"Those Bicyclists Blow Right Through Red Lights!"
 

This is a common statement made by motorists about bicyclists. I contend this virtually never happens.About the only time I see anything close to this happening is on the streets of Manhattan with bike messengers(mostly) but that place is Thunderdome, so that doesn't count.
When a motorist makes this statement, I have to wonder what we're talking about. I absolutely blow through red lights safely all the time. I'm out on Sunday morning at 8am. I approach a 4-lane 55mph road with a red light. I have unlimited views in either direction. I blow through without slowing down. No problem whatsoever. Same with stop signs. There are cases where it would be ridiculous to stop on a bike. If I think I would put myself in any danger, I stop or slow down.
But what I envision the motorist talking about is a bicyclist riding through an active or busy suburban or urban intersection at speed, with their head down, ignoring the red light and any traffic. I contend this scenario virtually never happens. I know that I have never witnessed it. That would certainly be wrong on the part of the cyclist, absolutely. It would also be tantamount to suicide, and therefore a highly unlikely occurrence.
So, when i talk to a motorist about why they dislike bicycles, and they say, "Because they blow through red lights.", they lose me.

Totally disagree with everything you have said. I've seen it. Here in Michigan if riding in/ on the road you are treated like any other vehicle which means you observe the same rules of the road. Stop means stop whether you feel it's stupid or not. Your just reinforcing the negative view drivers have of cyclists.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! Thanks for the laugh and...

****.

Its ludicrous to think cyclist is or should be treated like any other vehicle.

I see it all the time here where I live in Florida. I wouldn't say I dislike those riders, but I do think they are horribly misinformed on how to ride smart and courteously when on the road.

With this reply, I'm not sure if you're now trolling.

My city's officials had "$500 minimum fine for red light violation" signage installed at numerous signaled intersections around the city, and I can safely say that they were not installed due to cyclists' actions, but I can safely say that a cyclist would probably be subject to the same fine if ticketed for a red light violation.

I see it happen frequently on the way to work in the spring. I use an intersection where the cross traffic is driving into the sun. I'll trip the light and get a green and the cars/trucks will often drive through the red without slowing down.

I suspect if cyclists are going through reds it's on the end of a yellow light when everyone is still stopped. Illegal, but not terribly unsafe (as long as no one is timing the green light). My observation is that going through a fresh red is a common occurrence with drivers of all vehicles whether they have 2 or 4 wheels.

when I hear motorists griping about cyclists, their most common complaint is that we're on the road at all...

you actually argue with that kind of people?..

Absolutely not trolling. In fact if we claimed all the vehicular rights to which we are entitled, motorists would hate us even more. And also, disavow yourself of that effete notion that "if we only obeyed the traffic laws, motorists wouldn't hate us." Nonsense. It goes way beyond that.

No, you can't safely say that, because it is precisely at the point when the officer pulls out his ticket book to issue the summons that the FACT that the cyclist often has no license or registration or insurance ID to complete the paperwork. With that things start to get interesting for all parties concerned. Different jurisdictions handle the dilemma differently, but in the ones I have lived in, bikes get a pass and although I don't ever do it on purpose, I have on occasion discovered that, after pulling off a rather flagrant violation of a red light statute that the entire transgression was witnessed, first hand, by duly sworn LEO of the State, on active duty. To no effect.

??? Is someone having an identity crisis? Never mind... I see what's happened. You should quote the other poster though, not yourself... IMO.

You see cyclists barrelling into active intersections with the light against them with their heads down? That's not what you describe in your follow-up. There is zero way that a cyclist could regularly ride through controlled intersections in suburban or urban environments without being aware of the relative locations of other traffic. Zero. I don't really care whether an observer is aware that I have a very good idea of where every single vehicle in a position to impact me (and likewise) is. If they don't think so, that's on them.

I agree with you that truly "blowing through" lights almost never happens, even here in Manhattan. If it did, there would be a lot more dead cyclists.

But, wait.

Am I reading you wrong or are you saying you blow lights in your car at 55mph??? Now THAT is very unusual behavior. I admit I am guilty of the occasional "rolling stop" at 1 or 2 mph, but I don't think I have ever blown a stop in a car at 55mph!

I think you're making more blanketed statements in regards to "them" hating "us". I drive a car. I get more angry at unpredictable, reckless cyclists. You may want to bring your concerns to your local or state government as most states classify cyclists as vehicles and they must obey the same rules and laws as other vehicles. Look, I've been commuting for a number of years and fair best when I am predictable and obey roadway laws. You won't convince me otherwise. When I first started, I rode sidewalks. I had more close calls there than any time I was on the road. I think people fail to realize that roadways are used for moving people, goods and services.

A lot depends on where you are and what the customs there are. The typical rider in Nebraska would not do well using the same riding style in Manhattan, and the typical rider in Manhattan would not do well using their riding style in Amsterdam. Something a lot of people miss here with their blanket statements about what is right and wrong is that what's expected of you varies a LOT by region and city.

No, The road i cross on my bike on Sunday mornings is a 4 lane road with a 55mph speed limit. I never go through red lights in my car.

I did it once at 35MPH... scared the crap outta me when I realized what I had just done... too many people in the car all talking at once...

No one was hurt, no crash occurred, we were lucky... the cross road just happened to be empty at the moment... but again, this was NOT because I had carefully checked out all the possibilities, it was due to distraction, and we got lucky.

Whew, OK. I misread you.

I'm not talking about what other road users expect of me. Most would expect me to move out of the road and onto a sidewalk where the expectations of pedestrians would be for me to get off the sidewalk.

What I expect of myself is to ride courteously, have fun when riding, and follow the rules of the road for my safety and the safety of others. Part of this is adapting to different locales. I never really mentioned what is right or wrong but simply how I fair best which just happens to be riding in the road predictably. For others it could be sidewalk riding.

I see the "head down, no slowing, no looking" a lot more at the stop signs around the campus. Granted, I probably roll 80% of the stop signs when I'm on the bike, but that's after slowing and ensuring I have good sight lines and no approaching traffic from either side. Any doubt, and I stop.

Red lights, full stop. I may run it after a long enough wait to determine that it's sensor controlled and not recognizing the bike, but nobody's going to mistake that for blowing through without even looking.

There are times when it is absolutely crazy for a car to have to stop for a red light. 3:00 AM, and the last car that passed the light from either direction was an hour ago. Then again, start blowing through red lights and it gets to be a very slippery slope.

Some municipalities have learned the folly of red lights during low traffic times and put in yellow blinking lights. Some of my dreaded left turns now go to a yellow blinking light too.

Bikes have a few issues, both for and against them.

• My 0 - 20 MPH acceleration sucks. So, it can be faster/safer & less disruptive to go through a traffic control at speed. Sometimes I can't even get through an intersection a full green/yellow cycle. However, I'm also faster than a pedestrian with a walker.
• Vulnerability.
• Excellent visibility around oneself... if one bothers to look.
• But harder to be seen.
• One's primary risk is to oneself, especially when tangling with big vehicles.

Anyway, I'm happy enough to wait for lights if I can be guaranteed to get a green light 100% of the time after a reasonable wait, and the light stays green long enough for me to safely get through the intersection.

Stop signs... well, often better treated as yield signs, especially if turning into a lane separate from the traffic.

@Equinox, since you're in NYC you should know that you are held to the same rules and regulations as for automobiles. Its also illegal to ride on the sidewalk. Having said that, as long as you're not a total arse and stop at busy intersections, then I think that's usually ok. Just be aware that a cop can pull you over and give you that same ticket that a driver would get.

Once, I was waiting for a shuttle bus -- the bridge was out and a detour to the next viable river crossing would have meant something like +18 miles. Sitting on a bench, an intersection with posted stop signs was within view and I decided to count the number of cars which rolled the stop sign without coming to a complete stop. 11 out of 13 drivers did not stop.

So whenever some non-cyclist confronts me with the tired argument of cyclists running red lights and stop signs, I tell them of this little scenario and suggest that perhaps cyclists are just imitating drivers...