My daily commute: why I run red lights vs. impede traffic and take the lane.
 

I found this article very interesting. My commute is 45 minutes and I am a semi-scofflaw rider.
Some simple math. I ride 13.8 miles each way. I do this ride in 43-45 minutes. In this section in the article I add 4.5 minutes to my commute in a section that is less than 1 mile. 14miles X 4.5minutes = 63 minutes.
Even if I cut the red light running down a little bit, I will still add 15-20 minutes to my commute. Or I should assert my rights as a vehicle and take the lane on the busy streets and risk some moron driver killing me. No thank you, I will continue riding scofflaw!
Bicycle Infrastructure Promotes Observance of Bicycle Laws « DenverUrbanism Blog

"Because traffic devices slow me down, I ignore them."

You soooo speshul!

Did you read the article? Or just decide to flame?

Tell that one to the judge...your honor, I ignore the laws because they slow me down.

Your summary comment sure misses the point of the article.

I don't understand the OP's point. The article is a good support for bikeways and adopting the Idaho Stop law in all states.

"Or I should assert my rights as a vehicle and take the lane on the busy streets and risk some moron driver killing me."
How does this apply to rolling through stop signs?

I will take a $150 dollar ticket any day over a hospital bill. Maybe today I will ride 17th Ave. East and post the video and let you be a safety judge (I am sure you are very qualified to judge). Then I should ride 16th Ave East and show you how the lights are timed specifically for cars. Did you happen to read the part about changing the laws in areas for bicycles and red lights and stop signs? Anyone that says they are not a scofflaw on a bicycle is 100% lying to themselves and others.

This article is about 3 streets that I can ride daily on my commute. I choose the safer route, 16th Street. I could ride 18th or 17th and be in the thick of traffic and it is dangerous! However, the safer route is full of timed lights that are always red!

Well, if the laws haven't been changed yet, you're only lying to yourself that convenience makes it OK.
If you've decided that convenience is worth the potential risks, why not just leave it at that? Why the smoke and mirrors?

Many bicyclists feel that they aren't deserving of a ticket no matter how legitimate it is.

Legitimacy is where the OP's reasoning is questionable.
Same direction, struck-from-behind are the rarest bicycle/auto collisions. They account for the smallest number of collisions.
In the highest tier of bicycle/auto collisions are intersections, so not following the laws that apply to all vehicles only increases the odds of having an accident.

Awww, so leave earlier, you arrogant baby.

Or grow a pair and take 17th or 18th.

It doesn't.

Being afraid to take the lane in traffic doesn't justify running red lights because they slow you down.

Might as well say, "My neighbor has a tabby cat, so I run red lights."

LOL! When I saw this. My first thought was the clip of Max Headroom from the original 'Back To The Future'. When all he wants' is a Pepsi, the tv is saying that.

speshul!!

Figure out things. Do i go against red lights, and go through stop signs without stopping? Yes, but I have more experience than you. I was riding Italian hand-buit steel with Campy Record in 1963. ;-) Well, that's what I rode, ,but that was before 80 year olds,teenagers and cellphone textures were around.

As an oldster, do I charge through red lights and stop signs? No, I slow down and look around, including looking for cops.

If I'm coming to a 4-way stop, and I have the right-hand rule, I look at the driver, and if I get a hand motion to proceed, I do. If I'm on the left, and get a pass-through sign from the driver, I give them, a "Go, you have the right of way."

I like riding friendly.

I've only been this hit one time. It was crossing from a sidewalk to another sidewalk. Very heavy traffic, Xmas shoppers, people going home. I had a red light. I hit the cross button. It gave a whitewalksignal,I went. It was a T-intersection. Drivers from the other direction got a green-disc light, not a green left-turn arrow. A black driver hit me. Uninsured. He showed the cop called to the scene a fake insurance card. He was uninsured.

I didn't press charges, upon finding out he was uninsured. In retrospect, if I had worn my helmet light, it might not have happened. (Late daytime, sun in the driver's face.) If I had looked, and waited, even though I had the right of way, there would have been no accident.

Today, I was in a stripmall. I had right-of-way, but a driver with a stop sign went through. Rather than exert my rights and create an accident, I braked. Then exiting onto a roadway, a driver ran a red light. I stopped, rather than create an "I'm in the right" accident.

Watch the traffic. ft's safer than waiting for lights and signals to give you the right to proceed and presuming that in so doing, you are safe.

busier streets are the best place to practice idaho stop civil disobedience.
in fact, this is why i tend to seek out the most congested streets. i want an audience!

in summary, they hate you because of me.

:roflmao2:

It's people's lack of understanding of this that REALLY irritates me both driving and biking. When I come to an intersection where there is an already stopped vehicle or I stop at the same time as the person on my right, they should be going! Sick of people "waiving me on" like they are being friendly. All they are doing is holding up traffic longer and irritating the crap out of me and others.

I think the worst I saw recently was when I was still 20+ feet from the intersection and a vehicle was already stopped to my left. They waited for me to stop completely and THEN waived me on. I politely sat there and waited for them to go (there wasn't anyone else around so I was only holding them up).

Well the idea is that it's safer if they simply come to a stop - even if they have a right of way. For all you know they've had a close call (or two) with people who's just walked or cycled onto the road without looking out.

I'm sure a majority of people appreciated the gesture, though there would be a few who thinks it's a ridiculous idea. Either way, they are 'safer' drivers than the norm.

It's when they do this when they CLEARLY have the right of way that really irritates me (Like the person who was already stopped well before I got to the intersection). I am just as irritated by it when driving, often they will wave you on. But there are times when I can't see the driver due to glare or tinted windows that really makes me nervous, I don't know if I've been seen and they are waiting for me, or if they are sitting there texting and will take off without looking as soon as they are done.

Exactly, I can back up traffic for a few miles while riding on 17th and 18th Ave, ride 100% scofflaw and hoot because I am a cyclist asserting my rights as a vehicle to take the lane.

In my locale, it's now a 500 dollar "minimum" fine for running a red light, whether the same amount will pertain to bicyclists is another manner.

Its ironic, the more one talks about asserting their "rights" and being a "scofflaw", the more they complain about motorists and what they do.

Here it's only $70, and no points on the driving record. Like a parking ticket. Even with cameras, Roswell only prosecutes "flagrant" violations.

Personally I wish that they'd actually enforce it and increase the penalties. Everyone else has to wait on these scofflaws. Anyone else in or approaching the intersection is placed in just a little more danger. Why should we allow the the scofflaws their selfish convenience at the expense of the law-abiding citizens?

As I see it, our locale's fine amount is from years of trying to reduce the high collision rating, which our city cannot seem to shake. The fine amount was not initiated by cyclist running red lights, but by the large number of collisions being made by motorists, and the subsequent amount of personal injuries, deaths, and property damage inflicted in their process of running the red light.

Yeh, I was referring to motorists in that last one.

Jumping a red on a bicycle, when everyone's stopped, would seem to be somewhat safer for the cyclist than mingling with the traffic and likely more convenient for everyone involved.