I stop at red lights. I'm seldom in a hurry and usually grateful for the rest break.

I see this done all the time. I've always thought it was about computer-obsessed roadies who want to keep their average speed up.

This seems a good place to raise a similar question. How do riders treat STOP signs. Cars are supposed to stop, although most only slow down to a walking pace. What about bikes. Are we to come to a complete foot-down stop, slow to a couple miles per hour, what do you do? Just curious.

Nope I don't do that, if I really need to get somewhere fast I take a route withOUT stop signs or lights. All I can say is know your roads and you will be fine!

Super Geek

Just run the red... I treat reds as give-way signs.... what's the big deal?

I would just run the light.

I'm with banerjek and ken - wtf is the hurry? All you do is tick off the other people on the road.

No, you use your common sense and slow down enough to get a good look in each direction and have the ability to come to a complete stop if needed. For all intents and purposes it IS a complete stop, just short of a trackstand. I've never known a cop yet who would ticket a cyclist for making the obvious effort to slow enough to ensure he/she can cross the intersection safely, which is a lot different than just blowing through.

there are some threads about it in the murky past, though i guess not old enough for ken to resurrect them. i call this the right-turn fakey, and i used to be completely opposed.. nowadays i'll do it if its a) not marked no-u-turn, b) safe, and c) helpful.

the right turn half-fakey is highly useful through (stop at the u-turn and go straight across, as if you'd made a left from your original direction) to get through tough intersections.

Search for "right fakey"

I'm a bit of a stickler. For 15+ years, I commuted by skateboard and I can tell you some cops are just itching for an excuse to stop a guy on a board. I have always made sure to not give any reason for 'the man' to pay me much attention.

And as for passing other cars in the queue and taking a spot at the front of the line. Never. The cars waiting for the light, usually just passed me. Why would I make them pass me again?

why not just run the red light? Thats what I do. (except if the police are around)
Yes I also jump the queue. For me this is a feature of cycling. During peak times it allows me to keep up with cars. I always check the intersection though. No point in taking a huge risk and just blowing through

I do the...
-right turn
-immediate foot on curb (become pedestrian/parked)
-wait for break in traffic, foot up/become cyclist, left turn from curb/parking
-right turn
In a car, I suppose it's analogous to pulling out of a parking space/lot and pulling into traffic moving to the left (not really a u-turn since you're coming from a parking spot/or coming out of a parking area to go in the opposite direction)...
I don't think it's legal, but at the same time, I don't think it's illegal. Kinda like filtering through traffic.

edit- never knew this was called a right turn fakey. :p

and some wonder why motorists don't like cyclists...

hmm... Seems like a risky move to me. You never know if a car might run the light or jump the gun.

That will work till that one cop that you didn't see, sees you.

Why not just stop and take a break?

I've always thought track-stand practice at the light was the most impressive way to deal with a light.

I agree with UncaStuart and Chris L on this one. I have done this in the past, but I will not do this even in a group ride. My friends hate me for it through.

dont know what a track-stand is
If an officer of the law busts me so be it. For me it beats stopping then having to reaccelerate

It's balancing on your wheels without moving or putting a foot down. Probably easiest to do on a fixie with clips. It's a trick I havn't managed to pull off yet.

Tick off people? By safely running a red? Huh, that's news to me. Around here, most drivers view bicycling as, uh, a bit demeaning. I don't think they even recognize us except as something to avoid... which leads me to an interesting point. I've never been honked at for doing anything illegal/not well defined. Just when I'm doing something legal that some motorist doesn't know about, like getting through on the yellow, or riding on the left side of a one way street.
I've run reds/stops in front of cops, and they don't bat an eye. Which I can see because unlike a motorist, the worst case senario, is I kill myself. I don't have several thousand pounds of plastic and steel traveling at excessive speeds to worry about (from the personal responsibility pov). This is why cars require licensing and insurance, but bikes don't. ;)

My experience matches lyeinyoureye's observation. Only legal cycling, specifically cycling in a traffic lane that possibly might cause motorists to slow down or change lanes raises driver ire. I have seen no evidence of motorists or LEO ever giving visible or audible evidence of giving a dang about what bicyclists' do as long as it doesn't cause motorists to contemplate changing their own trajectory or velocity.

I just blow the red light. Much simpler.

The right-turn manoeuvre is silly unless u-turns are legal (which is rare). You are just replacing one illegal act with another. Why not just blow the red if you are in so much of a danged hurry?

I generally don't do stuff like this because I want to ride predictably. Also, I don't think rider/driver should make anyone else pass them twice. That's just rude. So filtering through traffic to run a light (or pull the double-right-u-turn manoeuvre is out of the question.

I wouldn't do it in a car, so I wouldn't do it in a bike. It bugs me that so many cyclists flaunt the rules, making it hard for those of us who follow them to get respect. A careful study of the rules will show that they only work as intended when everyone follows them. IMHO if you want the rights, you take the responsibilities.

<motorist>If I hit a cyclist, so be it, it beats stopping and having to reaccelerate</motorist>

If you operate on the public roadways, obey the freakin laws - period.