Originally Posted by
Gnosis
Cyccommute, I concur whole heartedly with your analogy, as I see it all the time and in various counties on my long distance rides
. 
Law enforcement couldn’t be bothered with bicyclists unless they do something incredibly stupid or actually cause an accident or harm to others (which is rare in the scheme of things)
. They have more dire scenarios to deal with than the typically harmless infractions made by some bicyclists
.
Generally, this is true. However, IMO, it makes sense to find out what the situation is in the area you're looking to ride. For example, every weekends
tons of cyclists traverse U.S. 9W between the George Washington Bridge and counties to the north in NJ and NY. In Fort Lee and several other communities, cops ticket cyclists all the time for a variety of infractions, even though NJ traffic law states it's perfectly legal for a cyclist to continue through a red light, if it's safe for them and they won't impede traffic. It's a money generator for them and since the cyclists aren't local to the area, the likelihood they're going to go to court and fight is slim.
These local situations, coupled with the fact that so many local cops don't even know how traffic laws relate to cyclists themselves, is one of the reasons it pays to know where you are and what you're up against. Common sense, sadly, isn't so common anymore. So assume nothing.