There is a big difference in blowing through stop signs , most of the time not even touching the brakes and slowing way down being prepared to stop then going through. Same with a traffic light that doesn't trip stop and then crossing if safe.
There is also a difference in someone who gets caught speeding then whines, cries, *****es that Cops are just picking on them for the next year , and the person who gets caught owns up, pays the fine and that is the end of it . I can live with the second type of person I have no use for the first type

this essentially never happens (at least not intentionally).

Lets not forget that in many if not most states it is legal for bikes to run red lights if it is safe and if it is one of those lights that are activated by the metal in a car.

Of course not, no peace officer in his right mind, would get involved with such a non event while off duty.

Around here it does . I see it happen multiple times a week around University of Cincinnati. I work in that area . I have never been up on the Loveland trail that I haven't someone run through a stop sign at full speed. That being said I have lived many places . This area is the only place I have lived, that I have seen so many jerks on bicycles

The world is not your lawn.

Don't turn yourself into a public crusader. If the offender is a motorist he or she is putting others in danger so call 911 and leave the road-ragers to the cops. If the offender is a cyclist or a pedestrian he or she is putting him or herself in danger and fate will catch up to him.

be sure to don your junior deputy badge before approaching this scofflaw cyclist

I am 61 ,ride about 6 days a week, maybe 20 miles at a time mostly on a fixed gear bike. I run lights at least 3 or 4 times every ride and dont care what anyone thinks about it.

I suppose someone chasing you down to lecture you about it is highly likely to get you to change. (don't respond, it's rhetorical)

I suspect that a collision with a green-light jumper might.

I got a cell phone, which can be used to report unsafe/illegal activity. 80% of the time, my call results in police catching the person.

- Andy

I usually fully stop at the light look both ways and if it is safe to continue then I start going. I have done that couple of times and so far nothing has happened.

I see it every day and since I run across only a few people wearing kit on my commute, it's mostly the people who don't wear spandex that are guilty. At least in this area there isn't much of a correlation.

On my favorite group ride we always got "the talk" about obeying traffic laws. This ride was sponsored by a particular bike shop and lots of riders were wearing their kit. They didn't want their name associated with scofflaws I guess. In spite of "the talk" not everyone abided by the rules all the time. Especially those that were at the tail end of a pack as the light turned red.

I highly doubt that police would respond to a such a call and waste their time looking for some cyclist who ran a red light or a stop.

The type of bike that somebody is riding or the type of clothing that somebody is wearing has nothing to do with it. I have seen all types of different cyclists run lights and stops. It's more dependent on location then anything else, in some places it's easy to get away with it. Here in my suburbs cops have far more important things to do then waste their time catching scofflaw cyclists. I leave home at 5:30-6:00 AM, not much traffic, it just doesn't make sense for me to stop and wait for every light to change.

I'm assuming he didn't run into you are come close to doing so since you didn't mention it. So, based on that assumption:

A. Why do you care?
B. Who are you to "give him an ear full"?
C. If you really think it's that big a deal, call the police. They enforce traffic laws for a living. But you don't, right?

Ok, thanks for sharing your opinion. Since i'm actually present for the interaction, i'll stick to my 80% figure. :)

- Andy

i run traffic lights in full view of law enforcement officers on a near weekly basis with complete impunity. my interpretation of this lack of enforcement is that they have better things to do than ticket cyclists for doing things that harm no one and are 100% legal the next state over.

The only thing to do, is to try and find out if his frame size will fit you, and hope it does not get badly damaged in the accident.

Just curious, how do you know? I've reported safety & criminal activity to my local police and I don't think I've ever received a call-back from them telling me the outcome.

I slow way down and look before going thru stop signs. I completely stop and look before going thru redlights but do not have too many of them to deal with. I can only imagine the discussion if a Barney Fife wannabe, pantywaist successfully chased me down.

How would the OP chase down the offending red-light runner without running red lights himself?

These red light debates are getting rather tiresome. I think most would agree that "blowing" red lights without slowing down is reckless and presents a bad image for cyclists. However, karma is likely to catch up with such offenders in the longrun, either in the form of a ticket or collision with a car.

The OP isn't clear whether he is opposed to cyclists who stop for red lights and then proceed when the coast is clear. Many of us who commute or ride in urban areas treat red lights as stop signs. The reasons are that many traffic signals do not detect bicycles and those with many red lights on their routes could take forever getting anywhere by waiting for every light to change. If you want to be legalistic and sit at every red light until it changes, be my guest. However, don't presume that lecturing such red-light runners will make any difference to them or the world. I personally wait for most red lights, but run certain signals (after stopping) because I don't see the point in waiting for hours at traffic lights. Some of the lights on my regular routes absolutely will not change unless a car comes along to trip the signal, and don't try to tell that's due to some fault of mine. I've sent emails to city, talked to the city bike coordinator and tried various means to trip signals, but the problems are never fixed.

i agree with this and the person who wrote that Darwin will sort this out over time. unfortunately cyclists blowing lights and/or cycling dangerously like nearly running into pedestrians and taking right of way that isn't theirs from motorists and peds, happens all the time and everyday. in NYC i see it tons. it does reflect badly on all of us cyclists. just like the motorists who are crazy negligent/oblivous and those that drive with an intent to scare or harm ("buzzing" or other things), have cornered all motorists into a "them" category. it's not that. cyclists and motorists at some point leave their mode of transit behind and we are all peds getting around from here to there. everyone chooses their own path.

unfortunately, for road rules to work, everyone needs to observe them or it gets messy in a hurry - while people who continually disregard rules, get us and them killed in the long run. it's just not OK.

agree that cyclists stopping for red lights then proceeding thru an empty intersection vs, just blowing thru without even yielding is a huge difference. yes in amsterdam, if it was clear, cyclists keep going otherwise it does get backed up rather quickly. in that locale, don't be self-righteous, do the common sense thing.

i think it is equally annoying when cyclists just stop in the bike path to fiddle with their damn phones or chat and not pay attention to the road and who might be coming behind them. motorists do this too (stop in a moving lane) and they are drivel. drivel!!! if you need to stop, you move out of the moving lane, preferably in a safe considerate manner.

as a driver i wouldn't pull these motorists over as a citizen's arrest so i would advise the OP to no, just mind your own business. but with car dash cams and go-pros, the law could enable citizens (motorists, cyclists and peds) to do this and spark justice for the everyday man and woman just trying to get to work alive and well. think of how many less accidents and subsequent traffic there will be! i look forward to when there are drones to observe then ticket people like this when they come to a stop. haha. i wish. until then, we are stuck with the way things are now.

in any case. instead of complaining/ranting ending in nothing, let's brainstorm traffic-bettering ideas to take to our local politicians. or start a petition. haha. anyone have any?

I must be commuting on the wrong routes cause I rarely see people BLOW lights. I see a fair bit of Idaho stops which I have no problem with. I'm curious as to why the OP has such an issue with it. In NYC Darwinism will take the form of a city bus and take care of the minority of people who blow lights. P

I don’t run traffic lights when a cop is around out of respect for the uniform.

I recall an Andy of Mayberry episode when Gomer Pyle "arrested" Barney Fife for a traffic violation, yelling (and irritating Barney) in Gomer's Southern accent, "Citizen's arrest...Citizen's arrest."

Hilarious. I remember it too.

I do the same thing, and it often leads to interesting conversations with the cops involved. The police here generally have no issue with cyclists "safely" ignoring traffic signals.

All this talk is about signals but misses the point that safety is about traffic. Regardless of signals or signage, cyclists have to be aware of and compensate for other traffic in or approaching an intersection. Riding as if there were no signs or signals and following basic rules of the road affords cyclists more safety than blindly assuming that following the law is enough. For example, you might have a green, but that doesn't mean that someone entering from the right and making a legal right on red sees you.

+1 [MENTION=158672]FBinNY[/MENTION]! Now if only the local drivers would start thinking about the safety aspects to themselves and others instead of seeing what they can get away with! On my commute through old town Alexandria, there are people begging with signs for bikes to stop at the stop signs. Where are the signs for the 4 wheeled imitators of the "running of the bulls?"