Originally Posted by joejack951
Go searching for some threads about stop signs or just observe cyclists anywhere on the roads and see how many actually stop for stop signs when they should. Most don't think they apply because they do not see themselves as vehicles. Most sidewalk cyclists don't give a crap about redlights either and neither do most cyclists who I see sticking to the margins of the road at all times.
You can ride a bike without stopping at stop signs or red lights but then it wouldn't be very vehicular. Rarely do you see anyone driving their car with the same disregard for traffic control devices as you see coming from non-vehicular cyclists (except in the case of speed limits but that's another topic).
Precisely. Stopping for red lights, riding in the same direction as other traffic, and using lights at night may be obvious to all of us reading this forum, but for many of the beginning and "casual" cyclists I've taken out for rides, these represent significant changes in their behavior as part of their conceptual introduction to vehicular cycling. It's a challenge to gently influence new cyclists into following the basic vehicular rules - but the number of near-collisions I've seen convince me of the importance of doing so. These novice cyclists aren't stupid, they just didn't equate bicycle operation with driving a vehicle. Once they understood the paradigm, and why it works, their cycling was immediately safer, because they quickly were able to get the basics right. And best of all, I was no longer worried that I would have to tell their loved ones that they got killed on their bike ride with me.