I break a lot of traffic laws. They don't factor in bicycle realalities. Sometimes I run a red light right in front of a cop and think to myself "oh crap - here come the blue lights". But he just sits there.

I'm always cautious at red lights. I wonder if he's factoring that into account? Or is there some code of conduct around cyclists? What's your area like? In any case, I appreciate being responsible for my own safety.

i have it on good authority, that around here a cyclist can get a big ticket for running a stop sign.

How about red lights? For a lot of lights in my area, the light won't change for a bicycle. Or it takes waiting out a long timer that cars need not wait for. I've never been to court but if charged my defense would include that fact.

I ride in locations with real infrastructure (dedicated bike lanes and bike traffic lights).

Why would I need to break laws?

Some of us don't have such infrastructure everywhere they go and ride similarly to me. This thread is about how much the police in different areas care about that.

Well, my feeling is that if you ride incorrectly (safety aside) than you don't deserve more infrastructure.

One can move.

I find a correlation between appropriate infrastructure, cyclists following rules and appropriate enforcement by police.

Are there many bicyclists in Decatur? Those cops may look at someone on a bike like they do a kid on a skateboard. They may not even have any idea of applicable laws regarding bikes. When you run a red light, it's like a dog crossed the street against traffic.

Try something like that in Boulder or Portland and you'll be ticketed.

Not me. I love doing what I want when I want to.

Besides the whole topic about where I live and work is based on far more important things than this!

it definitely depends on where you are. In general, I follow the laws more strictly than the motorists around here do

you can complain to the municipality about lights not tripping. I used to run the closest one to my house until I realized that you had to ride over the wire in the left lane to trip it. It's likely there is a "defective light" law in Georgia, but usually you have to wait forever to run it legally

He probably just didn't think it was worth the trouble.

I'm cautious about infractions, I try to be considerate and I think that comes back to me. Most of the cops I've encountered in this area have been pretty cool regarding cyclists. The one time I did cross a red in front of a cop I got yelled at over the loud speaker, and I felt like I deserved it. I felt picked on also - literally all of the pedestrians and most cyclists did the exact same thing before me, and yet it was just me singled out - but it was also right. I'll still run a "T" and slow roll a stop or right on red, but that's about it.

I agree, don't make this thread political.

There are a few bright spots in the US with more than adequate cycling structure, where you could "do what you want, when you want to." As an aside, if your current situation meets those specifications, you could probably "live free" anywhere.

The EPD had a Training period for all the New U of O freshmen , every fall,

aggressively ticketing them for not obeying the traffic code.

they were less aggressive once the message was transmitted, to act responsibly.

City police generally don't care unless you are doing something reckless. Campus police on the other hand, especially the ones on bikes will cite you for everything.

you are quite right about this being a problem. especially so, after my town installed (i'm sure at an extravagant price) "Smart Lights". they use cameras rather than metal detecting apparatti. they have to be aimed correctly, and apparently that money was not in the budget. so bicyclists and motorcyclists alike (including mounted police motorcyclists) have to routinely resort to the rarely used traffic law that states that malfunctioning lights should be treated as four-way stop intersections. it's a mess...

fortunately, i think the mounted LEOs have passed the word to the patrol police and they won't hassle us if we stop at smart lights where no automobiles or trucks are around to be "seen" by the camera and then proceed through with assured clear distance. i occasionally have to run these red lights on my motorcycle too.

This is so tiresome. Just stop it. It borders on trolling. You come into threads and don't add anything, always just saying how it's better wherever it is you are living at the moment, and everyone else should just move. Guess what? Most people can't just move, and for damn good reasons. So just stop it with that crap.

That's the feeling I get around here too. I think that when you're close or inside the perimeter of Atlanta that you're less likely to be hassled by the police if you're not being a clear danger to yourself or others. I've been riding around here for most of my life (I'm 54). I ride 175 miles per week average. I've never gotten a ticket on my bicycle and I pay almost zero attention to the Georgia code. On the other hand, I pay a lot of attention to my personal safety and I suspect that's why I don't get tickets. When I pull up to a light and roll slowly thru looking both ways I think a cop observing that is not real motivated by me technically breaking the law.

That's speculation on my part though. It would be great to hear from a police officer on BF. Any out there? Do police departments have policies that are specific to bicyclists? Or is it all up to the judgement of the officer?

Most people can move, but choose to rather gripe about where they're living, especially when they're staying in one country. It's not always convenient, but hundreds of millions do it every year.

If someone said that I can't move to family obligations and I'm going to found an agency that will promote cycling interests in my community (i.e. collect money and legally petition my local government to make changes), I would really support that.

As far as my derailing a thread, this thread had zero content from the beginning. It's about admitting to breaking laws (which facilitates road rage against cyclists ... see video below) and asking why the police didn't do anything.

It is, in fact, exactly what we don't want to be associated with on this forum as promotes behaviour like this:


Quick note, you should turn the angst down as you sound jealous that people can move at will.

What's all this about moving, moving, moving? Can't people choose to stay where they are? Nobody here is griping about where they live.

This thread has nothing to do with being unhappy with where you live. I have a wonderful home. I like my community. I have family here in Atlanta that I love and enjoy being around. I love the natural beauty of the appalachians at my door step. I have investments (rental houses) around me and protect and tend to those investments by being local. I'm a southern boy from way back and have no interest in moving. I'm dug in deep. It only keeps getting better here!

OK. I could move. I agree! Go somewhere else if you have nothing to say that's on topic.

What is the topic?

How much law-breaking can one get away with before enforcement is implemented?

Now I think you're understanding. Yes.

So, we are all supposed to preface everything we say here with some sort of statement about how we are tied to where we live, like it, and are tirelessly advocating for more bike infrastructure, so that we can forestall you telling us we should all just move to where it is better? Got it.


That's, just your opinion. Everyone has one.

And you sound like an entitled jerk rubbing his entitlement into everyone else's faces. Wonder why that is? If I sound angsty, it's because, WE ARE ALL SICK OF HEARING THE SAME DAMN THING FROM YOU.

Citation needed.

What do you care? You are in some utopia where you think being constrained to bike "facilities" makes you free.

I'm sure we are never going to see eye to eye on this, but the fact is, that there are large portions of the US that have archaic laws that don't really address the realities of traveling via bicycle and some of us choose to ignore some of these laws, some of the time. And we aren't going to change because someone else is only comfortable with goose-stepping in formation and only comfortable if everyone else is too.

That's a good way to sum it up. I was trying to put the law breaking part of this topic into the background, with an implicit assumption that many people can accept that always following the letter of the law is not realistic on a bicycle in many areas. If I were stirring up a bunch of road rage with my minor infractions I think I'd know that. I'm usually coming to a near stop at red lights - a full stop if there's poor visibility or any cross traffic. Then I roll thru as necessary when safe, without waiting for a green light.

The whole topic here is, how do police in different areas react to that sort of behavior?

If the topic is too trivial to interest certain readers then don't expand the scope. Make this one of the threads you quickly scan and move on. It will drop into the abyss before long. Especially if you refrain from making inflammatory posts such as wishing a fellow cyclist to be involved in an collision. I regret that my thread fuels such thoughts. But I forgive acidfast7 and wish he would not get so angry and just live and let live.

What makes you think I'm angry? I don't shed tears for asking how much they can get away with. I like to push boundaries, and stretch rules as far as they will go nearly 100% percent of time, but it good to "get smacked every now and then" to know what the actual boundaries are. A slight collision would do that. That's how one becomes maximally efficient.

Are you wikipedia?


I think the point you're missing is that these facilities, outside the US, are built on protest. You guys don't demand anything and have nothing, i.e. no protest happens where people get ousted or held accountable, bicycle infrastructure is just the example that's germane to this discussion. Saying that you have "freedom" where you're located is hilarious in your context. The correct analogy based on your assessment is "without roads I can drive my car anywhere I want, this is great!" ... "why would I want road like every other first-world country, look at those goose-steepers totally constrained by roads" ... "here, I can drive wherever I want."

I do think the optimism and the ability to warp any situation into "this is the best" (regardless of evidence) is quite powerful. Everywhere, I've worked, we've have discussed getting more Americans because it does bring moral up among the students/employees, a lot in fact, just keep the upper management German.