Originally Posted by
Jaywalk3r
Here's the thing. Intersections are dangerous places for cyclists. And standing over a stopped bike is when a cyclist is at his/her most vulnerable. Their maneuverability is significantly reduced. They're essentially on foot, straddling a fence at that point. So, if the cyclist can do so without failing to yield the right of way to anyone, it is in his/her best interest, legal ramifications notwithstanding, to proceed through the intersection as soon as possible.
Now, consider a four way stop. If I'm going to arrive at the intersection before anyone else, but others will arrive very shortly after them, then, once I've verified that any cross traffic is in fact panning to stop, it is not just more convenient for me, but for the other road users as well, for me to proceed without stopping. I'm not failing to yield, and no one else has to wait for me to come to a complete stop and then start again from a standing stop.
I fail to see how that demonstrates any kind of sense of entitlement.
EVERYONE WINS!
I have been saying (and typing) that for years. Thank you for risking a Hellstorm making that statement here.
Originally Posted by
Digital_Cowboy
...And just as it’s been said that most LEOs would laugh at being called out to a public trail/MUP/path because one group was blocking it, they will likewise laugh when they stop someone on a bike for running a red light/stop sign because it was “safer” to do so or because it was the “polite” thing to do.
You just hit the nail on the head.
The cops already KNOW it's safer to keep moving. We don't have to state the obvious to NOPD. Every cyclist in New Orleans keeps moving. It's our long standing culture to run any red light that we can. Stop signs too. I am speaking of utilitarian cyclists here - those who cycle every day and are car free or car light. There are thousands of us and that's not counting students at the various universities planted right in the city. You might find some weekend warrior or mom/dad pulling two kids in a trailer stopped at a red light, but pretty much no one else. Cyclists don't stop, the cops could not care less. In all my 56 years in NOLA i have only heard of one person on a bike getting a ticket and he blew a red at full speed right across the bow of a patrol car who had a green light. The cops stopped him to see if he was mentally ill. Then cited him and expressed how worried he made them as he almost got killed. <----THIS is what it takes to get cited on a bike in NOLA.
If I were to be stopped by an NOPD officer (that is a HUGE "if") and I told him/her that I felt threatened at that intersection, I have zero doubt that *if true* the cop would just wag a finger at me and let me go. My cop acquaintances tell their loved ones what intersections to blow a red IN THEIR CARS!
You did make me laugh tho. Thanks for that!