Originally Posted by chipcom
It seems the consensus is that everyone has no problem breaking the law because waiting in line is an inconvenience. If it were a matter of cutting through a lot, jumping onto the sidewalk, etc. I would agree...that is one of the advantages of riding a bike...but in this situation (well at least the original until John gave us a few more pesky details
) there is not a safe AND legal way to bypass the line. When we start breaking the law for convenience only, we are no better than any motorist and have no standing to criticize their behavior. Indeed, while you are passing up the line of waiting cars, you are giving each and every driver another reason to not respect cyclists...but we didn't have to wait in line, so wtf.
I remember in the military it was quite legal and accepted for me, as an NCO, to go to the head of the line in the chow hall. But I waited in line - it's called leadership by example. If more of us practiced a little example in regards to following the same laws motorists do, we might not have so many threads b1tching about how we get no respect from motorists.
You're right, of course. But I'd still probably jump up the line if the situation allowed. The legal thing to do, though, is to wait.
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