is the law. Breaking it makes you "one of those ______ bikers" that everyone, not a cyclist, kvetches about incessantly claiming we need banned from roads---and you only prove their negative stereotype true.

There's a residential neighborhood I go through where I do "Idaho stops" at the stop signs quite a bit, but not if there are already cars in the intersection.

<-- Neutral Good

My attorney has advised me to exercise my fifth amendment right not to answer.

Yes. I am sometimes tempted to go over the 50 kph limit on the residential streets, but I exercise caution and keep it to a pedestrian 45.:)

Of course, I do if it is safe to do so.

Not if nobody sees you.

My thought process:
1. Is it safe?
2. Is it courteous?
3. If yes-yes, the law doesn't apply.

No one is as subtle as they think they are.

Years back I thought the same way....and most of the time shortly after blowing say stop sign on a deserted residential at all hours of the day/night--I'd have an irate motorist come out of nowhere shouting at me about blowing said stop sign within 30 seconds. Like it or not people see us and our transgressions and, due to our small numbers, are magnified in the eyes of others. We're all ambassadors for our hobby, best to act like it 100% of the time--because that 1% you don't, odds are you'll be seen and be a riding case of confirmation bias to someone.

A comparison I draw is with people who pick their noses and deposit boogers below tables. Or deposit used chewing gum similarly. Yes, someone probably saw you, and yes someone is going to be mad with you for leaving a mess. And they'll not think kindly of you in either case.

Yeah, waiting to cross a main road in the 6 am darkness with no traffic, and no prospect of the light turning green for me unless I dismount and activate the pedestrian crossing button, is just dumb. So yeah, I'll treat that red light like a stop sign. Same goes for stop signs when there's no traffic--Idaho stop.

On the PM ride home don't do it.

I treat my bicycle commute just like I would if I were in my car. The one day I choose to blow through a stop sign is the day I wind up hit by a car I didn't see in time.

No one here would 'blow through' a stop sign without making sure there isn't traffic coming the other way. That's just plain stupid. When approaching a four-way stop sign, I am not riding fast enough that I can't see the traffic coming from the cross street. If there are cars approaching I will take my turn. Sometimes the driver(s) will indicate for me to go ahead of them. Fine. Otherwise, I will wait for my right of way.

Sure, sidestepping the traffic sometimes gives poor optics for cyclists. :shrug emoji:

An Idaho Stop is a legal thing in some places. Pulling it may not make you a scofflaw at all, depends on the jurisdiction.

Different perspective, same ideas in play:

In my business we have 18-wheel tractor/trailers come by all the time with equipment. Those drivers get annoyed, like us, about always being "treated like criminals" and scofflaws....but then you start hearing and seeing stories of rampant wrongdoing and law-breaking....being loaded down way over weight, and taking back-country-roads to dodge weigh stations...tag theft....doctoring hours....never mind speeding in caravans (haha they can't ticket ALL of us!!!)...and so on....

And it gets really hard to be sympathetic to people complaining about being treated like law-breakers...when you see them doing exactly that.

I never said anyone here would.

not intentionally. sometimes I go over the speed limit. need to work on that ... :o

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...355f55675a.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...385910c711.jpg

For some reason, this thread reminded me of an article written for Bicycling magazine back in 1983 or thereabouts where the writer described accompanying Lon Haldeman for an hour or so during that year's Race Across America.

The two of them were riding along a remote stretch of road in the Great Plains when they came up to a traffic light that turned red as they approached it. No cars in sight for miles in any direction. Haldeman stopped and put a foot down, waiting for the light to change.

oh we're counting red lights too? not intentionally, but Oops ...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7abe656c35.jpg

KY has a "dead red" law for cyclists :) So, I'm not breaking the law if I run one provided I have come to a complete stop and waited 120 seconds or two light cycles.

Yes I break traffic laws regularly, but only if it's safe to do so and if there are no cops around.

There's a 4-way stop sign on my morning ride that's 90% traffic-free at 6:55 a.m. I "slow" through (not that I'm going that fast to begin with) with my head on a swivel and my hands on my brakes. So far, so good. Outside of a steep hill, there's zero chance of me speeding. I like riding too much to go fast. :)

So, yes, where safe and appropriate.

Disregard? No, I have full regard for traffic laws. I just don't always follow every one if it's not practical to do so. I'm not going to sit there waiting at a red light that does not detect my bike there and change just to be in compliance with the law. I'm not going to necessarily come to a full stop at a four way stop if I can clearly see that there are no other cars coming. I otherwise stay within the law.

Every state has a law covering malfunctioning stop lights.

No. I am prepared to be a nicehole for all those people breaking traffic laws because they don't want to lose momentum or feel its safe to do so.

This is a question that I find difficult to answer definitively. The answer differs on a case by case basis. Years of experience lead to a judgement call for each situation for me. Sometimes yes, sometimes no, but always considerate and safe.