Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Well put, thank you LetzRide. Excellent first post.
Enuff with the sanctimonious hot air and PC "stuff" from the old hands of BF who apparently can't view the traffic situation at any intersection, no matter what the sight lines are, without slowing down, stopping, and/or waiting for permission from inanimate objects.
I would add that waiting or even slowing down for imaginary traffic, or complying with traffic signals/signs at empty intersections in order to be Dudley Do-Rights isn't necessary for staying alive, it is also a waste of time when cycling and detracts from the pleasure of cycling.
When I want to play at being a lawful motorist I use my car.
If some pious/anal cyclists get their pleasure from waiting at empty intersections and proclaim themselves the standard bearer for righteous cycling, good for them; but they are fooling themselves if they think they are earning some sort of brownie points from the public for themselves or for cycling in general.
I don't know if this was aimed at me, or not, but... Here's my two cents.
If the intersection is totally empty and there's a clear line of sight for a good distance in that scenario going through a red might be possible but I still don't, and it's very rare that I encounter an empty intersection here and most don't have as good of a line of sight as I'd like to consider doing so safely.
Many times I've been waiting at an empty intersection and seen cars going well over the speed limit come out of nowhere and blow through the intersection or make a fast turn (they do have the green light and right of way, so, fair enough they aren't expecting cross traffic). Sometimes they're doing this on a yellow, I've seen people speed up to race through instead of stopping. These experiences and others have led me to consider it better to feel a little silly waiting for nothing to happen than to take a chance.
It's not so much a PC issue for me, it's a defensive/staying alive position that I maintain, it only takes one powered vehicle that I didn't see to take my pleasure out of riding by running me down. If I'm out enjoying a ride, stopping a minute for a red light certainly isn't going to ruin it for me. It's an opportunity to take a drink from my bottle and catch my breath.
Sure, sometimes it happens that I waited there and nobody drove through and nobody saw me patiently waiting my turn, and nobody cared but me. Personally, I don't mind. Take your chances, and maybe you'll be fine too and probably will be in most cases, but when I'm riding on the road I follow the rules of the road.