Oh BS... the drivers know what to do, and running a red light in front of them is still not an invitation to be passed on the right through a parking space. Especially since the motorist was doing his "stupid act" well before Joey did his.

I just don't buy it. What it really comes down to is that to be a safe cyclist, you have to be as much of an AH as some of the drivers out there and beat them at their game. And there are plenty of AH drivers to give examples.

Gee does the same rule apply for cars... cause I see speeders and RTOR drivers that fail to stop, all the time, and they expect to be able to "use the lane."

That's when you toss the grenade in the back seat and say "nor me about you," and ride off... Oh if only! Yup heard this same sort of sentiment too...

obviously being honest even if he was an A-hole. Instead of the expletive I should have said - "you should (care about the cyclist) because I have your plate #"

Good one!

Yes. If a driver disobeys the law too often (and get caught), they lose their license. Really keeps them from using the lane.

No, they don't. I had a lady tell me she though I was supposed to rid in among the parked cars on the side of the road and weave in and out of the road to stay out of traffic. Why? Because this is how she sees Joe DUI riding his bike (usually against traffic). Or that I belong on the sidewalk because that's how they rode as kids. With everyone doing their own thing on bikes, cars don't have a chance to figure out if you're planning to follow the laws or ride wherever you feel like.

OK, so as long as the other person did something illegal first, that makes it OK? I'm pretty sure learned that wasn't true in kindergarten.

No it doesn't, revoking one driver's license does not stop a lot of our local motorists from operating a motor vehicle. It's amazing how many persons are caught without a license in our sobriety checkpoints.

Yea, you're right. Laws are only as effective as ability to enforce them.

is that a joke?

did you read any of the other threads about cyclists dying? almost every one is someone driving on a suspended or revoked license.

Really whether to ride through the red or not is a separate discussion for a different thread. there are good arguments for both

BS, They want you to act like a vehicle, obeying their weird vehicle rules, until they want to push you out of the way, then you're a punk on a bike. You ride in the middle of the lane , that's called 'taking the lane' a legally defined maneuver. Nothing is implied by anyone's being on any part of the roadway. You gotta ride like you belong there, ask permission and be crunched.

Sometimes in traffic the biker is the only one to make the next light. *hands up sprint finish win pose*

"Losing their license" is something rarely happens... so hardly a deterrent.

Again, I'd prefer spikes to airbags. :) That's just me though. It would make em a lot more careful.

You're right.. I should have taken it over to A&S. Although it seems I'm in the minority with my ideas on following the laws as I do, so I'm not going to bother.

Wrong......Cyclist does not just take his life in hand when running a red. Here are some other simple cases where other people can be impacted by a cyclist's choice to ignore the rules.

Cyclist runs red, and get's killed. Innocent driver has to live with trauma of killing cyclist for the rest of their life(if you think this is not real......check out what happens to train engineers in similar situations http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12970005 )

Cyclist runs red and driver does emergency manuever to avoid cyclist losing control...hitting other objects like cars, pole, pedestrians

There are lots of unintended consequences beyond the cyclist to running a red.

Running a red, especially a stoplight, is no more right for a cyclist than it is for the driver of a semi.

When you're riding a bike in traffic, and someone cuts you off, it's important to remember that your main concern is staying alive. I've heard too many stories about motorists intentially hitting cyclists, or even pulling a gun on them, to be aggressive towards them. In the end, is it really that important to let everyone know that you are in the right? Is it worth it to end up in the hospital, or even dead?

Watch some of his videos and you'll see why he's been able to ride as long as he has.

No it's there... scroll down my man.

Yes. There are rules, and both cyclists and motorists should be regularly ticketed, have road and have road priviledges revoked, when they fail to follow them. In the real world, enforcement is pretty minimal, but that's still not an excuse. The rules improve safety for all road users, and everyone - cyclist and motorists - that thinks the rules don't apply to them is paving the way to Cairo-style traffic. I don't think you'd enjoy riding in that.

Joeybike blowing through that light has just provided the motorist in question his internal justification for being an ******* to every cyclist he encounters.

A motorist by law needs to control their auto

Good God. What happened to this thread? I am so misunderstood by some here.

In both accounts of my original post, I was following "The Rules" by happenstance - not by choice. I slowed down behind a line of traffic until the light turned green. As I proceeded on my way I was 1. Right hooked and 2. Forced off the road for taking my lane to prevent a right hook. That is why I titled this piece "You Just Can't Win".

I friggin, HATE crossing on a green light with traffic. I am so much safer lane splitting a bunch of dead stopped autos, blowing the red, and riding in the huge empty space created by the red light that the aforementioned cars are waiting for. I almost want to stop and wait for the light to go red before crossing. And BTW...I run red lights only when crossing traffic CAN NOT hit me, even if they tried. The color of the light is completely irrelevant to my getting hit. Look both ways, go when the coast is clear. Gahdam that is so simple. And I hope you people are not crossing a GREEEN light without looking both ways too, because I like all of you.

Just to add one thought to your correct post. My life is seriously at stake out there. Drunks, thugs, mean people, drivers who think we don't belong on the roads at all, texters, yackers, and now, Toyota owners who can't keep control of their defective cars all play a part in the drama. I am not in a video game - one life, then done. I do whatever it takes to make it through a commute in one piece. The cops here don't know the laws anyway. A friend of mine, and his wife on a tandem got right hooked big time. Scuffed them up and totaled the bike. The cop that showed up wrote the cyclist a citation for obstructing traffic and while they were on the side of the road bleeding the cop asked them "What did they expect anyway?"

Law of the jungle baby. That's what I obey. That, and the laws of physics.

That was......sniffle.....beautiful! I'm going to print that out and cherish it.

My pleasure. Glad some of my ideas work for you.

Some will say I am partly responsible if you get nailed. But how can we judge all of the times you would have been nailed but avoided disaster by being more assertive out there. Think of how many right hooks you have probably thwarted! Awesome.

You know where that's from, don't ya? Hint: Click on the three dots at the end of the post.