Do I sometimes roll through stop signs? Yes, though I do slow down quite a bit in case there's a car I'm just not seeing. I feel bad about it, though.

Do I run red lights? No. Why does it make more sense for a bike to run a red light when there's no one coming than for a car to do the same? Or would you argue that you feel silly waiting at a red light if you were driving a car?

Most cyclists, like most drivers, frequently break some rules. However, there's a disproportionate amount of PR damage from a cyclist running a red as compared to most other traffic infractions. This PR damage clouds the debate whenever we talk with politicians and at planning meetings to get more cycle-friendly infrastructure, and otherwise improve the position of cyclists on the road. In short, when you blow a red light, you hurt us all.

More than that, though, different societies have different ideas about the flexibility of THE RULES. If you've ever been to Cairo, you'll note that a red light there simply means "proceed at your own risk." (Which is much the same thing a green light means, strangely enough.) In North America, we've mostly adopted a stricter sense of right and wrong, and breaking a rule makes your behavior unpredictable. The result is that even well-meaning drivers are often confused about how to behave around cyclists because they're not sure what you're going to do next. That creates more risk on the roads.

In the end, I'd ask that you please follow the rules of the road, whether driving or cycling. It makes the roads a more predictable place where we can confidently predict what people are going to do next and avoid crashes. And it lets us get down to actual issues at planning meetings, completely blowing past the "cyclists ignore the rules" part of the conversation.