jlibson

I've been commuting for a couple of weeks now. One things that annoys me: why do so many bicyclists flout traffic laws? Mostly it is running red lights and blowing through stop signs. Its not right.

Not only is it unsafe for the rider (and possibly for a pedestrian if they get hit by the bike) but it also tells drivers that they *don't* have to afford us the same respect as cars since we don't follow the same rules.

The trend is for cities to become more bike friendly. SF certainly is. Obey traffic laws and it will stay that way.

Andy_K 

Cyclists ignoring stop signs and red lights is one of my pet peeves too -- though considerably behind motorists who don't turn on their turn signals until they're already turning.

madhouse

I figure I affect the flow of traffic less by riding through stop signs... I have an aversion for riding through red lights for some reason.

starla

Hmm. I'm the same. I will always stop at a red light, but a stop sign it all depends. I rarely come to a complete stop. But then, I rarely do when I'm driving, so at least I'm consistent.

ews

Are you equally annoyed that so many motorists also flout traffic laws? Or has that become so commonplace that you dont' even realize it?

Give it up, dude, there no point.

jpdesjar

All depends on the road for me, I know my route pretty well so I know when I should or shouldn't get a headstart on things.

I hate sitting there waiting for lights with cars so I try get to the front of the pack and sort of cut in, am I misbehaving here? Does this piss off motorists?

GreenPremier

I'm somewhere in between Bandit and Opportunist. Depending on how busy the intersection is, if there's no one coming from the other way and there are no cops around I'll go right through the light. All you fred's can bash me all you want, I ain't changin' for YOUR image.

fordfasterr

aww, scofflaw was not in the list.

SonataInFSharp

Saint, as well as in the car.

The most efficient way to upset the largest amount of people at once is to follow all of the laws (in a car or on a bike).

People would get mad at me if I blow a stop sign on my bike, and they would get mad at me if a come to a complete stop in my car.

Aeneas

The way I figure it, traffic lights protect the public and control the flow of traffic at particularly dangerous intersections. Along my route, I respect them completely. Stop signs are seem to be meant to control the speed of traffic rather than it's flow. I am not traveling anywhere near the speed limit when on my bike, but still approach ever stop sign with caution. If sight lines are good, and I can proceed without stopping, I will do so, in order to maintain my momentum. If there are cars at or approaching the intersection, I make sure that my safety is assured either by waiting for them to come to a complete and total stop or watching as they blast through the stop sign. Both stop signs and traffic light are public safety devices and should be respected the same, but I feel that, when I'm on my bike, as long as my safety is assured, stop signs are optional.
The other day a couple blocks from home, I was approaching a stop sign at which I turn right onto my street. As I approach, a police cruiser pulls along side me. We slow at similar rates, but he still rolls through the stop. I signaled my turn, and did the same "Rolling Stop" and continued on to my house. I figure if the cop was going to pull me over, for not stopping at the sign, I'd just sit at the corner with a video camera until he came by again. Pot calling the kettle black!

Flimflam

I'm somewhere in between realist and opportunist, I voted the latter. Some stop signs/lights are just a waste of my time - a lot of it is all circumstantial taking into account time of day and conditions.

I try to ride as best I can without causing anyone (including myself) any time penalties or inconveniences. It doesn't always work, but crap happens - I know I can manouevre myself through traffic better than a car, so I will move/yield more to help them keep traffic flowing (I've ridden the centre line to do so, etc.)

Traffic laws are tough to obey on a bike, because they're mostly flaunted on the roads by everyone who uses them, and rarely enforced to the level it really ought to be. On a bike it makes it so much easier because there's the ever-problematic grey area of toy/vehicle. If a car suddenly wrecks in front of you taking out an intersection, you gonna wait around for it to clear, or are you going to hop the curb and carry on? A car would do the same if it had the room to, I'm sure. It's illegal (at least here it is), but it happens all the time.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but I know the traffic rules right now are *mostly* OK for all vehicles, but some things just don't make sense for non-motored vehicles on the road. Stopping completely at a stop sign when there's *nothing* around is a piss off more than it is a "welcome opportunity to interval train".

The most dangerous thing I've done is probably not even on the roads, it's speeding on the MUPs where the limit is 20km/h (12mph).

SonataInFSharp

Same here. Our MUPs are 10mph and the bikes are typically separated from the peds. But, I have ridden them around 15+ and it's a BAD idea. I used to think 10mph was silly, but not any more. Now I take the street.

lil brown bat

OP gets credit for correct use of the word "flout", and minus 10,000 BF points for bringing up this tired old **** after two whole weeks of commuting.

unixpro

Same road, same laws.

lil brown bat

Actually, they aren't...but it's an interesting theory.

unixpro

They are as far as stop signs, pedestrian crossings, and red lights are concerned. Speed limits too, for that matter.

idcruiserman

I generally follow the law, but the law is not the same in ID as it is in CA.

DataJunkie

+ a bazillion

lil brown bat

But that just doesn't sound as snappy as "Same road, same rules", does it? Too bad simple maxims never quite do the job, unless "the job" is issue avoidance.

fordfasterr

My wife drives her car and rides her bicycle and motorcycle with the same adage.


When I drive her around in her car, I drive at whatever speed I feel, (And I feel so safe inside the steel cage vs the bike) and I could give a crap what anybody else thinks about my speed, or if I full stop, etc.

=)

DataJunkie

Then why won't anyone pull me over for doing 35 in a 25?
Dang it!

BroadSTPhilly

I do as I please let the cager rules be damned. But seriously I like the majority of cyclists ride my bike opportunistically as you call it. I am not going to follow a set of rules designed for vehicles ten times my size and with a tenth of my manouverabilty. Besides if you follow alll traffic laws it confuses the cagers and peds alike.

BroadSTPhilly

Wow, thats a hell of a commute.

HardyWeinberg

I chose 'realist' but it's the proportion of violations that is constant, not the type. I don't find it as easy to speed on my bike (though I do at times) but I can't make myself roll through stop lights or signs in the car period and it will happen on the bike. You know how it goes... that said, I think you can slow down slower on a bike w/o actually stopping than a car that meets a cop's definition of 'stopped' (x-time w/ brake light on) has to.

jwgd

Depends on the situation. In my suburban neighborhood, with 4 lane high speed avenues and gigantic intersections, running red lights and stops signs equates to a death wish. I almost always wait my turn in line like everybody else.

But in the city, car and truck traffic is so thick and slow that all bets are off. I guess its just human nature to take the path of least resistance. In that situation riding on the sidewalk and splitting lanes becomes fair game.