Originally Posted by
harshbarj
Then that's fine, but my area does not have such a law, yet many cyclists don't even slow down for lights or signs. I have had to yell at countless fellow cyclists that just don't think laws apply to them as they blow past me while waiting at a red light.
But even in those areas with such a law, one is expected to wait a reasonable amount of time. Every youtube video I have ever seen, the cyclist waits perhaps 5 seconds and jets through. That is NOT in the spirit of the law and is just a license to run a red light. One should wait as long as the light would normally take to turn in areas with a law like this, then proceed only if safe. Anything else is just reckless behavior.
Or perhaps learned behavior.
I have a couple of lights that I regularly "run" (by your description) as I know they don't work. I test them now and then; I have alerted the local street division to these lights, but over the years the condition of the lights has not changed... so why should I wait any longer than what it takes for other traffic to clear? As soon as it is safe, I "run" these lights.
No doubt other cyclists in other areas are also familiar with their local lights... and can tell you which work for cyclists and which do not. You want "equality" on the road with respect to traffic lights, get all the traffic lights to see cyclists. Until then, don't worry about what the other guy does.