bulldog1935

I do that, too.
I was coming off a street heading onto a greenway, and the regular morning traffic are used to bikes crossing there - they'd rather see me stand and blast through than stop and everyone sit in anticipation.
I was also in toe clips, so it made me happy - at another major intersection crossing, I caught the green/walk.
I always turn on my helmet blinkie when I'm approaching an intersection and it seems to work. I run my separate headlight solid.

ps - I like your sig quote - the guy could also be lucky - hope it lasts...

kickstart

We all have discretionary faults.
Some take ownership of them, some make excuses for them, some use them to get attention.

JoeyBike

I believe there is an "Ignore" function on this board. I probably rule that list by a decent margin.
.
.
.

L134 

While bicycling, I've had many close calls with other cyclists running stops and reds. I fear them more than cars. After riding a "compact double" on a borrowed bike for the first time, I finally figured out why so many cyclists run stops and reds - because the shift pattern on a compact double from a start is a royal PIA. It also explains why they are total dogs off the line. Stopping is no big deal if you have proper gearing and an easy shift pattern. Does it ever occur to anyone that the reason courts seem to favor motorists to cyclists is that flagrant violations by cyclists have created a bias? The van was probably blowing his horn because he saw you run the previous light. I can only hope that I'm not the next cyclist he sees and he takes it out on me. If you want respect, show respect even if it inconveniences you for a moment.

RichSPK

That would confuse me; I'd pull over when they turned on their lights.

JoeyBike

I will let the motorists lead the charge on that pipe dream. If I could count on motorist respect I wouldn't run red lights. Them first.
.
.
.

L134 

When I used to commute at the same time every day, it worked quite well for me. Drivers knew me and respected me because they knew I respected them. Deviate from my normal time and the increase in hostility was noticeable. Trouble is, most motorists actually do more or less respect cyclists but the few that don't cause lots of grief and, sometimes, mayhem. On the other hand, most cyclists show little respect for traffic laws so I'm not sure why one should expect motorists to lead the charge on respect.

bulldog1935

Sitting at an idle light is pointless.
Queuing up behind stopped cars at a light is smart. Queuing up in front of them if the intersection is completely dead is dumb. If it's clear, get away from them.
On bikes, we have more time and better vision to evaluate intersections than autos, we have shorter reaction times, and we can usually out-brake, and out-accelerate them to 20 mph - I know I can.

bulldog1935

The horn aimed at a cyclist is a control thing, and the same control thing works equally among cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians.
They're not going to hurt me by blowing their horn at me.

I approach every intersection planning to stop, and do stop if I need to.

seafood

So what do you guys do about pedestrians and other cyclists you might hit? I'm in NYC and it makes me sad seeing people clutch their kids when they see me approaching a red light. I stop.

bulldog1935

I'm not in NYC, but am prepared to stop in every transaction on every type of surface.

Downtown San Antonio, in particular is a great place to ride a bike.

The most dangerous riding is weekends on the greenways when groups show up. 8 bikes passed a pedestrian on a bridge coming my way Saturday.

JoeyBike

I expect everyone else to make the most boneheaded move possible on roadways and MUPs on foot, on bikes, in cars, trucks, and buses. This is a large part of my survival. If all of those imbeciles want me to alter my behavior, they go first, and as soon as I feel safe enough to alter my behavior I will do so. Not holding my breath.

Last time I spent a few weeks in NYC (mid 90s) it was a sign of weakness for any pedestrian to wait for a WALK sign. Only tourist rubes from the country obeyed any pedestrian rules. I enjoy a little anarchy sprinkled on my breakfast serial anyway so I just rode in a manner that kept me off the taxi hoods and kept peds/cyclists off my brake hoods. It's not THAT difficult to NOT run into things on a bicycle if you don't want to.

And I did a lot of yelling.

Minnesota Expat

Hey Bulldog, you ride Broadway last weekend? Blocked off from Mulberry all the way downtown. Nice, but lots of peds. Like the greenways.

Minnesota Expat

This. +1

bulldog1935

San Antonio Siclovia. No, Saturday I rode lower Salado from Lady Bird down to Lions Park lake, and Sunday rained in.

seafood

I don't want to go through life yelling and I don't want to gamble with other people's lives unnecessarily. Most accidents between cars and bicycles are unintentional acts, even if they are preventable. I have no doubt in my mind that if you hit someone on your bicycle, it won't be out of malice, but it will hurt all the same. I urge other cyclists to do what we all ask of motorists, which is to take other people's well being seriously. We have no business demanding respect if we don't show any. Grandstanding and saying "them first" does not work.

JoeyBike

Ever commute by bicycle in New Orleans? The car/bike culture here is different than anywhere else I have ever spent time on a bike saddle. Motorists, for the most part, just want cyclists to stay out of their way so they can run red lights and stop signs themselves. And break the speed limit. Cyclists, on the other hand, do pretty much whatever the Hell they want to. Motorists have been conditioned to "accept" this quirky culture and literally expect cyclists to blow stop signs and (when the coast is clear) red lights. Motorists WANT us to run 4-Way stops so THEY don't have to stop too. Just this morning I was approaching a 4-Way when a pick-up truck rolled up on the cross street. I immediately waved him through (he figured I was going to run it anyway so he was slowing to stop for me initially) so he stomped it, ran the stop sign himself, and I swerved behind his rear bumper, ran the Stop and never broke stride. He was happy and I was happy. You can not beat THAT!

bulldog1935

I was on Corpus Christi this week - not with a bike - but it's a place I wouldn't want to bike. The traffic is a lot like NOLA.
It's paradoxical that the people can be so friendly and the drivers so mean.

jeichelberg87

How long have you been suffering from this self-loathing delusion? If you think my actions or the actions of any other cyclist could in the least way contribute to a motorist running you over, then you really need to get off the bike. Now.

I can hear it now:

Police: What happened?
Driver: I saw a cyclist roll through a stop sign and it enraged me so much I just had to take it out on the next cyclist I saw.

Courts do not favor motorists because of flagrant violations by cyclists.

Cyclists running stop signs or lights end up paying more dearly if they do so without cautious regard.

I do not stop at every stop sign, but I stop at lights and for school buses. I also often make California Stops in my car, as do a lot of other motorists. In fact, I state without equivocation or mental reservation I have seen a higher percentage of motorist infractions at stop signs and lights than I have cyclists.

Very sad.

"Pardon me Mr. Motorist? May I ride my bicycle now? I realize I am a little late, but pretty please?"

Most motorists also show little respect for traffic laws, you ever think of that? As far as why it would be wise for motorists to show more respect or lead a charge to be more respectful of traffic laws, I think there is the concept of power. Heavy trucks do the most damage, so they are held more accountable in terms of crashes. The laws are written this way. The fact is this. At least 30,000 people a year for the last several years or so have died as a result of motorists showing a lack of respect in one form or another of the power they wield while operating a motor vehicle. Passenger cars, trucks, SUV's, etc., are not things to be trifled with. To operate one, you must pass proficiency tests. Bicycles have no such requirement.

KD5NRH

I've tried to get through Bulverde during both morning and evening "rush." How can you possibly complain about the traffic anywhere else?

bulldog1935

I only ride around here on early weekend mornings - I haul my bike into the SA greenways around visits to the office.
I actually believe I do have the right to complain about traffic even in Boston. They triple park, pull out across heavy traffic against a red light, and turn 3 lanes into 5.
Not many of them left in Texas.
Manhattan makes a lot more sense - there's a left snake and right snake - if you're in a snake go, if you're not in a snake, yield.

What I question is why you believe you have the right to call me out about Bulverde traffic (it's rhetorical).
I don't drive Bulverde rush hour. Nice thing about my work, I come and go as I please - if I go to the office, I'm there at 6am, and heading home in the middle of the afternoon (I have a nice office at home, too). To me it doesn't make sense to sit in a car for an hour to commute 20 miles. (if there was a bike route that wasn't suicide, I might take it occasionally)
Whatever your experience with Bulverde traffic, I wasn't on the road.

There are a lot of nice things about Corpus, but drivers are not among them. Used to be a lot of nice things about Austin, but I'm glad I don't live there now.
In San Antonio, being able to ride anywhere south of Olmos Park (or even Alamo Heights) would be a pretty nice bike commute, but my office is by the airport.

seafood

Firstly, I don't want to debate risk assessments one anecdote at a time. That makes for lousy analysis. I am not familiar with New Orleans myself and can't comment on the road culture there.

Secondly, your story does not touch on the question of other road users I brought up earlier. Either there are no people outside of cars (on foot, in wheelchairs, kids in strollers, riding scooters or motorcycles, other bicyclists, etc.) in New Orleans or you are not thinking about them and are leaving it up to them to get out of your way, should you encounter them.

My assertion here is that if you go through a turn, where you can't be sure the coast is clear or are coming fast enough, you will be fully committed and if you're doing it while running a red light, while someone else might be there legitimately, you are gambling with that person's life without their consent.

bulldog1935

In my semi-rural "neighborhood loop", have one hill climb where I turn left from a creek bottom road, and mesquite scrub makes the turn blind. Hordes of city-riders haul their bikes out here on the weekends. I have to cross occasional vehicle traffic here, but seems any bikes coming down that hill always run the stop sign, usually at full clip, and can't see me until they've done it - there can be dozens in a group ride running the stop sign across my turn - had a couple of yelling near-misses here.

(this is the Worst Bulverde traffic - or maybe the soccer moms late for playoff matches)

As far as anecdotes - everything is an anecdote. Every intersection, every transaction is different. You can ride smart and safe and not duplicate the actions of automobiles. As I mentioned earlier, police in this area don't expect you to do so.
Some automobile drivers understand this, some don't want to, or you're a convenient target for their bad day, and every one of those is an anecdote.

JoeyBike

Never in a million years would I do that.

If you can't SEE...you CAN'T GO!
.
.
.

bulldog1935

this is the problem - many here extrapolate to make others the bad guys - this forum needs a psychologist.