Yes, you are right, they may not honk or give visual/audible indication at the time, but then any time a public debate starts about cyclists' right to the road, one of the common themes heard from non-cycling motorists is that 'those bicyclists never obey the traffic laws, they are a menace'. You know it's true as well as I do. I hear it all the time from co-workers 'you're not one of those people who ride in the street and cause all those problems, are you?' It's not a matter of logic, it's a matter of perception. As long as we are perceived as flaunting the law and having no respect for motorists, we'll never get any respect from them.

Jumping the sidewalk, cutting across a parking lot, using the crosswalk, etc. don't normally bother motorists for exactly the reason you stated, but filtering up on the right, then doing a 'right fakey' to get back on the same route, usually ahead of traffic that just passed you, annoys drivers just a much as if it was done by another motorist.

Actually I don't know that is true since I NEVER heard anyone say a negative word about cyclists in a conversation unless it refered to them slowing down traffic or "blocking" a lane. (or their apparal/appearance, but that is a different issue) The only place I read such negative impressions is on bicycle discussion lists where cyclists claim that "bad" cyclists give the "good" cyclists a bad rep with motorists. Or cyclists repeat what they read from a nutcase letter to the editor in a weekly shopper tabloid.

I don't doubt the that a bicyclist who repeatedly slows down the same motorists (as in Chipcom's filtering scenario) would bother the motorists, but that fits right in with what I said; motorists only get disturbed by bicyclists (in my experience) when the bicyclist causes the motorist to alter trajectory or velocity.

I've never done the right turn - U turn shpiel but, hey, if there aren't that many cars, why not simply run the red light and instead bother with complicated maneuvers? :rolleyes: My experience is limited but I've already made the decision that if I'm gonna "share the road" with motor vehicles, then I'd betther "share the road rules" and cooperate too. If course there are the cagers that don't obey the traffic laws or don't give me right of way when they should but fortunately/unfortunately I'm not an eye-for-an-eye type of person.

Sometimes it's a situation where the light just turned red for you, and there is no traffic coming from the left, but there are a few cars on the right. So if you turn right, then do a U turn to get behind the cars, then turn right, you get to run the light without pissing off the drivers because you never got in their way.

+1