I had an angry conversation with a driver this morning after he gave me an angry honk on my commute. I'll say up front that the guy was an idiot but one of his responses provides another piece of anecdotal evidence in the discussion of running red lights and how it affects drivers' attitudes towards us. Let me also say that personally I've always been in the camp that says we shouldn't because it allows us to have the moral authority in our arguments with drivers; that may have influenced what I took away from this conversation.

Here's the story.

I chased the driver down after he honked at me for no good reason. He was pulling into my company's campus anyway so it wasn't a big deal for me to follow him and catch up. Once I got his attention and he rolled down his window (this conversation took place traveling along the campus driveway which is 2 lanes each direction), he immediately said, "You can't take the whole lane like that!"

Me: "Have you ever read the NC DMV laws?"
Him: "You're not allowed to take the lane!"
Me: "Have you ever read the law? As a matter of fact it does say I can."
Him: "On a 45 mph road? You can just hold up traffic!"
Me: "Yes--and I wasn't holding up traffic. I have a copy of the law right here." patting my trunk bag (and yes I do keep a copy there) [note: the road in question was 3 lanes, a right-turn-only and two straight-thru lanes, one of which turns into a right-turn-only 1/4 mile beyond our campus; I take that entire lane to prepare for my merge to the left lane beyond the campus]
Him: "What about running red lights then? Is it OK if you just do that?!"
Me: "No. I never do."
Him: "I'm not saying you do, but lots of cyclists do."
Me: "No, it's NOT ok when cyclists do that--and it's why I hate it when they do. Next time, don't honk!" and I rode away.

Everyone knows two wrongs don't make a right...but a lot of people (especially when driving) act like two wrongs do make a right. Clearly this guy (and again, he's an idiot...but there are a lot of idiots out there) thinks so--"it's OK if I honk at cyclists because some cyclists run red lights." I don't like to make assumptions...but I think it might be safe to assume he's not alone in this attitude.