Swoop

Short version - is it a good or bad idea to break the law if it means ensuring safety?

Long version -
My commute unfortunately includes a stretch of a very busy road. I'm forced to take this road because it bridges a river, and not taking this route would mean doubling my commute distance and taking several other roads which are no less busy.

So the situation is that there are three intersections, and the lights are timed that if I'm caught at the first light, I'm guaranteed to get caught at the second intersection - it changes to red when I'm about 50m away still. At the third intersection I turn off this busy road.
After the second intersection the road narrows from 2 lanes to 1, drops down a hill and over the river before heading steeply uphill.
This is a dangerous section, because there's no pavement - the road just drops away to dirt, and the bridge is narrow (no proper path for pedestrians even, so if I had to push I'd still be in the road) and of course because it's downhill cars are speeding - and I want to as well so I can take momentum up the hill.

However, the second intersection has only office parks turning into/off it, it's not a proper road as such, and at the time I go through there's not much traffic; if I stop at the red 9 times out of 10 there's no car turning into the office parks.

What I've started doing is as I approach the second intersection I take the slip road from the road I'm on as if I'm going to turn into an office park, and then just turn straight back onto the road I was on (so I'm basically going around the red light).
If I do this, there are no cars passing me until I reach the intersection where I turn off, so it's a very attractive option.
I can sit and waste time at the red light and then ride alongside cars merging and changing lanes and have them fly past me down the hill, or zip through and have the road to myself.

What would you do?

Nigal

I don't see anything wrong with that. Your second safest option is to claim that damn lane and live with the rager cagers honking.

mike047

I will do what is required for me to survive.

Dzrtrat

Sounds to me like what your doing is not only safer, but keeps the flow of traffic moving....I would never tell someone it's ok to break the law, but I'd take the slip in a heartbeat.

sonatageek

Sounds like the most sensible way to deal with that stretch of road. I am pretty much a by the book, stop at lights/stop signs etc, but will bend that if it means safer for me and better car flow (and less pissy drivers) sharing with road.

dnuzzomueller

Ultimately your safety should come first. If it is safer and ultimately even makes it easier for the cars on the road I see very little wrong with what you are doing. Bikes have always seemed to exist inside a grey area of traffic laws for me. Riding in Boston I very regularly go through reds if there is no car coming simply because then I can claim my space in the upcoming stretch of road and not jostle with the cars behind me. Police have never stopped me for doing this even when done at an intersection they are monitoring. In essence I feel like it is more to be courteous to others and being a safe rider than it is about traffic signals. (I am not saying ignore them though)

bergjm

I agree with the others. Sounds like what you are doing is safer and is better for the traffic flow which makes everyone happy. I go always side toward survival. I follow the laws unless my safety is at stake. Sounds like you are using common sense.

BarracksSi

If there aren't cycling-specific lanes and routes, make your own. When you can turn a street crowded with cars into an empty road just by cheating a bit, you're doing good.

10 Wheels

Ride in the moment, ride to be safe.

thdave

By all means, take advantage of being on a bicycle! Looks like a liberty I'd take.

twinquad

My priorities on the road are, in order,

1) My safety
2) The law
3) Courtesy to other road users

Fortunately, I find that in most situations these priorities are not in conflict with each other, but on the rare occasions that they are, I choose safety over the law and/or the law over courtesy. I've been known to occasionally run a red light when the empty road ahead makes it safer than proceeding with the rest of the traffic when the light changes.

sseaman

I have a few spots where I do the same thing to stay out of the way. There is also a short section I jump on the sidewalk.

colleen c

Seem like a good safety measure to take. I don't think anyone will even notice you are breaking any law doing what your're doing. Even if you are breaking a law, you're better off to break a law today so that you live to break it again another day.

echotraveler

im not sure about the states, but when i was in the university my law teacher always said that before you make a choice you should ask yourself "what would a responsible family man do?" ...

being safe is top priority

MNBiker

Swoop,
First, I would probably do what you do.

However, to promote accurate thinking, there is a third option here to be safe and still not break the law. After waiting and going through the second light on green, just pull over to the side of the road until the rush of cars go by. Then go down the hill without having to compete with cars. Of course, this option would take even longer still and isn't very attractive from a convenience standpoint. We just shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking there is only the choice between being law-abiding and being safe.

Artkansas 

I would stop at the red, cross the intersection when it turns green and then stop at the far curb and wait for traffic to flow on and for the road to be clear. While I was at it, a swig from the water bottle sounds good too.

rhm

The law is there to keep you safe. That's fine with me, but if there's a safer way to do it, that's even better. Go for it!

Standalone 

It's not practicable to ride anywhere but the lane in that situation, so that is where I would be.

If you are visible and legal, your only danger is from the homicidal, a group of people that I see no profit in spending much time wrorrying about.

Let them sit behind you for that one hill. Or, follow this advice:

even though I'd probably be in the lane, I have to say that this is a decent and generous option.

JeremyZ

By all means, do it.

Technically, riding bikes on sidewalks is illegal, as is rolling stop signs and red lights. I do them any way, and have never gotten any flak from The Man.

Riding bikes on sidewalks is easy to justify, at least in the suburbs & country. Pedestrians don't use them, so I use them as a bike path.

Rolling stop signs and red lights is harder to justify. It is just that momentum is so hard-earned on a bicycle one hates to waste it for no reason. I treat red lights & stop signs both as yield signs: slow down, check, and go.

Your route is not even questionable compared to my crimes. Heck, cops don't bother kids for riding through parks right on the grass. We can ride on foot trails through the woods. We are a different breed from motor vehicles.

These are the advantages of riding a bike that help to make up for the lack of speed, expenditure of effort, and and lack of weather protection.

Lots of folks here talk about taking the lane. In Chicagoland, that would be suicide. It is only a matter of time before someone knocks you down.

AndrewP

I would slow down at the red light to make certain there is no crossing traffic or pedestrians, then go straight across, without bothering with the slip road. You have to be conscious of hidden dangers in things that might at first seem safe (sidewalk riding).

Seattle Forrest

One day you're running red lights when there's no cross traffic, and the next day you're overthrowing the governments of South American countries so that your cartel can ship more coca up north to the gringos. Traffic violations are the gateway drug of the criminal, but they always end in shoot-outs with the feds .

If I'm picturing the situation correctly, I'd do the same thing as you. I stop for most lights, but when there's obviously zero danger and it won't inconvenience anyone else, I run red lights. Lately I don't filter to the front very often at a red, but there are a few busy intersections where I do, to avoid being trapped in auto traffic for several light cycles. A big part of the reason I commute by bike, is to avoid that crap in the first place.

noisebeam

My guideline pyramid:

I
am
safe
legal
practical
courteous
advantageous

I too find that they are not in conflict with each other. I can't recall doing something for safety that was not legal.

sseaman

There are a lot of laws that don't even make sense or were written many moons ago and should apply anymore, so to assume its the law and don't break it may not be the best idea. I'm sure drivers would much prefer it being easier on them to pass you too. Not everyone driving a car knows the laws, they just want to get from point A to B and maybe C.

jsmonet

i'm not seeing where taking that little side route is illegal.

also, please please stop using sidewalks and the word cagers. one's rarely necessary, the other is *never* necessary.

ugh, whatever... do as you please.