Originally Posted by
DaveWC
No, not plow through the group. But when the light turned green I would expect to move out into the intersection. It would depend on the speed & density of the cyclists how I would do this. If it was me on the bike I wouldn't do this regardless of whether it's the norm. Consider the driver who is coming up to the green light at the speed limit, chatting on a cell, not expecting to have a need to stop because the light is green. It's crazy to think that because you want to keep an obviously unmanageable number of cyclists together you expect everyone else to wait while you clear intersections on a red light. btw, would you blow the red if there were cops on the other side as I described?
The groups I ride with are small so I've never actually encountered this situation but I have heard that it goes on without incident in cities like Montreal and Toronto.
Personally, I wouldn't be interested in sitting in on one of these type of rides. The larger rides I've been on tend to break up and you end up with a smaller group of 20-30 riders at most. If you think of the group as a large vehicle (like a long tractor trailer) it makes more sense. Large vehicles can legally enter an intersection while still green and still be in the intersection when the light goes red. Cars don't seem to crash into semis very often, not sure why they would crash into a group of brightly colored cyclists.
I don't think it's ridiculous to have to wait for a slow moving large vehicle and I don't find it ridiculous that one might have to wait a few seconds for a group of cyclists to clear an intersection. I know it's unlikely to happen but drivers need to step back and learn to relax a little while driving and not freak out over every event that might delay their travel by 5 seconds.
Regarding whether I would do it in front of a police officer, it would depend on convention. I've heard it's accepted in Montreal so in that case I would do it. I don't think there is a safety issue and I also don't think a policeman would be interested or able to pull over 50 cyclists. Myself, I routinely roll through stop signs on my own or in a group provided it's clear and safe. I apply a common sense test to the rules of the road for cyclists. I think most cyclists and drivers do this as well.