Just don't do the rolling stop or blow through myself. To each their own.

Bill

Here in Bombay, and I suppose many other cities in India, if I stop at a crossroads, and there is a policeman on watch, he will wave me on, often with an expression that says, Why are you wasting time here? Aren't there enough vehicles held up by the signal already? So, if there is a policeman around, I don't stop at a red. If its just a red light, I usually stop, and start riding again when safe.

^This, almost verbatim. I do try to track stand when possible and chalk it up as training!

Midnight, and the sidewalks are virtually rolled up, and the roads are deserted,

one street I have to do some street width switchbacks, to get up to the main highway,

but in the process I've seen in both directions, and take another loop if there is cross traffic.

daytime I'm up at the crosswalk and waiting till the traffic stops ,
before going to the central Island then doing more waiting.

I thought of this thread today when I saw a guy on a road bike run a stop sign at a fairly busy intersection. I was riding as passenger in a car right behind him when he rolled right up to the sign, did not look left or right, just rolled through the sign and made a right turn. Fortunate guy, he is.

NOOOOOOO!

I will do a track stand or close to it even if no one is there!

I rode 100 miles this weekend and didn't pass one traffic light but I did roll through several stop signs. With a clear line of sight in a rural area it's what everyone does, cars and bikes alike. lol

Strong with The Force, he must be.

I agree with Dudelsack. I have found that if I show respect for the laws, "most" motorists will give me a break. I recently crossed on a red light, but only after waiting forever for a car to trip the light.

I always plan on stopping / following the traffic laws, and in fact do these days.

When I was much younger and on the roads/streets where I grew up that were infinitely less travelled by cars, I was like any other kid and whether I looked or not, and carried on.

In high traffic urban areas I honestly don't see how one can get away with running stop lights or signs, certainly not in the long run.

I have experienced many similar treatments from motorists as indycar described as a result.

+100.....you never know if anyone is watching, especially if you have been on a hard ride. Call me anal, but 'STOP' means stop ALWAYS...not when it is convenient (or inconvenient, as it may be).

Later,

This makes no sense. Your son was going across the top of the "T" and got broadsided? I NEVER stop at "T" intersections whether controlled by stop lights or stop signs. "T" intersections are a get out of jail free card. I was trailing a much younger and much faster rider on my commute the other day. This kid knew something about saving a minute. He even taught me a new trick using a shortcut through the parking area of a local business to save at least 50 feet going around the perimeter. I just couldn't believe my eyes when he gets to my favorite "T" with the light against him and stops. I had already completed my scan for peds and was on the gas. He must have heard me say "You can't be serious" as I sailed past. He never caught me.

H

Interesting... you have been around since at least 1980 and you haven't yet observed that the more stops you make during a cycling trip the longer it takes! This is a commuting forum. The idea of a commute is (usually) to get to a regular destination expediently. Nine paragraphs to say that you don't understand why (other) cyclists seek to conserve effort and don't willingly waste minutes of time standing around during their commutes? You can't be serious.

H

I like introducing new elements in tired old discussions. Mind you, they aren't tired and old to me. I have not spent a lot of time discussing red light behavior. This is the first year I have done so. What I notice in every discussion is that everyone, that means on both sides of the discussion swallows as fact that a bicycle in fact is a motor vehicle and therefore subject to the motor vehicle laws that exist for scooters, motorcycles and of course, cars, trucks and busses. Really? Can you carry your car up a flight of stairs to your apartment? Can you drive your car down a city sidewalk? Most mega-cities have laws against bicycle operation on sidewalks. This makes sense when population density is in excess of 4,000 people per sq. mile. Most medium and small sized cities do not prohibit bicycle riding on sidewalks and in Oregon, where I live, the bicycle is the only 'vehicle' allowed on every single kind of road surface that exists. The bicycle is at once very much the same as other road vehicles and simultaneously much, much different from all of them. A bicycle does not carry billions of foot-pounds of kinetic energy into chance encounters with fixed objects. A bicycle usually has around 75 to 100 watts propelling it. A horsepower is 746 watts. A Toyota Prius has about 105 horsepower to play with when both gas and electric motors are online. Sheer laziness on the part of city planners made them force bicycles into following a rulesheet made for the control of motor vehicles. The small number of vehicular cyclists most of which also drive cars and would define themselves as drivers, not cyclists, further degrades the situation. Make cycling inefficient enough, unpleasant enough and hopefully no one will do it anymore, then we can get all that bike lane real estate back. Bikes belong on multi-modal pathways or on rural roads on Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. Period. That sound about right?

H

+1

Not sure this line of thought would hold up in a court of law. Bottom line, if the written laws say that a bicycle is a motor vehicle and as such, must obey all traffic laws, then there is no argument. Would you simply blow a 'T' intersection in your car? If you would, I am glad I live far from Oregon!

Later,

When alone and at the "Top of a Tee". Other wise, I follow the rules where appropriate.

I use my head and always consider my safety and that of others before crossing any intersection... stop sign or not.

At residential areas, I slow down, but I don't stop unless other cars are approaching the intersection before me. Of course, I keep an eye out for cops and undercover cops. Their vehicles have subtle cues. I've seen them. If I see a cop around, I will stop. They're tricky sometimes and will park in unexpected places. I commute the same routes all the time, so I'm very familiar with the roads. Traffic on some roads is not very visible and hard to see. I'll stop at those spots. If a motorist approaches a stop sign first, I will not move until they do. I even do the stopping hand signal, but apparently motorists don't understand that. If they wave me to go, I will point at my stop sign. That makes them go.

hahah nicee pay him to follow you around on your rides

What the heck is an "Idaho stop"?

Thank you Leisesturm!!!

You have nailed what I've been posting for years!! We are pedestrians on bikes, pedal/pedestrian.... this VC fad is actually more dangerous in my humble opinion.

I'm kind of with you on this one, except to say I almost never stop at the top of a tee. There is one along my daily commute, where I once actually had to slow for a pedestrian who had a "walk" signal. I have said "why are you stopping" more than once at the same intersection.

Here in Bombay, and I suppose many other cities in India, if I stop at a crossroads, and there is a policeman on watch, he will wave me on, often with an expression that says, Why are you wasting time here? Aren't there enough vehicles held up by the signal already? So, if there is a policeman around, I don't stop at a red. If its just a red light, I usually stop, and start riding again when safe.

My experience in Bombay was that if there was no policeman, especially after dark, cars don't stop for red lights either. In other cities, especially in the north, cars didn't seem to stop during the day either. Even the Indians I know don't drive there when they go home to visit and I'd be scared to death to ride a bike there.

In Idaho, a bicycle is not required to stop at a stop sign if there is no traffic approaching. You can slow down, make sure it's clear, and proceed without stopping.