Originally Posted by
Slaninar
That's why a man should always drive safely after robbing a bank.
Or maybe not break the law in the first place.
Originally Posted by
Slaninar
When I run red lights, I do so when I'm 100% sure it is safe. I've been hit by a car 3 times so far and each time I had green light and right of way. I saw car slowing down, but it wasn't because they even noticed me - back on gass -bam! For me it turns out it is safer going on red lights when I'm sure there's no cars that can get to me. What do you say about that?!
Sadly I've had more than a few close calls with motorists who themselves weren't respecting the lights or who on a road that appeared not to have any cross traffic have suddenly appeared after exiting a parking lot that I was unable to see the exit for.
Or as in the case this past December, as I was sitting at a stop sign at a four-way stop I had the driver of a BMW who couldn't wait for the other car on the side of the intersection opposite from him to clear the intersection and instead cut the turn short in front of said car and turn right into my lane hitting me head on. Had I been moving i.e. running the stop sign we would have hit with much greater force. And instead of just destroying my front wheel (which he did replace) he probably would have severally damaged my bicycle and/or seriously injured me in the process.
Originally Posted by
Slaninar
It would be nice if all the people drove safely and respected the law. Since that is not the case and I can't change the world, I do what gives me less hassle (but lets me sleep at night). That's why I keep running red lights, going wrong way in one way streets (also when there is no traffic), using grass, roads, parking lots as shortcuts etc. Living on the edge!
)))
As long as you can sleep with yourself when your selfishness causes some other person to have nightmares because they hit you or worse they end up hitting an innocent bystander. As you are being just as selfish as the motorists that most of us here complain about as well as the driver of the BMW who hit me back in December.
As had he
NOT been selfish and only concerned about getting wherever it was that he was going he would have waited for the other car to clear the intersection before he went. But no, he had to make his turn out of turn and he ended up hitting me because of it.
I have also had close calls with other cyclists who have also run red lights. My only response in those cases was to call out a "see that's why you don't run red lights."
But just keep on telling yourself whatever it takes to make your "safe" actions alright in your brain. Just don't come back here complaining when some cop pulls you over for running a red light/stop sign or when you end up getting hit by a car that you didn't see.