Originally Posted by
howsteepisit
Or maybe running red lights in a careful manner is not as dangerous as some people think. Just a random thought.
If you watch the JoeyBike videos (like the one I posted upthread a few posts), it looks crazy- lane splitting, running red lights, but if you watch you can see a lot of calculated maneuvers. I think that if you understand how motor traffic behaves at intersections, and understand a little human nature, you can "blow through" red lights with apparent abandon but relative safety. If you understand the rules followed by traffic, but don't commit to following them yourself, you can navigate among the cars pretty nimbly by following your own rules. You better pay attention though or you'll get squished.
I'm reminded of traffic in Rome, Italy. To American eyes it looks crazy, but after some observation the unwritten rules of the road emerge. They don't follow the laws like we do at intersections and staying in lanes, but they know what the local norms are and people are largely consistent. So it works.