Funny thing is when I do stop cars will always give me a wave for right of way even if they should have right of way and then when they come by me they give me lots of space. I call it 'bike karma' and it works nearly every time. Do the right thing and you'll be paid back in full and more!

Pretty much my view Dan.

Agreed.

When I am stopped and waiting for a traffic signal I invariably look behind me to see if the car behind me is trying to make a right turn. If he/she is and seems to be holding off out of fear of causing me injury, I always move out of their way and motion for them to go ahead and make the right.

I don't know if karma is real or not - but it doesn't hurt to be nice where I can be.

In some countries it is legal to go through a red light if you are turning right. Applies to all vehicles.

Stop light, always. Stop sign...a rolling stop if there are no cars. If there's a car going my same direction I do a full stop, just like the car does. Don't like to make cyclists look bad.

I try to obey. I look three and four times.

However, if I am at a stop light and via mirror see or "hear" a car speeding towards me approaching the stop light--- I get the hell out of the way.

Two years ago, I was quite proud of my mastery of road riding. Then one day my fragile bubble burst. As I waited in the far right lane (for the light to turn green)--- a police officer approached in a marked squad car, blew his "horn", turned on the sirens and did the microphone/intercom thingamajig at me. That intercom thing was LOUD. He yelled, "GET OUT OF THE WAY! NOW!"

He was very aggressive and kept blowing his horn/siren. I was quite embarrassed. He scared the crap out of me. The looks on the faces of the drivers was one of horror. I felt like crying. It was very intimidating. Did I say I was embarrased? He was literally right on my back wheel.



I refuse to bicker with drivers. Its whatever. I get out of the way quickly.

^^^
You should have reported the jerk cop. Their boss hate it when they illegally use their sirens.

In Florida, law enforcement car tints are kinda dark.
I remember the noise. I couldn't understand why he was so close and SOOO loud. I thought perhaps I was blocking a fire engine, or ambulance but it was only him: honking and yelling on the intercom.

Some people in a Lexus SUV were in the middle lane and the lady passenger's face I will never forget--she looked completely horrified and scared. He scared the beejeebies out of me. I have also been followed. Another very unsettling feeling.

I have come to realize: some people's greatest pleasure is provoking fear in others.

I'm with you - how can we expect car drivers to respect us as vehicles with equal rights to the road, if we don't obey the laws at least as much as they do. Not that cars always obey traffic lights, but there are days when I think I'm the only person on a bike who stops at red lights.

If I don't see any cars, I slow down at stop signs to the point where I could stop quite shortly if need be, then scan all directions and will roll through if there's no other traffic.
Basically treating it like a yield.
Naturally, if there are other vehicles at or approaching the intersection, I stop and wait my turn to go through - not only is this the law, it's just safer that way.

+1 on the comment that drivers will sometimes wave you through because you're acting sensible and predictable.

I always stop at red lights.
I narrowly avoided getting completely taken out by a car about 13 years ago by not doing so, and I decided to not push my luck and never make that same mistake again.

^^^^^

This is my policy.
I am really bothered by bikes rolling through red lights. I am in complete agreeance that we need to treat ourselves like a vehicle if we want others to treat us like a vehicle. In Dallas a couple of months ago there was a hipster on a SS that blew through a red light. One of the news outlets had a couple of folks commenting on how dangerous it is to ride in Dallas. Really? Blowing through a red light and getting T-Boned is an example of how dangerous it is?

Kind of like teenagers who want to be treated like an adult when it comes to adult privileges but treated like a kid when it comes to adult responsibilities. Which is it, are we a vehicle or not?

Personally, I don't want to be treated like a vehicle. Only in the deepest recesses of the politicians brain could one decide that a 45lb bicyle with an overweight American with undiagnosed coronary disease is the functional equivalent of an American in a droop snout Kenilworth. Tell me, in your city, as you are tooling down the boulevard on your Specialized Cirrus, if the trip calls for a left turn at the intersection up ahead, can you signal left and merge over to the left turn lane, trip the left turn signal and proceed? Will traffic behind you lose their minds and speed up to cut you off in your attempts to merge left? Still think you are a vehicle? At best you are some sort of super ped. Kind of like a paraplegic in a power wheelchair. Are they vehicles?

The vast majority of cyclists mainly drive for transportation and cycle for recreation. As drivers it irks you to see bicyclists getting away with something. As a cyclist you feel guilty when you even think about rolling through that intersection. I am not in the slightest risk of getting T-boned when I blow through a red light because I wouldn't be blowing the red if there was cross traffic to T-bone me. Its the disapproval of the stopped traffic going in the same direction that the goody-two-shoes are afraid of. I wonder why. As soon as they get the green and catch up and pass the cyclist that has them so hot and bothered s/he is forgotten. Utterly. On to the next thing.

Despite the immense horsepower advantage of a car over a bicycle, the realities of infrastructure limits most cars to an average of 17mph. I can average 15mph some days commuting like a bicycle. Other days its closer to 12mph. The difference is usually wind. Most cars are not affected one way or the other by wind. Driven like a car my average speed on a bicyle would be closer to 5mph to 8mph and I would be better off jogging my 7.5mi. commute. People who can get in cars with speed potentials of 100mph and accept a 17mph average as acceptable won't have too much sympathy if a cyclist gives up 2/3 of their potential top speed to behaving well on the road. But I'm not going to be shamed into it. Sorry.

H

Every few months I think a light has missed me so I go through when I can. More frequently, but not too frequently, if I'm going along the top of a T I might roll through it.

Stop signs are definitely roll-throughs.

The last couple of days my daughter and I rode through a street closed for construction; on the sidewalk (not closed) during work hours, and just on the not-dug-up part of the street when they left it closed after work rather than put that metal plate back over the hole.

The way 5-0 has been here lately, I don't want to risk a citation by blowing a Red.

So whats your point? The officers in the car were responding to a call they just recieved and you were blocking their way. They would have done the same thing if you were driving a motorcycle, car or semi-trailer.

Last time I checked motorists were expected to give priority to emergency vehicles - fire trucks, ambulances and police cars with lights and sirens. Why should bicycles be an exception?

So if I understand you correctly, if there were no cars and everyone drove bicycles or walked - we wouldn't need stop signs or pedestrian crossings. I think you live in some kind of fantasy world. The biggest dangers I encounter on my commute are cyclists that blow stop signs on the bicycle path - where there IS NO OTHER TRAFFIC except cyclists. And then theres the cycle path that runs directly in front of the retirement home thats conveniently located right accross the street from a clinic. According to staff working at the clinic, they have to treat at least one cyclist / pedestrian injury that occurred accross the street - EVERY DAY.

I have this argument all the time with friends and family. There seem to be two ways of going through a red light. One, which I try to do, makes sure the coast is clear and that I won't interfere with anyone, and I slowly go through it. The other way is to blow through the light forcing pedestrians and vehicles with the light to avoid hitting you. I don't do that.

Let's be honest about this. Cars will always speed and roll through stop signs. Bikes will run red lights wherever possible. And pedestrians will cross streets whenever and wherever they feel like doing so. That's the report from NYC.

I nearly always obey all traffic laws/signs/signals. Doing otherwise can be dangerous, and when motorists see bicycles ignoring traffic laws, they tend to get annoyed (and I can't say I really blame them). However, sometimes I do flaunt traffic rules if it's safer. For example, if I'm trying to turn left from a through lane, I'll run the light if it means reducing my exposure to high-speed traffic coming from behind. Also, I'm not above riding on the sidewalk next to high-speed suburban arterials with no shoulder. In those situations, the sidewalk is almost always empty anyway, so you may as well treat it like a bike lane.

I always stop for red lights. If there is absolutely nobody around, I run it before it changes.

Well put. I do not sit at an intersection with clear line of sight and wait, yielding to imaginary cars. Sometimes I have to stop or slow at green lights at intersections with no line of sight because of cars running lights or turning in front of me, usually without so much as a signal. I say do what is best to stay alive, but don't kowtow to cagers and their rules. Just keep your distance so they can't get you.

Pretty much my thinking. In Idaho, it's the law. I've had govt officials tell me that'll never be law in MA, but I just imagine I'm actually in Boise.

http://www.stc-law.com/idaho_stop_law.html

From the original text:

a police officer approached in a marked squad car, blew his "horn", turned on the sirens and did the microphone/intercom thingamajig at me.

Had the cyclist been obstructing a marked police car that already had its sirens on you'd have a point. What I read in the original text was that the police car approached and only then blasted the horn and the sirens. Truth be told the sirens alone should have been enough, unless there's some aspect of it BadBoy didn't tell us.

The way BadBoy also said that "The looks on the faces of the drivers was one of horror" doesn't paint a picture of a jackass cyclist refusing to move for an emergency vehicle, more a jackass cop who couldn't bear the thought of waiting for a cyclist.

This is why smart guy: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...ket-officers/2

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_...broward-county

http://www.southfloridainjuryattorne...d_sheriff.html

You are wrongly assuming I was in the middle of the right lane. I wasn't. I was in the bike lane WHICH shares the far right lane with cars and in Florida--the bike lanes are extremely narrow. Basically, you can touch the car. There is no distance.

I don't get your hostility --Get a clue, just like in every other governmental career --everyone in law enforcement should not be wearing a badge nor protecting/serving. There are some quite nasty egomaniacs wearing the badge. Wrong is wrong. To scare the **** out of someone just because you can and have a badge and a siren is not cool. You might think it is--I don't.
Every time someone says something about a police officer--does not mean we are picking on law enforcement. Umm, no, I respect and appreciate what my tax money pays for--however--stop the b.s.--my town is having serious issues with law enforcement blowing red lights, turning on sirens, killing people and repeatedly--there was no reason because they were not responding to a call.

Clearly, this isn't an issue in your city. Good for you.

I stop for reds all the time, the only time I havent has been once when it was late at night and I had my head down focusing on getting home and then wondered why a pedestrian was crossing in front of me then thought oh whoops!

Would never jump a red liight deliberately.

Stop signs I slow down and check nothing is coming before I decide to go straight across or not.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/04/19...al-2010-crash/

I AM NOT STEREOTYPING ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT--
but in my home town--there has been a problem--and ongoing investigations--

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/speeding-cops/

My contribution was to state yes--I get the hell out of the way because I cannot compete with a car--there are some very aggressive drivers hell bent on hurting others and I was at a light and the police officer scared the living daylights out of me. Commuting is not easy nor leisure/recreational. It is dangerous. And some of us have to deal with not only aggressive citizens but aggressive law enforcement. Depending on where you live--so if you live in a city that this isn't an issue: good for you.

Maybe you should re-read your own posts - all of them.
As for this last one:
"This is why smart guy.."
"You are wrongly assuming ....."
"Get a clue...."
"There are some quite nasty egomaniacs wearing the badge......"
"stop the b.s..."

And lets not forget "I don't get your hostility --"

Funny - I'm not seeing all the hostility in my posting - yours on the other hand I have some doubts about. :innocent:

I read all those links you posted. Sorry - somehow that just don't seem to back up your claim that: "-my town is having serious issues with law enforcement blowing red lights, turning on sirens, killing people and repeatedly--there was no reason because they were not responding to a call."

Course people tend to see what they want to see and you and I may be looking for different things anyway.

If ALL motorists were given citations based on their actual driving rather than just the times they were caught - 99% of the population in the USA would lose their permit within a week. Why pick out cops?

But I am curious - how exactly did you manage to confirm that they were not actually responding to a call? Or is that just an assumption?

What I posted was:
"you were blocking their way. They would have done the same thing if you were driving a motorcycle, car or semi-trailer."
That has absolutely nothing to do with wheither you were in a bike lane sharing their lane or not. In fact, can't see any real issues with my original post. Personally I've put the car on the sidewalk to let emergency vehicles pass. Maybe they were just going for coffee or maybe they were responding to something serious like that shooting you just had in Colorado.

I don't make it my business to police the police. Just managing my own life seems to be a full time job - wouldn't want the extra responsibility.

Could just be me - checked things out on the way home today and from the right-hand-side of the road - I couldn't see the faces of the drivers of the car to the left of me, or the face of the driver in front of me, and the face of the driver in the car behind me only by turning around. But in the OP's case that was presumably the cop so it doesn't count.

Usually when emergency vehicles turn on their sirens/lights, you are suppose to move out of their way so they can pass you (or not move if it means that they can pass you). I'm pretty sure that is the law in most places. Why did you think you could just stay there blocking them?

And it is illegal for cops or other emergency vehicle operators to turn on their siren and lights when there is no emergency, as appears to be the case here.

I have gotten a cop in trouble for doing just this.