baron von trail 

Ok. So, I took off and went through a red light when all was clear. A few hundred yards past the light, I hear one of the drivers who was stopped at the light complain to me about it as she passed me. I ignored her.

What business is it of hers?

Do any of you actually stay stopped at a light if all is clear?

hohum

Right? What business is it of hers if you want to ignore the fact that cyclists are typically required by law to stop for traffic signals. Why should she care that you aren't risk averse enough to obey such laws. How dare she notice and say something to a cyclist behaving badly.

You should have hit her car with your U-Lock.

mr_bill

• I yield to pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
  • I proceed if safe to do so.
• I yield at uncontrolled intersections, following simple established yielding rules.
  • I proceed if safe to do so.
• I yield at yield signs.
  • I proceed if safe to do so.
• I stop at stop signs.
  • I proceed after stopping if safe to do so.
• I stop at red lights.
  • If turns on red are permitted, I turn after stopping if safe to do so.
  • Otherwise I proceed after the light turns green if safe to do so.

Any questions about how that works?

-mr. bill

kickstart

Other than when a crossing the "T" on the shoulder in a couple of places, I don't run red lights. I do run some "don't cross" pedestrian signals when Riding on rural MUTs where there is little or no cross traffic in sight.

adablduya

regarding a cyclist's behavior at intersections, i'm of the opinion that the safest place for me is to NOT be stationary in one.

when i approach a multi-way stop (signs or lights), and there is no traffic anywhere near the intersection, i generally will roll thru it. if i am stopped at a light/mutli-way stop and traffic becomes all clear, i'm going. again, i feel i am safer getting on down the road and away from traffic behind me. i don't regard my behavior in this context as being as scofflaw or otherwise acting in blatant disregard of the law.

AlmostTrick

I don't roll red lights but there are a couple on my commute where the sensors will not detect my bike. My state law allows cyclists (pedal AND motor) to proceed when safe after a reasonable amount of time. For me this is as soon as the coast is clear since I know the light won't change.

andr0id

Next thing you know, she'll be telling you to put lights on your bike when coming out of the grocery store.

No, I don't roll through red lights. The only exception is the few that won't cycle unless a car is there. (But then there would be nobody to see me and complain, so it's like a tree falling in the woods.)

I will roll a stop sign in a residential area or out in the country, but only after slowing to almost a stop.

I don't ever just blow through any traffic control at full speed.

RPK79

If there are cars present at a red light I will wait for it to change. If there are no cars I will wait for it to change unless it is a light that I know will not sense me. Only exception is a T intersection as stated above.

jimincalif

I'm pretty much the same as RPK. Interestingly, Germany is apparently considering "decriminalizing" this for cyclists and peds:

Would Germans Ever Cross the Street on a Red Light? - WSJ

badger1

Depends on the situation. If the light is red, but if there is traffic (one or more vehicles waiting on the red; vehicles or pedestrians in or approaching the intersection on green) then yes ... always. I wait for green before proceeding. If, however, I am approaching a red light and there is no other traffic visible, either direction, I slow, look, and listen. If I have clear lines of sight both directions, there is no other traffic in sight, and I see no other movement then yes ... I will proceed through. Simple. I treat stop signs (two-way and four-way) in precisely the same manner: if there is other traffic, stop then proceed in accord with generally-accepted yield practices. If clear lines of sight and no other traffic, move through.

What I do not do is run red lights or stop signs in the face of other traffic.

wphamilton

What business is it of hers? - You're right, since you didn't interfere with anything she was doing, it's none of her business.

Do any of you actually stay stopped at a light if all is clear? - usually. Our traffic tends to be high speed and low skilled, and all-clear is rare so it would be a bad habit to get into. But I'm not a fanatic about it.

indyfabz

I sometimes remain stopped, but not always. Philadelphia has many narrow streets. It's often safer and more beneficial to traffic flow if I can stay ahead of traffic by going through red lights and stop signs, but I will never do that if it would interfere with the right of way of motorists or pedestrians. That sort of thing really bugs me since I walk a lot and sometimes drive. I actually got cursed at by a taxi driver. I was obeying a red light. He was directly behind me and wanted to make a right on red. He kept honking at me and yelling at me to go. I turned around and told him I was obeying the law. He asked "Since when?" "Since right now!" I replied. Funny thing was that, as is the case almost everywhere in center city, right turns on red are not permitted.

GTIMKIV

If it's all clear I will not sit and wait for the light. I'm just a straight up "Outlaw"! (I have also torn tags off of the mattress, used aerosol cans in a manner other than designed , gone out in the cold with wet hair and pet strange dogs even though I had no idea where they have been.)

bakes1

To each his own and I too regularly run lights and roll signs but that being said I am not sure how you can think that you aren't blatantly disregarding the law? Because you are. I am also.
Since when does following the law mean you can determine what is legal and what is not legal as it pertains to your personal context?
You are squirrelly at intersections and that's cool but that doesn't change the law. What you are doing is blatant disregard of the law imo.

Daniel4

Yes.

I hope you don't drive with the same judgment.

canklecat

I stop at most stop signs - usually a brief but full stop without touching my foot down - unless:

• It's uphill. Then I'll slow down and coast through if the way is clear. Hard to get any momentum on some steep uphill stops in my area.
• It's a risky area, such as nighttime at underpasses. I may not even slow down much on those if I can see all directions.

For traffic lights, usually I come to a complete stop and wait, unless I know from experience the light won't change until a car comes along. However in some areas I won't stop for a red light either unless there's plenty of traffic or people around. In either case, often I'll veer right and loop around, usually through a parking lot or sidewalk.

genec

If other traffic is waiting at that light too, yes.

If no one is around in any direction... well, it is like a tree falling in the woods... no one knows if I waited or not.

But if others are waiting at a light that I too stopped for, well I obey all the rules. I also find it annoying when some other cyclist doesn't obey those same rules.

And of course if I am at a traffic light, that doesn't sense me... Well then I do what I gotta do... when it is safe to do so.

adablduya

if you are done with your unsolicited lecture, please permit me to retort.
by blatant disregard, my intended context was referring to blowing through an intersection with no regard for the fact that there is an intersection, perhaps even with vehicles in the vicinity. i adhere to stops and rights-of-way when vehicles are present. if the intersection and vicinity are clear, i cautiously proceed. i'll repeat myself since you didn't seem to pick up on my prime concern, which is to NOT be static in an intersection whenever possible.

Moe Zhoost

Yep, I do. The few exceptions are those intersections where the light is not triggered by my bike *and* there are no vehicles around that I could exploit to trigger the light.

So someone complained about you - big deal. So you complained (here) about her - again, big deal. Nice to see that everybody got their fix.

lostarchitect 

This thread will solve nothing. If you just needed to vent, that's cool.

These things mostly break down to cyclists (mostly urban) who feel it's safer and better to roll reds than to wait in traffic, and cyclists (mostly suburban & rural) who feel that adhering to the law is more important.

IMO, neither group should be telling the other what's best for them.

squirtdad

So if it ok for a cyclist to roll through a red is it ok for a motorcyclist, or a car, a pickup....etc?

If you roll lights, then you should be ok with everyone rolling lights, they make as good of safety decisions as you do and every cyclist does.

Chris516

Bring a shovel with you. So someone can scrape your carcass off the road.

TheLibrarian

depending on the size, # of lanes and business of the intersection. I watched a guy today in suburbia who was in the lane and it is a funky intersection go left on red. Now, i dont really wait for lights if i dont have to but I cross in the crosswalk. This guy was in the middle of the road 3 lanes in to be exact. I wouldn't ride straight through the center lane of a busy intersection with something like 6 different light cycles. I thought he was going straight. he went left i was like this guy has balls. Then he rode in the middle lane down Route 9. Still alive far as i know.

YogaKat

I've been in too many automobile accidents where other people ran the light (usually talking on a phone.)

I obey the law regarding stop light intersections and try to keep aware of the idiots that run them in their automobiles when I'm cycling through the green.

I will say the ones that don't trigger are a pain, though.

I doubt a bike that is running a red is going to do to much damage to a car aside from the trauma of possibly putting a cyclist in the hospital or the grave.

I guess I'm just boring.

Dave Cutter

Most likely it was none of her business. But maybe she was an off duty cop... and too busy to screw with a pithily little matter while off the clock. Maybe she was just being overly emotional because she lost a child, sibling, spouse, parent.... or a foot to a cycling-automobile accident.

Who knows, who cares. We ride our own rides, we make our choices and take our chances, we take our lumps.

Mostly... I am pretty law abiding. But I sort of... sometimes (I don't ride EVERY day) bend the laws when cycling. I don't rationalize my behavior, or care who gets upset. If I ever do get a ticket or get myself hit by a car (or the fist of an angry motorist) I'll know to blame that guy that shaves my face in the mirror.

If what happens in Vegas, can stay in Vegas....... certainly what happens on an urban bicycle ride... can stay on the street.