Widsith

I visited New Orleans once, back in 1992. Once was enough, and this article helped me remember why

lightningcow

I went to New Orleans to help out with a few things after Katrina and visited Bourbon Street. I remember seeing a club named Napoleon's Itch and I loled.

wheel

I was talking about your riding style
Good luck with your anarchy.

grayloon

New Orleans deserves another chance. Its a unique place beyond the fact the JB lives and rides his bike in manner some believe crazy. Few cities in the US are truly unique. That alone makes it worth a visit. Its architecture and history are like no other. I wouldn't want to live there, for a variety of reasons, but especially as I already live in one of the most humid and hot places in the nation. If I ever move, it'll be for a dryer climate. But its always worth a visit. Just do so in the Fall or Spring when the weather can be delightful.

iflyskyhawks

Or, better yet, run the red light and give that much larger percentage of law-abiding, sober drivers an opportunity to run you over since they actually thought the green light they had meant the intersection was going to be clear of all traffic.

Seriously, stay safe Joey. I recognize there are some truths to your position and approach to commuting. Like most things in life, there are pros & cons to everything.

And for those folks that are just starting out, for goodness sake, obey all those traffic signs/signals and follow the rules of the road!

Allister

It's all about picking the gaps. If the gaps are big enough, they can go about obeying the green unhindered.

JoeyBike

I am not just closing my eyes and praying that I get through the intersection unharmed. I am simply looking as I go - if the coast is clear I proceed, if cars are going to hit me I stop. Except for the legality of the issue, the color of the light is irrelevant. No cars coming = GO. One or more cars on collision course = STOP.

The only reason I ever look at the signals at all is because I have the light cycles memorized as they pertain to vehicles and pedestrians. I can then know what all other traffic is supposed to be doing. Then I assume they will all do the wrong thing - look for the rule breakers/text messagers - and proceed through the gaps that exist visually. Looking at the color of the lights allows me to know when it is highly unlikely I will be able to proceed on a red as well.

I can't remember the last time a car had to alter their course or speed to avoid hitting me. Once, in the past decade, someone over-reacted half a block away, (not even sure if they were reacting to me or not since they were so far away) screeched their brakes and blew the horn. They could not have hit me if they tried.

YungBurke

I would never do this, and I cant really support this either. It does, however make for some exciting video. I dont understand how you are still breathing/ not in jail but whatever man, glad i dont drive in New Orleans

apricissimus 

I figure this thread could use a bump given the recent activity on other threads involving JoeyBike.

(Joey, I apologize if I'm just giving your critics more of a forum to pester you!)

crawdaddio

This is just abso-****ing-hilarious.
Joey does NOTHING to make drivers hate cyclists.
They are all full up on biker hate already.
Just try to ride in traffic in chicago to see what I mean.
While I do not agree with all of Joey's ideas here, I do agree with one.
Do whatever it takes to make yourself safer out there.
It just happens that his skill makes him safer in his riding.
50 years old, 10's of thousands of miles logged, and still here, still riding how he rides. PROOF.
If he gets whacked by a pickup tomorrow, so be it. That is the choice he has made, and continues to make.

Whether you follow all the traffic laws or not, you have a chance of being hurt or killed by a motorist either not paying attention, not caring, or even ACTIVELY trying to hurt you.

Your BEST shot is to retain complete focus on your surroundings, no matter how you ride.

Joey---props. For your skills, your ideas, and your sticking to your guns when it appears that everyone on here hates you.

spock

What a wonderful read. Weather you are pro or con of whatever, there is a lot to learn here..Forget about your books... This is where it's at..

I wanna thank everyone for contributing...

JoeyBike

I should copy/paste your quote on a few other threads of mine.

JoeyBike

Yep. They can peek at my Blog too. Probably a 20 minute trip into my head.

The OP video got reviewed by the Boston Transportation Examiner recently. I posted that as a separate thread here. Here is the review:

Don't Run Red Lights

However, the author agrees with the rest of my riding style.

JoeyBike

Still here and not a scratch. Ran tens of thousand red lights and stop signs since my OP in 2008. It's now 2017.

EricSteven5

From just last night : Cyclists decide to continue into intersection after light turned red, blocking the intersection.

Cyclist gets leg run over, chaos ensues.

This is why there needs to be a mutual respect on the roads between cyclists and motorists. Share the road works both ways.

Video shows bicyclists forcing driver out of car during confrontation in Koreatown - LA Times

Equinox

I'm with you Joey. I ride just like you. I ride EXTREMELY safely.

JohnX

Great video.

The left lane bias is gold.

I am a particular fan of the situation where you just can't weave between the cars so you have to swing to the tail of the line and cross into the wrong lane for a bit.

CarinusMalmari

The cyclists weren't respecting his right of way, the motorist in turn wasn't respecting their physical integrity. I don't really see the mutuality in this situation, since it's basically a minor infraction of traffic rules vs. an outright physical attack.

mr_bill

Nobody *HAS* the right of way in an intersection. The only thing you can do is fail to yield the right of way at the intersection.

People in cars *OFTEN* self-cork intersections. (Far far more often than people on bikes cork intersections.)

The response of people in cars? Profanity and honking.

But playing bumper cars?

And the Final Jeopardy category is "People in cars."
The answer is "The number of cars struck, nationwide, each year because people in cars blocked the box."
Good luck.

[Final Jeopardy Theme music playing]

Let's see what you got.
"What is zero?"
You are correct! What did you wager?


ps. In California, it is not even a so called "moving violation" to block the box (or double park), and the citation can be issued by a police officer or parking enforcement employee.

-mr. bill

Daniel4

Everything is perfectly safe until something fatal happens. I discovered this fact after hearing the President's speech on the last Space Shuttle incidence. They say the same thing all the time.

JoeyBike

Even if I get nailed today, I would still be rocking a statistical zero. Started at 15 years old, now 59, run average of 16,000 lights/signs every year give or take. Best I could calculate anyway. Could be more. Do the math. Safety is not about blindly following rules.

Daniel4

Nope. Safety is thinking your jugement is better than everybody else's.

Expedia Road Rage Report 2015

"... Nearly all Americans (97%) rate themselves as “careful” drivers, but feel that only 29% of fellow drivers merit the description."

https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-18/survey-finds-bicyclists-and-motorists-ignore-traffic-laws-similar-rates

JoeyBike

Safety is KNOWING your jugement is GOOD.

It's all thought out. Eyes wide open, no distractions, purely in the moment, PAYING ATTENTION to what I am doing and how it affects myself and others. Picking the right routes at the right time of day. Thinking outside the dashed lines, and double yellow at times. Getting the big picture (remember Driver's Ed?). Knowing ones strengths and limitations. And most of all, not paying attention to people who think they know how I should be riding in my city.

My OP video is a "How To" not a "You Should". I can't make decisions for other people. I can only try to pry open their minds to alternative ideas and techniques that may or may not serve them.

Daniel4

Again:
Expedia Road Rage Report 2015

"Nearly all Americans (97%) rate themselves as “careful” drivers, but feel that only 29% of fellow drivers merit the description."

and

Everything is safe until something happens.

Another interesting study, this time from insurance records:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2011/07/27/how-many-times-will-you-crash-your-car/amp/

So tell all about how you ninja salmon without a helmet.

CarinusMalmari

@Mr. Bill

Are you sure you are directing your rant at the most appropriate person here?