Motorists often criticize cyclists for breaking traffic laws. I don't buy it. First off, I'd be willing to wager that most motorists are serial lawbreakers themselves, most commonly in the form of exceeding the speed limit. You can test this yourself. Drive a car around at the exact speed limit and observe how many other cars pass or tailgate you. On some stretches of road, I've observed 100% of cars in violation. No, they just use the lawbreaking as a blunt tool to bash the entire cycling community with. If every cyclist obeyed every traffic law, the haters would still hate. Why? Because we "get in their way." This is why I sometimes violate the law for their benefit as well as mine. For example, on one of my regular routes, I have to leave the bike lane and cross two lanes of traffic to enter a left turn lane and make a left. The preceding intersection has a stoplight with very little cross traffic. So, I usually stop at the red, look carefully, then proceed through the intersection and make my way to the left lane to make the left turn at the next intersection. This means I am free and clear to do so while the rest of the traffic is stuck at the red light behind me. Were I to follow the law, I would wait until the light turns green, then merge into the moving traffic, annoying all the motorists by "getting in their way" and "slowing them down." Not to mention I simply feel safer crossing these lanes when they are not full of traffic. Bottom line is the traffic laws were written for motor vehicles, not bicycles, so following them as a cyclist doesn't always work so well. In general, I do follow traffic laws, but I believe certain violations can be justified depending on the circumstances.