You should obey the laws of the road, no matter what kind of vehicle you are operating. Everyone is tempted to break traffic laws from time to time, and everyone does, and usually no harm is done. But it is better (in the larger sense) to follow them, and when you do, it makes it easier for others to follow the law -- people are influenced by others' behavior, as you admit in your OP. Life in traffic is easier when everyone's default is to obey the actual written law that exists, rather than whatever unofficial laws people have to guess at by watching other people (yes, I realize this is a pipe dream).

I don't think I know anyone who has never broken a traffic law out of laziness or convenience, so if you do it with good risk judgement, you are not a bigger jerk than anyone else. We all pretty much suck at it, and are defensive and overly entitled. So there's that.

I guess what I'm saying is that running the red here doesn't make you Hitler, but it is a stupid thing to do. And if you decide to do it, you are going to sound like a hypocrite if you insist that others need to be super-vigilant about following the law. Also, if you do it and end up getting ticketed , you deserve it. That's the risk of breaking the law.