Nerds stay out!
10-04-07, 11:59 PM
#26
Crankenstein
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Before I tell this little story, if you're a safety nerd hit the back button. This story is about running a red light, so if you can't read about someone running a red light without getting all preachy please move on to the next thread.
On to the story. I was sitting at a red light this morning trying my hardest to be patient and wait my turn but I just couldn't do it. There were no cars in sight except the ones sitting and waiting for the light to change. The stupid thing was ridiculously long and I just didn't see the point in sitting there for another 5 minutes. I looked left, looked right, double checked to make sure it wasn't about to change and went. Well, the guy in the truck next to me wasn't paying attention and when he saw me go, he went too. I started laughing out loud when I saw the look on his face when he realized what he was doing. He started to stop but he was already in the middle of the intersection so he just floored it. When he passed me I looked over at him laughing and he gave me the finger. I was laughing so hard I nearly fell off my bike, the finger and the pissed off look on his face just sent me over the edge.
Anybody else ever make a cager run a light?
On to the story. I was sitting at a red light this morning trying my hardest to be patient and wait my turn but I just couldn't do it. There were no cars in sight except the ones sitting and waiting for the light to change. The stupid thing was ridiculously long and I just didn't see the point in sitting there for another 5 minutes. I looked left, looked right, double checked to make sure it wasn't about to change and went. Well, the guy in the truck next to me wasn't paying attention and when he saw me go, he went too. I started laughing out loud when I saw the look on his face when he realized what he was doing. He started to stop but he was already in the middle of the intersection so he just floored it. When he passed me I looked over at him laughing and he gave me the finger. I was laughing so hard I nearly fell off my bike, the finger and the pissed off look on his face just sent me over the edge.
Anybody else ever make a cager run a light?
I wait... and wait... and wait... finally, SCREW IT... I'm gonna go.
RIGHT as I cross the white line, the cross light turns yellow... at almost the exact same moment, the white car behind the minivan cranks it's wheels right, and starts to move... turning just enough for me to see the police insignia on the side... CRAP!!!!
Then the van went, too!!!! And the light is still red.... guess who got pulled over?
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"There is no greater wonder than the way the face and character of a woman fit so perfectly in a man's mind, and stay there, and he could never tell you why. It just seems it was the thing he most wanted." Robert Louis Stevenson
"There is no greater wonder than the way the face and character of a woman fit so perfectly in a man's mind, and stay there, and he could never tell you why. It just seems it was the thing he most wanted." Robert Louis Stevenson
10-05-07, 01:01 AM
#28
institutionalized
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Portland, OR
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https://bikeportland.org/ is the best local source. Search around and you'll find a lot of discussion about the price of not stopping at traffic signals in Portland.
10-05-07, 07:31 AM
#29
Trans-Urban Velocommando
Join Date: Nov 2006
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I ran a red because I was following a truck in my car back in 1996 or so and didn't see that the big truck barely made the yellow. I got pulled over and it was $50. i'd imagine it varies a lot from one municipality to the next.
10-05-07, 08:27 AM
#30
Senior Member
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I've pulled cars through a red light as well. There's one weirdly timed intersection on my commute - two lights that separate the east and west bound lanes of a crossing parkway. The far light always turns green about 1 minute before the near light, presumably to let traffic turning off the parkway clear the intersection before the northbound traffic starts up.
If I'm sitting at the front of the line and the parkway traffic has cleared, I'll usually try and get a jump on the traffic when the first light turns green. There's a 4 lane bridge after the light, and I like to get ahead of the nascar race that usually follows behind me.
I really need to stop doing that, though, since the cars behind me always run that near red light when I do.
If I'm sitting at the front of the line and the parkway traffic has cleared, I'll usually try and get a jump on the traffic when the first light turns green. There's a 4 lane bridge after the light, and I like to get ahead of the nascar race that usually follows behind me.
I really need to stop doing that, though, since the cars behind me always run that near red light when I do.
10-05-07, 09:02 AM
#31
Senior Member
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I was in my cage a few years back. I had been doing server upgrades and ended up driving home about 2:30 am on a very cold winter night. I got a red light.
I waited. And waited some more. And some more. So I edge forward and look left and right. Nothing. But there is a bit of a curve to the right so I edge forward a bit more. Look right. Look left, and Look right again. Nothing coming but I see a flicker of light in my peripheral vision. An officer parked in a lot across from me had just turned on his interior light and was shaking his head. I could just hear him thinking. "You don't want to make me get out in this cold. You would not like it."
I waited.
I waited. And waited some more. And some more. So I edge forward and look left and right. Nothing. But there is a bit of a curve to the right so I edge forward a bit more. Look right. Look left, and Look right again. Nothing coming but I see a flicker of light in my peripheral vision. An officer parked in a lot across from me had just turned on his interior light and was shaking his head. I could just hear him thinking. "You don't want to make me get out in this cold. You would not like it."
I waited.
That's a great story. It's nice to meet a cop with at least half of a heart. If the lights don't change within a couple of minutes, I roll over to the crosswalk and push the button. That usually takes care of it.
10-05-07, 09:54 AM
#32
Junior Member
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Not a cager, but I think I made another cyclist run a light once. The guy almost got hit. I felt kind of bad, but also thought "what a moron". We were both approaching a red light. I was behind, but caught up quickly at the light. As the guy slowed for the light, he began swerving in the lane. I said "on your left" to let him know I was there (and mainly to let him know not to run into me.) He looked at me like I was crazy!
The intersection is a funky design and you can't see traffic coming from the left due a very large building. My final destination is across the street from that building and there's a very large (~30 feet wide) sidewalk in front of that building. So if traffic is clear and there are no pedestrians around, I'll sometimes veer left and take advantage of that big sidewalk where I wait safely to cross the street to get to my final destination.
That big sidewalk was clear and I didn't see any point in waiting around with the cyclist who seemed annoyed with me, so I sprinted over there. and stopped. I guess maybe the guy thought we were in a race, because he sprinted straight through the traffic light which was still red and that guy nearly got hit by crossing traffic. Ha ha - lucky me - I found a road rage idiot who wasn't confined in a cage
The intersection is a funky design and you can't see traffic coming from the left due a very large building. My final destination is across the street from that building and there's a very large (~30 feet wide) sidewalk in front of that building. So if traffic is clear and there are no pedestrians around, I'll sometimes veer left and take advantage of that big sidewalk where I wait safely to cross the street to get to my final destination.
That big sidewalk was clear and I didn't see any point in waiting around with the cyclist who seemed annoyed with me, so I sprinted over there. and stopped. I guess maybe the guy thought we were in a race, because he sprinted straight through the traffic light which was still red and that guy nearly got hit by crossing traffic. Ha ha - lucky me - I found a road rage idiot who wasn't confined in a cage
