nun

Its dark and raining and I just watched a rider go through a red light at a busy intersection.
I was stopped on the other side of the junction and I shouted out sarcastically
"nice way to go through a read light". I got a bit of abuse, but not as much as I thought I would.
My question is, should we shame red light jumpers by calling them on it?

-=(8)=-

Join the Police Department.
We need people there who actually care about that stuff.

PaulH

Sure. Every bit helps. If you can train flatworms with electric shocks, you can probably do the same with these people. On the other hand, flatworms are arguably smarter, and less likely to cause problems if they hit me.

Paul

CommuterRun

Sure am glad the wife got this keyboard cover.

tomg

on my ride today, a car passed another from the opposite direction, towards me. i was riding on the white line, signalled what was intended to be "what are you doing?". this car continued the pass. nothing happened until same behavior was done by another motorist, who i assume saw this interaction. i signalled again that i was on the road, and for him not to follow through with this illegal manouver. he proceeded to pass, i saluted him one fingered, and this sign was returned. no other instance like this in the 25 mile ride.

every ride, for the most part, has motorists, bicyclists, etc who are not aware how their actions affect others. presumably, there are some who don't really give a snit. educate, represent, and lead by example!

tomcryar

Yes. By all means continue to chide the people who willingly scoff the law that says bikes are a vehicle.....How else are they going to realize they are doing something wrong, unless someone tells them? Continue to shout at them, and continue to try to make them realize that if you want respect on the road, that you have to earn it.....

dynodonn 

I just look on, hoping the motorists watching him run the red light don't clip him, further down the road, out of anger. I do not wish to perform any more good samaritan medical emergency rescues than I have to.

ilmooz

Save something for jaywalkers and litterbugs too.

nun

Does anyone quietly hope that the red light running cyclist gets clipped by a car.....sometimes I do, but then cycling solidarity kicks in and I'm glad that they make it across and I'm mad at the evil part of me, but it's still there.

tomcryar

I've always been of the school that the more you say it, the more people will come around---and this is a painfully slow process, to try to get cyclists to do what's right.

chipcom 

I might give em a shake of the head and roll my eyes, but hollering at them is kinda silly and tempts the gods of unintended consequences. So the mutt makes it through the light, only to crash or get hit because YOU distracted him/her with your screaming. Nice.

tomcryar

Yeah, there is that part of it. But, suppose you only intercede on their death by a week, or a month? Because they will eventually go that way----is it wrong to try to tell them?

chipcom 

Well, if one really cared that much for their fellow man, I'd think they would reverse their route, chase down the poor soul and give them a good lecture in a safe location...maybe treating them to lunch with the sermon. Putting the person in a unsafe situation because they did something unsafe just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Figure there are around 800 cycling fatalities per year...and maybe 1000 times that many cyclists running lights over the same period. The lord surely does look out for fools.

barba

no

tomcryar

So what are we supossed to do? How, short of running them down and talking to them, do we get the point across? Most people that disobey the laws don't care, either.

Bekologist

I'd have circled around and had some words with YOU.
No shame if I've chosen to run a red light.
Safety first.
I've run reds in a car, driven the wrong way on one way streets-
but i never speed.
unless I intend to.

do you think the motorists hate you now?

don't worry, they already did.

Bekologist

actually, i think running red lights IS vehicular.

isn't using a bike lane, splitting lanes (narrow or not, left or right or edge or center) to the front, using a bike box if there is one, and advancing on the red to get thru the intersection before the light turns green considered 'vehicular' by the billous vc pundits of this forum?

tomcryar

So you drive a car like the people we're trying to get to give us respect? Shame? No shame, right, I do what I want, because I ride a bike. When does this argument end? It's bad out there for cyclists who go everyday. Cars and bikes can use the same road, but not with the attitudes............

Bekologist

wait a sec- i'm not excusing my illegal driving or riding but I'm darn well in control of my lawlessness when doing so. and prefer not to have safety nannies correcting my behaviors.

I cut in line to see Barack Obama last week too.

remember tom, bikes are allowed to split lanes and share lanes and advance on traffic in most states. and jumping the red for safety, although not strictly legal, has elements of safety attached to it for the bicyclist, and is codified into traffic patterns many places overseas. Hence the 'advanced green' for bikes and peds seen in more sophsiticated locales.

tomcryar

Safety nannies................................

chipcom 

I really do wish for the days when one could thrash someone for displaying bad manners...but those days are over, if they ever existed at all. For your own sanity, you gotta get over trying to change people who don't want to change, limiting the battles you fight to those where you can have a positive impact and not cause adverse unintended consequences. You get your point across by your own actions, not trying to meddle in the actions of others. Leadership by example works better than nanny state by nagging.

tomcryar

Chip, don't get me wrong. I pick my battles. It's just that I live in an area that is almost over-run with bycyclists (not "cyclists") I'm really tired of doing things the right way, only to see, and hear, and read----on this forum---that it's okay to ride against the law, to not do what the cars do, ( I know alot of drivers do the same thing, but they're not on this forum, are they?) when will it be okay to tell someone they're f-in up?

Bekologist

you not SUPPOSED to be doing what the cars do, tom. maybe that's the problem.

tomcryar

We're not SUPPOSED to riding with traffic?

tomcryar

We're not SUPPOSED to trying to gain respect?