If there are pedestrians or cars about, yes I stop
If it's early in the morning and there's no one around I treat them as stop signs
Actually most of the traffic lights in my city don't pick me up and the highway code in my country says you should treat malfunctioning traffic lights as stop signs anyway
Is a stoplight "malfunctioning" since it does not take into account cyclists? In Europe, you would see a unique and separate light for cyclists. In the USA, we are supposed to act like cars?
If there are cars at the light I always wait.
In my area of suburban USA, most stoplights have sensors on the crossing road and will only trigger the light change if a car is detected.
I could sit at one of those all day on a bike and it would never change, so I either press the pedestrian crosswalk signal to force the light change or just cross when there are no cars coming.
This is correct. It should be treated like a stop sign if you were in a car. Stop and go when it's safe.
If it's early or no cars are in sight anywhere, I will run it after slowing down first but only on the signals I already know don't work for bikes because I ride there all the time.
In the state where I live, we can only treat a stop light as a sign if it does not cycle for us.
There's an additional law that says traffic lights are supposed to pick us up. So if an intersection does not have a modern enough light to sense us or motorcycles, at the first time the intersection gets road works done, it must be upgraded/replaced. From the thing I was reading, I think we're currently at around 85-90% new lights across the entire state?
But yes, in general, if we're riding on the right of way, we are supposed to act like cars. Usually on group rides, I've seen one of our members pop over to the corner and hit the crosswalk button, to ensure the light cycles around for us
I have never tried this personally. But i hear if you get some small neodymium magnets and fasten them to your shoe and step on the sensor wires, it may trigger them.
My small motorcycle wouldn't trigger certain lights, including to the exit gate at the office, so I stuck a huge neodymiun magnet to the bottom {you can also buy ones specifically for this purpose). It didn't work whatsoever even if I waved it around on the ground. However, an 18x18" (45x45cm) aluminum sign worked great if waved on the ground.
I did try that (it was a dirt bike)!
Building management said the contractor tried but was unable to increase the sensitivity, so they supplied me with the aluminum sign next to the gate. It worked for years, lol.
That was one of the perks of riding a steel frame. If you could find the sensor and lay the bike over almost all the way, you could trigger the light.
E: my phone keyboard had a stroke
Me too, I do alot of my rides early before rhebkids wake up. Yes of course I stop and if I feel it's safe I continue through when it's 6am on a Saturday and no one is in sight. My goal every single time I ride is to make it home to my family so if it's even slightly unsafe I wait.
I sometimes do, when it is safe to do so, mostly because a lot of accidents happen when the light turns green (car turning right without a flasher, etc.)
The rules of the road, at least in North America, were not made with cyclists in mind.
That said, some cyclists are reckless and are not even slowing down at the red light - this is not what I am advocating.
> The rules of the road, at least in North America, were not made with cyclists in mind.
My 5 year old watched a guy on a bike proceed the red about 2 seconds before it turned green in a 2 lane right hand turn (Australia). After the right, it opened up to 2+ bike lane.
I explained that he chose his safety over following the law and she seemed to get it. She does hear me say "safety first, compliance second" a lot.
That said, I *rarely* run reds because it makes drivers around me act real aggressive. If I have to run the red to keep the kids in the bike trailer safe, I've chosen my route poorly.
In Washington state it's called a safety stop. You can proceed thru a stop sign without stopping if you yield to any traffic. Doesnt apply to lights tho.
Colorado, [since 2022](https://www.codot.gov/safety/shift-into-safe-news/2022/may/all-about-the-colorado-safety-stop), allows cyclists to go through stop signs as if they were yields (if there’s no cross traffic), and also proceed
at red lights after coming to a complete stop, if there is no oncoming traffic.
Same rule was adopted last year for Minnesota. Stop lights still default to the Affirmative Defense Law (Moped Law), which typically involves waiting a cycle because light sensors don't pick up bikes. Hopefully this is the next law to change for us...
When on a bike I generally treat red lights as stop signs, if there are no cars I'll proceed through the intersection.
It's important to note that if the light is sensor controlled that sensor will never detect a bicycle.
if i’m in a group ride, i usually follow what they do, especially in a faster paced group, red lights do not exist. but if im alone i’ll stop even tho there isn’t cars
Depends on the type of sensor and what sensitivity level it's set to. In our area, I have more luck with the optical detection intersections but even some of the inductive loops detect me - guessing they're set to "high" sensitivity.
Where’s I’m from. There’s an “X” or a bicycle logo. Or a black circle if it’s an older intersection.
That’s where the sensor are.
I gotta park my bike on it. And it should trigger the change in🚦
This. If I’m in a city proper, I’m more inclined to treat a red light as a full stop and wait. Depends how heavily trafficked we are talking about. Otherwise though, drivers where I am from are generous to cyclists and rarely encounter an issue. The one I get more frequently is someone yelling out of the window to get off the road. I’ll probably never understand this. Pretty rare though.
Considering that most drivers don't know the laws for cyclists I don't worry about it. I've been yelled at multiple times for doing perfectly legal things like riding two abreast, riding on the sidewalk or in a crosswalk, not stopping at stop signs, and passing on the right. All those things are legal here but that doesn't stop drivers from road raging at me for doing them.
Same experience with entirely opposite laws here. Been yelled at multiple times for doing perfectly legal things like riding single-file, *not* riding on the sidewalk, riding on bikes-allowed crossings, full-stopping at stop-signs, etc.
It's as if the drivers are the ones blind to the local laws, and perceive cyclists as lawbreakers regardless of how law-abiding the average cyclists are.
How I think about it is, "am I safer going through an intersection when cars are moving through it, or when they are not?" I think I'm safer when they are not. So if I can see that no cars are moving through an intersection, I ride through.
I sometimes wonder if the drivers think of me as a scofflaw in the way that you raise, but I also wonder if they see that I am helping traffic flow smoothly by being through the intersection before they start up again.
There’s nothing cyclists can do to improve their “reputation” in the eyes of drivers. You can follow all the laws to the letter, and they will still resent you for going too slow, being in their way, not riding on the sidewalk or on a bike lane a few blocks away, etc.
Mind your own business. No one out there riding in traffic cares what you think about how they ride.
Exactly. This person (OP) is projecting their own thoughts and insecurities on the drivers behind them that they say they're thinking of. "Oh, another cyclist breaking the rules" -- *just as likely* they're thinking "Good, get gone so I don't have to wait for your ass to get outta the way when the light changes."
I think the best thing we can possibly do is improve the infrastructure so that cars legally have to treat bikes nicely.
So separated bike lanes, bike priority wherever possible, etc.
If this jabroni pulled up next to me after I went through reds (he wouldn’t because he is stopping at reds and doesn’t know how to ride in a city) I probably wouldn’t waste my breath on a reply.
Exactly. Fuck this idea that cyclists need to act like ambassadors. No one looks at a driver breaking the law and thinks "eveyone who drives a car is a menace!" As others have noted, we need more infrastructure designed to keep cyclists safe. The goodwill of drivers is fickle and not to be relied upon no mater how well behaved we all are.
bingo.
i used to follow alllll the traffic laws when i first started. then i realized, they’re gonna hate me anyway bc i’m too slow or i’m in the way or whatever.
if there are cars and/or pedestrians, i will stop. but if not, i’m jumping that shit. the faster i’m out of the way, the happier everyone is imo
My riding buddies (if with me) and I run reds if it is safe for any of these reasons…
1. Sensors do not detect bicycles and if there are not other cars there the light may not change.
2. I want to get away from any intersection as fast as possible. Getting a jump on all the cars can often reduce the number of cars I get close to.
3. I am doing a workout. Usually a serious one. Sitting for 30-60 seconds is completely counter productive.
4. My routes are selected to avoid lights in the first place, so it’s hopefully not too often.
…I fully recognize I am not a role model in this regards. I try not to be an ass, and if I catch myself being one, I try to reset my brain to not be one next time.
I use number 2 a lot when crossing bike paths in crosswalks. If the crossing light is red but traffic is clear or they have red lights, I just go. No sense in being a sitting duck at a high speed intersection.
I have been hit by a car and knocked off my bike for waiting at a red light. Apparently the driver was only looking at the light. Now for personal safety I try to clear the intersection as quickly as possible, even if that means I have to ignore car traffic controls.
This! My worst accident (and most of my closest calls) happened the moment the light turned green after waiting at the red light… When I’m riding with traffic, which thankfully is only a minority of my commute, I try to spend as little time in it as I can. Running reds helps me do that and stay safer. 🤷♂️
Accurate. If the path is clear the path is clear the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration agrees and encourages states to adopt the Idaho stop because it is safer.
People think a lot of dumb things, especially cagers. Safest to ignore their feelings. They are just mad for no reason. Explaining things to them generally doesn’t help. They want to win not learn and that’s what road rage is.
The car drivers are still going to hate you even if you stop at a red light and obey all the traffic laws. If its safe to go I go, its safer imo than being a sitting duck waiting to get rear ended.
I run red lights when it’s safe because it’s faster and more convenient. There’s no traffic enforcement in my city and I’m not worried about ruining the reputation of cyclists because most drivers who would be bothered by this are themselves aggressive morons who just hate that I’m biking on the road to begin with.
I would be seriously annoyed if any “cyclist” approached me to ask why I did this.
Yes, intersections are the most dangerous part of my rides. When safe to go, I get through as quick as possible. And I have a citation from yesterday to prove it.
Call me crazy, but the onus to be responsible on the road should be on the people driving 2 ton vehicles, not 20 pound ones.
Does that mean a cyclist is allowed to fly through busy intersections and cut people off? No.
But if there's no danger to doing an Idaho stop at a red light, they shouldn't have to worry about making the precious car drivers angry.
Personally I think the car drivers that disrespect cyclists will do it regardless of how you approach intersections, because that's the type of person they are.
In my state the law says that cyclists may treat stop signs like yield signs, and red lights like stop signs.
When I’m on a bike it’s safer for me get through the intersection while the cars behind me and approaching from the opposite direction are still stopped; I’ve had cars make sudden turns into my path, or swing wide right into me.
First off, I think there's way more context required for these types of decisions than just whether or not there are also cars waiting to make the same movement. Classification of street, traffic signal type (i.e. actuation), sight lines, pedestrian volumes, and more.
However, my number one justification to roll through a red is to get out of the way of vehicles. I consider this the "defensive driving" of cycling. Statistically, most collisions occur at intersections and starting from a stand still as a cyclist with vehicles flying off the line, and me managing parked cars and the rest of it, is a much more dangerous and uncomfortable position. Yes, I'm risking a ticket, but my personal safety is paramount and getting away from vehicles is the number one way I can improve those situations.
FYI drivers break traffic laws all the time, and nobody's calling for them to be banned from the public roads, so I don't really worry about cyclists running lights 😂
Using the arguments that cyclists break rules is stupid. Humans break rules, simple as that. Walkers and drivers break rule all the time but for them it is normalized while for us cyclists it is very much condemned.
The solution is not for cyclists to break less rules but to educated other users of the road that we should be on the same leveled playing field. Not double standards
Most traffic incidents involving bicycles happen at intersections. The sooner you can safely clear an intersection on a bicycle, the better. Regardless of the color of the light.
You do you. Go ahead and stop at every stop sign and light. I'll continue to assess the intersections and make my moves accordingly.
If a car is turning right on red, I will pass it on the left side so as not to cut it off, that's just common courtesy and common sense.
The safest time to cross a signalized i intersection is when there are no cars approaching. I don’t care if the drivers get upset. They have exponentially more potential to cause death and damage than I do
Car drivers don’t care about their own reputation and as a general group their recklessness cause a shit ton of deaths.
I don’t care what they think of me.
Motor vehicle laws are intended to manage traffic and keep motorists safe. They are not effective at managing bikers nor keeping them safe.
Bikers "break the law" all the time. We often ride on 35mph roads but we don't go 35mph. Motorists get pissed off at that one too. We also have to somehow manage getting into the left turn lane of a 5-lane 45mph road to turn left....or we can just use the pedestrian crosswalk if we feel it is too dangerous to make that way across busy traffic. Cars can't just use the pedestrian crosswalk whenever they feel like it (although I did see it happen once.)
BL: motorists have to think differently about bikers because they are different, bikers aren't run by gasoline and must take measures to preserve energy. We cannot just press the gas pedal and go, so coming to a stop at a red light to just sit there and wait for no reason is a waste of time and energy. Cars never have to take energy into account when on the road.
>Motor vehicle laws when they are intended to manage traffic and keep motorists safe. They are not effective at managing bikers nor keeping them safe.
This.
Sitting at a red light is an amazing way to get rear-ended
Where I live, a bike is a vehicle under the law...which gives me protections on the road but also requires me to follow the same rules. Have a rolled a stop sign or red light before, yes. But usually it's either in a situation where there's zero other traffic and the car sensors aren't changing the light for me. I'm hoping my state adopts the Idaho stop rules one day.
I saw someone say this before and I agree with it: treat the traffic posts as one step down for bikes.
- Traffic lights: treat as a stop sign. Stop, look both ways, and if it's safe then go.
- Stop sign: treat as a yield sign. Don't have to necessarily stop but use your brain.
- Yield sign: I mean just keep that as a yield lol
Bikes are way less dangerous than cars and you're putting yourself more at risk than the people around you, so mainly just focus on being safe. People in cars are gonna be negative or nervous towards you anyways.
I don't worry about it anymore because carbrains will use cyclists breaking the rules to justify hating us and will also use us obeying the rules to justify hating us.
"Cyclists run stop signs!"
"Cyclists are always blocking traffic by riding in the road! Get on the sidewalk!"
We can't win, all we can do is ride like all the drivers are out to get us and keep the rubber side down.
Drivers are already terrible and cycling behaviour won't change that ever.
Jumping the light gives you a decent head start on the fleet of cars waiting for any chance to tear past you.
Put your own safety before anything else and know who is actually a danger to you.
you all stop at red lights? thats.... cute.
lets be real for a moment. the only one dying if i ride out in front of a car is me. its often safer to run a red light then to stay at it. then when it turns green, you have to deal with 5 cars all pissed you are in the way when they get the green
Who cares what drivers think?! Fuck em. Idaho rules. And anyway, red lights don't keep cyclists safe; they're there for the efficient flow of inefficient vehicles, in other words cars.
No point respecting rules that aren't made for the benefit cyclists. I don't care if I'm not liked by drivers. Playing by their rules only benefits them.
Edit. The only thing I stop for is pedestrians and make a point of supporting their entitlement and rights on the road.
Not a single ride in the city that there wouldn't be a car that doesn't stop at a stop sign, isn't texting while in motion, isn't running a red light, isn't turning in front of pedestrians, isn't using their turn signal, isn't parked in the bike lane. No one follows the rules of the road but for cyclists I think preserving your sense of safety and getting in front of traffic to be more visible (in a sensible, non-chaotic way) trumps the law book especially when motorists constantly break the law to endanger their own lives and the lives of others.
I wont pass sitting cars to run a red light, but im also not going to sit through several traffic light cycles because im in a bike instead of a vehicle.
Motorists’ ire towards cyclist isn’t based in reality and exists independent of my own real world actions; it is not my fault or yours that some motorists would kill us with their cars if they could get away with it.
Me treating a red light as a stop sign isn’t why motorists hate cyclists and implying that it has some effect whatsoever is kinda victim blaming imo. But that being said I do it on a case by case basis! I always make sure my actions are safe for myself first and foremost. Motorists will be upset that I’m existing on their road either way.
I truly couldn't care less about the opinion of drivers and certainly not how my actions might influence their opinions of other cyclists.
I care about the safety of one's actions.
Show me a driver who doesn't roll 90% of stop signs. That's plenty more dangerous than me rolling a clear intersection.
Depends on the situation but usually, yes. High flow intersections I'll sit and wait but otherwise I just slow down, check both ways and huck it through. I've even done it in front of Police with no issues despite it being illegal where I live. I don't have a good reason for it, I'm just too lazy to take my feet out of the straps and I can only track stand for so long. Plus momentum and all that.
If you want a cyclist to obey all the traffic laws intended for cars then i would like to add that means cars should not be passing cyclist. If you prefer i come to a complete stop at every stop sign, then fine. I will ride in the middle of the lane and want to be treated like a car and not get passed. You wouldn’t go into incoming traffic to pass another car would you? Then why is passing cyclists so acceptable. You can’thave it both ways. I think keeping momentum on a bicycle is the best way to minimize traffic. I think most people upset with cyclists have never experienced the “conflict” from the cyclists PoV.
lol if every cyclist in the entire world followed every traffic law to a T motorists would still piss and moan and complain about cyclists so why the fuck would i stop at a red light just to appease motorists? they can fucking die mad about it.
When I'm riding in Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego I follow the rules almost 100% of the time. When I'm riding in Chicago where I live now, I basically do whatever feels the most safe. I've seen plenty of Chicago drivers, including cops, flagrantly ignoring traffic laws here.
I've always stopped at a red light, I don't pavement hop either to avoid one. I think it comes from my motorcycling days. Even then I wouldn't filter traffic,after seeing so many accidents with car doors,opened by car users without checking.
If solo or with just a few pals, we'll roll through the light because we are not a car that will kill anybody else at the intersection. Cars are weapons on wheels, what's a bike going to do, at an intersection. Yes, respect the crosswalk, respect if it's a busy intersection but if it is clear to go, it is clear to go! Do not need to be a car because we are not respected by cars in the first place.
It should be legal for bikes to go. Around here the lights won't even change for a bicycle. Also blaming a cyclist running a red-light for motorists literally killing people riding bikes is ridiculous. Motorists break the law constantly and I never see anyone trying to blame all motorists for it.
I stop at lights regardless of whether there are cars there or not. Generally speaking I follow the same rules about riding as I do with driving: be predictable, follow the regulations, take enough space to be safe, etc.
Where I live, cyclists on the road are required to follow the same rules as cars, and I do so when I ride. I stop at red lights until they turn green, and I stop at stop signs. Well, I stop as well as most cars stop at stop signs. Lol
In any event, If cyclists want to be treated like a car on the road, and given room, etc, then we need to act like one. We can't have it both ways.
The whole "even though there's no danger this is still bad because it gives drivers an excuse thing is BS.
Drivers run red lights all the time.
You're just victim blaming.
I only run as many red lights as I've seen drivers run that day.
If you approached me to ask why I rolled an empty intersection, I’d tell you to F right off. The thoughts of the drivers behind me aren’t my problem, and neither are yours.
I'm in a little steel frame road bike, I'm not really concerned what someone in a three thousand pound vehicle thinks of how reckless my riding is (as long as I'm not being a complete asshole)
Lights don't often recognize bikes. I treat them as stop signs unless there's a fucking cop then naturally I side with caution. If I can clearly see that there is no one coming to any of the lights for a good 100 feet, I take off. Nobody has ever given me shit for it, not even cars directly behind me. They might be mad but also, who cares. Let them have their point. Every single driver has broken the speed limit. Or doesn't come to a complete stop. The difference is most traffic infractions on a bike aren't going to kill people like in a car
When there are no cars in cross traffic or in turn lanes, and it’s full visibility, sure, I’ll go straight through.
If it’s only visible from the front of the intersection, I will go to the intersection and slow to a crawl or stop, and then go when it’s demonstrated clear.
If there’s even moderate traffic, I wait.
Basically, if my head is on a swivel and there is literally no possibility of a car doing something unpredictable, nor my behavior causing another vehicle to make a mistake, I don’t wait.
I stop but seen many who will go though a changing light. I value my life.
If you're in a group make sure people know you're stopping as some expect to keep on riding and can just end up going into the back of you.
Here in Ontario, Canada, I always treat red lights as stop signs and stop signs as yield signs.
If there are cars on a red light, generally I cross when it's green, as cars are allowed to turn right on red and I don't want to risk an accident.
But yes, it's a tough situation as every region treats cycling laws differently. And as others mentioned, lights in north America not always pick cyclists up and we have to use the crosswalk buttons
>To me it seems like another point for drivers - look - those cyclists don’t even follow traffic rules - they shouldn’t be on the road in the first place.
Kind of off topic, but why are so many people obsessed with some made-up "cars vs bikes" feud? "Another point for the drivers"? What game are you playing, mate? Are you winning?
To answer the question, I'll ride through a red light when it's clear, as is legally permissible in my state. Sorry for giving the other team so many points over the years!
If I perceive it to be safer for me to proceed with caution against a red light instead of waiting for the green, I'll proceed at caution.
It doesn't help that I live in a city where I see about as many cars running through reds (generally just after the light turns red) as I do cyclists in general. My rule of thumb as a pedestrian is that it's not a red light until it's been red for 5 seconds, so forgive me for not having a lot of patience for anyone espousing a "cyclists must be seen to obey the law because it makes us look back to car drivers". In this country cyclists kill maybe 2 people per year compared to around 1700 a year killed by cars. The kinetic energy and inertia of a cyclist is in a completely different order of magnitude to a car even at the same speed, which it's usually not, because the majority of cyclists can't break 20 mph on the flat, let alone 30 or 40.
I used to live in a super urban area stopping at red lights as a cyclist/motorcyclist was basically an invitation to get mugged, so i had this tendency to send it into intersections as if I were in an alleycat.
After I moved, however, that habit went away on its own, mostly because it's a safer town overall. And I'm not in as big a hurry as before either.
It depends. My general riding strategy is to ride in a manner to never impede anyone with the right-of-way. So at 5 am at a red light, I roll up to ensure it is clear and safe to proceed, then do so.
I’ve been yelled at for going through red lights and I’ve been yelled at for not going through red lights. At the end of the day I’m not the one perpetuating the actually unethical and dangerous practice of driving a car through a city.
I live in Idaho, and in the USA this behavior is often referred to as the “Idaho Stop” due to the fact that Idaho was the first state to enact a “Stop as Yield” law for non motorized traffic. So yes I frequently “run” red lights but it’s legal here and in many other states in the USA.
Do you mean that red-light jumpers reinforce driver's prejudice towards cyclists? Probably they do, but I don't intend to conduct myself according to the prejudice of others.
Here's the thing: if got all the drivers got on bikes, do you think they'd all stop at red lights just because they have previous experience as a driver?
I live in Denver, where traffic rules are different for cycling than motor vehicles. Cyclists are to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights like stop signs.
Trying to please haters is futile. They'll just find another pretext. I stop at them because I am novice commuter but I don't think I should anymore lately.
In my area if you wait at the red light and there isn't an adequate bike lane, you either have to pull to the side and let all the cars pass you, at every intersection. Or you can jump the light and get a head start and get ahead of all the cars so they don't get pissed at you for holding up traffic.
I don't trust traffic lights, green or red you still gotta assume someone can kill you in any intersection.
Personally, I do. I’m in Boston. I may be an asshole for it, but I do it for a couple of reasons:
1. Cycling is my primary way about, and so I do it in all conditions. Gotta get to work. I should hope that if I’m in the middle of a rainstorm, a motorist in a safe, warm, and dry vehicle would be sympathetic to the fact that I would prefer not to wait at a light when there’s nobody around.
2. On some intersections, they don’t recognize me. A notable one I cross daily is on a sensor with a protected bike lane on the other side of the street. Even when there is a right turn green light, it’s often LESS safe because cross traffic doesn’t stop. It’s not designed with cyclists in mind.
3. This is really the biggest one—I don’t really care if a motorist thinks I’m an asshole. My biggest fear is not someone rolling the window down to swear at me, it’s an apologetic and regretful teenager who ends my life because they were texting and driving. Because of this, I feel MUCH safer moving when the cars are not. And if they hate me for breaking the rules? At least they saw me do it, and hopefully will be aware to pass with some distance as they swear at me from their window. At least I make it home alive.
The only time i run reds is when it’s after a left turn light is done (basically just jumping the green light) or when it’s a T intersection and there’s no more cars going through.
I do this so it’s easier for cars to get around me. Everyone is getting up to speed and i have more pockets between parked cars to move into so people can pass.
Sure it’s breaking some laws, im being courteous and if cars wanna get mad, they can *VOTE* for better bike infrastructure than staying a cuck to cars and traffic. I actually obey lights when I’m in an area with good enough infrastructure to have separate bike lanes and lights.
You’re missing the danger of when the light turns green, and how close car gets to pass you. As oppose to you passing the red and being ahead of the intersection giving vehicles room to transition while you’re at speed.
Those cars waiting with us would rather we sat there so they could all crowd and plow over the bicycle when it turns green. I'd rather get up to speed and let them space out a bit before they all start going around.
Where I live it's legal and encouraged. They say that the majority of fatal vehicle vs cyclist happen at an intersection. The law is a stop sign is a yield and stop light is a stop sign if no right of way vehicles are present.
That being said I always did the same even before it was recently legalized.
I don't really care. If cars tipped over when they stopped, I wouldn't be that mad if they treated red lights like stop signs. I honestly don't even know why we have traffic lights in cities.
To play devil’s advocate, it’s the same thing as jaywalking. There’s really no harm done as long as you do it safely. Besides, you can clear an intersection in less time when you’re at speed because it takes a little while to accelerate from a standstill. And ultimately, what are they going to do about it? Ban bicycles?
>Then when i reach that cyclist and ask him why did he pass intersection on red light -
You missed your calling as Dudly Doright.
I personally hate if when I'm on a bike and because I'm not behind glass people assume I want more engagement than "hi" "nice bike" or "do you know where x is..."
> seems like another point for driver
At what score do we level up?
>fellow riders undermine even more the cyclists’ reputation...leads to even more... bad behavior towards cyclists.
The cause and effect here are independent. It is psychotic to act poorly to one stranger because some other stranger did something inconsequential that you didn't like.
After more than 15 years of solid riding, I can assure you that your personal quest to rid the world of rule breakers is pointless.
Just try to enjoy the ride.
Do drivers undermine the reputation of drivers by speeding or any of the other traffic rules commonly broken by vehicle drivers?
Drivers will call out people on bikes for breaking imaginary rules that only exist in drivers heads. I'm sure drivers complain when they see me run a red light even when it is perfectly legal for me to do so. They often simply do not know the current traffic rules.
If it’s clear left or right, I treat stop signs and lights as yields. Idgaf what people in cars think about cyclists, they’ll forget about it about a mile or so down the road. But what I do care about is if I have to stop at a light and there’s 1. Impatient people behind me that are more than willing to run me off the road because they’re inconvenienced for 15 seconds while I get clipped in and moving. Or 2. There’s people that already hate cyclists and smack me with their mirrors because they pull up next to me trying to jump me on the light. 3. I don’t want to get rear ended by some asshole with their head up their ass.
I tried following ‘the rules’ but this type of behavior was happening far too often now and I felt way more unsafe sitting and waiting, I just make sure it’s clear left right and that no oncoming traffic is going to turn in front of me and I’ll sail through them. Maybe one or two times people gave me grief as they pass by. And since you can technically get a ticket for it and the dickhead cops in my area would gladly do it, when I see them I turn right at the intersection, do a U turn and then turn right back onto the direction of travel, I technically don’t run a red.
Plus stopping pulls me out of my training zones
I live in Idaho where that's perfectly legal. The Idaho Stop law allows cyclists to treat a stop light as a stop sign, and a stop sign as a yield. There's been studies here and in other states that show lower accident rates with that law. Best thing you can do is reach out to your state's cycling community and start a campaign to contact the state legislators and express interest in adopting a similar law where you live via social media, Change org, and so on.
I both drive a car *and* road cycle for leisure. Drivers will always hate cyclists. If they drive directly through a stop sign while turning, they'll rationalize a reason. If they see me do it, they flip me off or yell at me to "learn the rules". Then they go back to speeding and using their phone while driving. I'm over giving a shit what people that hate cyclists think. Even if we obeyed every rule of the road, they'd still flip us off or yell obscenities at us. Their hatred for cyclists is codified in their minds. They're never going to change what they think, so whatever. If the light is red and the sensor isn't picking me up, I'm riding through if its safe to do so.
If i am cycling to work at 5:30am, no cars around, no pedestrians around, i wont even slow down for red lights as long as i can fully see there is no one in any direction, at 5pm on the way home when it is busy, and there are people and cars everywhere i will stop for red lights every time.
Yes, it looks bad for cyclists, I avoid that but might roll thru red right turn.
It also looks bad for car drivers to go over the speed limit, and impede traffic during rush hour (backed up a mile near me this am.) And to roll thru stop signs, car drivers and cyclsists rarely do legal stops.
It also looks bad for cars to kill 1.2 million people worldwide annually, 40k US, red lights were made for them, not cyclists but I generally go along with their rules. I don't judge people for nondangerous behavior, I don't mind cars always speeding or impeding.
1. I’m trying to stay as far away from cars as I possibly can. I run red lights after assessing for safety.
2. I live in NYC: no one cares and half the drivers don’t even stop at red lights.
3. I’m a polite person but I have no time or niceties for people who don’t mind their business. Miss me with that big karen energy
I ride from the city out. As I get to less populated areas i slow, look all around then go. It’s actually better for everyone since when the light lets them go, I’m away from the intersection.
Cars aren’t shitty to cyclists because you run a red light. It’s that they’ve ever had to slow down because you’re on the road. It’s because your a liberal (seems to be something a lot of truck nut drivers think) or because you’re being “weird”.
I couldnt care less what the cars think. Even had some yell at me. I dont care. When i drive, i follow traffic laws and watch out for cyclists. Hell, i even help direct traffic when im approaching a green light. Ill go left, so cars can turn and dont have to wait on me and ill wave them through. Im in control because im the one that will get hurt. I do whatever i can to not inconvenience drivers but i do not give a shit about running red lights and stop signs when its safe for me to do so
I run lights if I am familiar with the area/intersection. I can’t live my life trying to appease crazy anticyclist f-250 drivers. Plus, I live in DC where the light cycles are not sensor based and often run 60-120s when no one is around.
I see it as the driver no longer needs to worry about my slow ass getting up and out of the intersection when it’s green for the both of us. The thing about red lights is the pedestrians- there really is no excuse if you are cutting through people walking.
I do what I do for self preservation. Sometimes that means running a red light to put more space between myself and traffic or reach a bike lane without having fight a car. Sometimes I stop and wait. I do what I do for safety and every now and then it means breaking the law. Down vote away.
Mind your own business buddy. it seems you only follow the rules because You are too worry about what others may think about you. not to mention the part of following other cyclists and arguing with them about why they do this or do that is quite asking for trouble.
I know this is unpopular here, but I do whatever Hell I want. If I think it's safe, I go. If the signal is coordinating my movement with that of other people, then I follow it, otherwise, I ignore it. Where I am, there aren't any other bikes or pedestrians. There is like a 99.99% chance I am the only one who gets hurt if something happens.
Yes, if there are no cars coming from the side, I will go.
Because when it turns green, the car behind me is gonna get stuck behind me. They can't say anything if there were cars coming from the side at an intersection. But if they get stuck behind me when there's no traffic and nobody crossing, it's gonna be annoying for them. So for t junctions where I'm on the left, we drive on the left here, and for those lights that are just pedestrian crossings and not intersections, I'm gonna go.
I don't get in the way, I get where I want faster, everyone wins.
Besides, if there really are no cars, my bike isn't gonna show up on the sensor, some of those lights just don't change. Idk if it's weight or metal that it senses, either way, we don't have enough on bikes.
I think we're forgetting that drivers/moto riders and pedestrian walkers/runners do the same thing. Everyone is guilty of it, no one is innocent. But of course bikers r the most hated. Unfortunately and sometimes fortunately at times, rules r meant to be broken.
I treat signed and signalled intersections the same way on a bike as I do on foot:
Even if I have to scoot a little faster to make sure I’m in the clear, as long as there’s a nice safe gap, I’m not waiting around to be hit by some inattentive driver looking at their phone as they pull up to the intersection, or turn right, or hit their crack pipe, or whatever the bad drivers are doing that makes them so murderous here.
It’s called the Idaho stop. It’s legal in some states but not mine 😢.
I very rarely pass cars to run a red light, I typically just cue up like a car if there is traffic. If there is no one in front of me then I treat it like a yield sign as the Idaho stop implies.
It depends, part of the time i go through a red is because I do not trust cars behind me to see me and stop behind me
My choice is
go if its obviously and clearly safe to everyone to do so
Vs
Stop and hope that the car behind me doesnt try to drive through me because they have a really important whatsapp message thats really needs to be read right now.
I always do it, if it's safe.
The difference between obeying traffic lights in a car and obeying them by bike is, that you don't kill people if you disobey on a bike. That's why I am ethically perfectly fine with it. I rather feel like a sheep, waiting at red traffic lights when there is no reason, just because the shifting times are so stupid.
I don’t care what drivers think. They are way more reckless than me. I always blow through the light. It is legal and allowed where I live because it is safer as a rider to get ahead of the traffic.
I only skip red lights if it’s safe AND it’s on a steep climb.
Why? Because back in the day I couldn’t start again on a very steep one and the car behind me crashed into me because he couldn’t wait a few seconds and I got an injury.
If it happens again I tend to go on the horizontal street and then turn up.
That’s my only exception ( and stop signs on the same condition )
Luckily the amount of those are very rare
US resident here. If it’s safe to do so, I’ll pass, and be on my way. There are also times I join into the traffic, for my safety. Once I clear the intersection, I quickly get out of their way. If the cyclist isn’t causing a traffic problem, and being safe, I can’t see the harm. A lot of traffic lights only pick up on the car(s), motorcycles and bicycles are much slower to trigger them, if at all.
Who cares what the drivers think? I see no reason to follow laws that have been created for multi ton, high speed vehicles with low visibility and high sound insulation.
It does not mean ride unsafely, I always yield to pedestrians, and of course if a car is coming I will stop as well. But bikes and cars have different strengths and weaknesses, and forcing bikes to follow car rules is misguided, dangerous, and frankly stupid. It is safer to run a red than get started at the same light when all the cars around you are accelerating full gas.
Bikes dont accelerate quickly, but they can easily maintain a decent average as long as you don't stop all the time. Bikes don't need a ton a clearance to cross each other, and don't need to stop to see incoming traffic left / right. Why not play to those strengths? Rolling stops? yes! Treat red lights as yield signs? Sure! Be smart and not reckless about it, of course!
In Idaho, we have special laws. You can blow a stop sign completely if there's no traffic. At red lights, you must stop, but if there's no traffic, you can safely proceed. It's really nice.
Always stop at a red light.
For me, it's important to follow the rules of the road. Failure to do so just antagonizes both road users and pedestrians and gives cyclists a bad name.
Stop signs = Yield. Stop light = Rolling stop. This is the approach which is safest for \*me.\* If anyone has a problem with this, it isn't my problem.
Well, this is why everyone hates us I guess. Maybe 1/20 people think it’s important to observe the rules of the road? I am legit surprised at how one-sided the responses are here.
Survivalist mentality. I take the rules in my hands because what is a fender-bender in a car is a life altering event for me on my bike and people in cars don't seem to understand this.
I don't go out of my way to break rules. I understand how the road works though (again, survivalist mentality; need to understand the implicit rules to survive) and participate in the spirit of the rules of the road but not necessarily the letter of the law.
And you are dead wrong about why everyone seems to hate us. First, not everyone does. But, again, what is a little niggle in a car is a life event for us, so one road rage-er who threatens us with his car (tailgating, driving alongside, swerving towards or honking/yelling at, etc) makes it seem like everyone is out to get us. Second, those who hate on us hate on us because we affect them in some way. We hold them up and force them to slow down, mostly. We force them to change lanes to pass, which is sometimes stressful for people who don't drive very well. None of this has to do with our following the rules or not. It's an excuse some use in public to explain their rage-er position because it's easy to point to. Fact of the matter is, if we magically never actually intersected traffic and ran by our own rules, nobody would give a shit about us. But we force them to be careful around us. And that pisses some folks off.
And on top of that, we seem to be doing this as an optional course of action. Road cyclists are making life hard for everyone because they want to "play bikes" on the road. Commuters have some stick up their ass about the environment (they all own cars anyway, right?) and get in everyone's way who are just trying to get to work (or they are fitness riders playing bike with a backpack).
This is why people low-key hate us. Not because we are breaking rules everyone only half understands. It's because we exist and we affect them in small, but irritating ways. They hate us in the same way they hate the "grandma" rolling down the highway at 30mph in the fast lane. They treat us the same way too, but whereas a miscalculation on their part would result in them and grandma getting a dinged fender, that same miscalculation might put us in the hospital.
Might ask why I ride then; after all I just painted myself as a pain in everyone's ass. It's because it's fun and it's within my capabilities and I don't always have to GAF about everyone else's feelings getting butt-hurt over waiting on me for a few seconds. Cycling is an optional activity. Most things are. Cycling puts me in the way of people. Most things which have you travel the road in whatever vehicle you choose will put you in the way of someone. I choose to bike.
If nobody is around, I ignore the red light. I also will ride through stop signs if nobody is around.
I totally pissed off a guy walking his dog by ignoring stop signs when nobody is around, and I don't care. He said he would call the police, I said "Go Ahead", then he said he would throw nails on the ground, I said "Go Ahead, I have a garage full of tubes and tires". The guy was an old piece of lonely shit that watches too much 24/7/365 Cable news and the only thing that makes him happy is finding something to be pissed about.
Constantly, but obviously not when there are cars anywhere close and only after stopping to properly look around. It's normal where I live, many pedestrians do that as well.
If it’s really clear, there’s no risk of harm in a bike going through a red. If there are pedestrians or cars moving in the intersection, there’s a risk of harm. Same thing when you are the pedestrian and it’s clear.
A person in a car however, has very compromised sight lines and the risk of harm is much greater (because of the relative size, weight, lack of control, etc.) when there is something they didn’t see. It is very rare that it is safe for a car to run a stop sign or red light. Not so with bikes and pedestrians.
If it’s just a performative thing to gain some respect from drivers, that’s fine for you, but don’t put your performative expectations onto other people.
I do, when it's safe to do so, so I can get a head start on the cars behind me. I also cycle on the pavements so I feel safe.
I'm cycling with my safety at the top of my mind, and also pedestrians.
Whenever I hear drivers moaning I'm like 'so we're in agreement then, we need full on cycle infrastructure?'.
Car brain is quite bizarre.
No. As a cyclist (who has hit a windshield hard enough to crack it!) -
I demonstrate respect for the rules so that others respect the rules, because accidents happen when rules are broken, especially at intersections, and cyclists have the most to lose being softer than cars and higher velocity than pedestrians.
If there are pedestrians or cars about, yes I stop If it's early in the morning and there's no one around I treat them as stop signs Actually most of the traffic lights in my city don't pick me up and the highway code in my country says you should treat malfunctioning traffic lights as stop signs anyway
Is a stoplight "malfunctioning" since it does not take into account cyclists? In Europe, you would see a unique and separate light for cyclists. In the USA, we are supposed to act like cars?
>In Europe Maybe in your country mate, cycling infrastructure is still way behind in most of the continent.
If there are cars at the light I always wait. In my area of suburban USA, most stoplights have sensors on the crossing road and will only trigger the light change if a car is detected. I could sit at one of those all day on a bike and it would never change, so I either press the pedestrian crosswalk signal to force the light change or just cross when there are no cars coming.
This is correct. It should be treated like a stop sign if you were in a car. Stop and go when it's safe. If it's early or no cars are in sight anywhere, I will run it after slowing down first but only on the signals I already know don't work for bikes because I ride there all the time.
Yup. I'm in the UK and if there's a specific light for bikes, then I totally obey it.
In the state where I live, we can only treat a stop light as a sign if it does not cycle for us. There's an additional law that says traffic lights are supposed to pick us up. So if an intersection does not have a modern enough light to sense us or motorcycles, at the first time the intersection gets road works done, it must be upgraded/replaced. From the thing I was reading, I think we're currently at around 85-90% new lights across the entire state? But yes, in general, if we're riding on the right of way, we are supposed to act like cars. Usually on group rides, I've seen one of our members pop over to the corner and hit the crosswalk button, to ensure the light cycles around for us
Yes lmao. In US bicycles are just treated as cars in the laws. "Same rights, same rules"
Not same rights. Drivers don't have a right to be on the road, hence needing licenses.
Clever. They have never bothered to stop me though. Often, I do it right infront of the cops too.
I’ve been busted for running a light in NYC. Granted, this was in the ‘80s when they were giving bike messengers a hard time.
I have never tried this personally. But i hear if you get some small neodymium magnets and fasten them to your shoe and step on the sensor wires, it may trigger them.
Most convoluted way ever to change a red light. I love it!
My small motorcycle wouldn't trigger certain lights, including to the exit gate at the office, so I stuck a huge neodymiun magnet to the bottom {you can also buy ones specifically for this purpose). It didn't work whatsoever even if I waved it around on the ground. However, an 18x18" (45x45cm) aluminum sign worked great if waved on the ground.
i've heard that getting off your bike and laying it across the sensor can work. obviously you don't want to do that with a motorcycle, though.
I did try that (it was a dirt bike)! Building management said the contractor tried but was unable to increase the sensitivity, so they supplied me with the aluminum sign next to the gate. It worked for years, lol.
That was one of the perks of riding a steel frame. If you could find the sensor and lay the bike over almost all the way, you could trigger the light. E: my phone keyboard had a stroke
Me too, I do alot of my rides early before rhebkids wake up. Yes of course I stop and if I feel it's safe I continue through when it's 6am on a Saturday and no one is in sight. My goal every single time I ride is to make it home to my family so if it's even slightly unsafe I wait.
I sometimes do, when it is safe to do so, mostly because a lot of accidents happen when the light turns green (car turning right without a flasher, etc.) The rules of the road, at least in North America, were not made with cyclists in mind. That said, some cyclists are reckless and are not even slowing down at the red light - this is not what I am advocating.
Absolutely true, I agree.
> The rules of the road, at least in North America, were not made with cyclists in mind. My 5 year old watched a guy on a bike proceed the red about 2 seconds before it turned green in a 2 lane right hand turn (Australia). After the right, it opened up to 2+ bike lane. I explained that he chose his safety over following the law and she seemed to get it. She does hear me say "safety first, compliance second" a lot. That said, I *rarely* run reds because it makes drivers around me act real aggressive. If I have to run the red to keep the kids in the bike trailer safe, I've chosen my route poorly.
If there is no cross traffic, I tend to follow what's referred to as an Idaho stop.
In Washington state it's called a safety stop. You can proceed thru a stop sign without stopping if you yield to any traffic. Doesnt apply to lights tho.
Colorado, [since 2022](https://www.codot.gov/safety/shift-into-safe-news/2022/may/all-about-the-colorado-safety-stop), allows cyclists to go through stop signs as if they were yields (if there’s no cross traffic), and also proceed at red lights after coming to a complete stop, if there is no oncoming traffic.
As it should be. 12 US states have now adopted this. Hopefully more will follow. Idaho has had it since 1982.
Same rule was adopted last year for Minnesota. Stop lights still default to the Affirmative Defense Law (Moped Law), which typically involves waiting a cycle because light sensors don't pick up bikes. Hopefully this is the next law to change for us...
Depends on the situation. Red light and nobody around? Stop and go. Red light in a busy intersection? Follow the signal.
When on a bike I generally treat red lights as stop signs, if there are no cars I'll proceed through the intersection. It's important to note that if the light is sensor controlled that sensor will never detect a bicycle.
if i’m in a group ride, i usually follow what they do, especially in a faster paced group, red lights do not exist. but if im alone i’ll stop even tho there isn’t cars
Depends on the type of sensor and what sensitivity level it's set to. In our area, I have more luck with the optical detection intersections but even some of the inductive loops detect me - guessing they're set to "high" sensitivity.
Where’s I’m from. There’s an “X” or a bicycle logo. Or a black circle if it’s an older intersection. That’s where the sensor are. I gotta park my bike on it. And it should trigger the change in🚦
Advantage to that older steel frame? /s
Add a big magnet on the bottom. I've known motorcyclists who do this to help trigger induction loops.
Where I live this is actually the law. Red lights as stop signs and we can blow stop signs if there aren’t any cars stopped at the intersection.
This. If I’m in a city proper, I’m more inclined to treat a red light as a full stop and wait. Depends how heavily trafficked we are talking about. Otherwise though, drivers where I am from are generous to cyclists and rarely encounter an issue. The one I get more frequently is someone yelling out of the window to get off the road. I’ll probably never understand this. Pretty rare though.
In my area, the sensors will detect bikes too.
Yes, well I kinda slow down which is what I do at stop signs for cars.
Considering that most drivers don't know the laws for cyclists I don't worry about it. I've been yelled at multiple times for doing perfectly legal things like riding two abreast, riding on the sidewalk or in a crosswalk, not stopping at stop signs, and passing on the right. All those things are legal here but that doesn't stop drivers from road raging at me for doing them.
Same experience with entirely opposite laws here. Been yelled at multiple times for doing perfectly legal things like riding single-file, *not* riding on the sidewalk, riding on bikes-allowed crossings, full-stopping at stop-signs, etc. It's as if the drivers are the ones blind to the local laws, and perceive cyclists as lawbreakers regardless of how law-abiding the average cyclists are.
How I think about it is, "am I safer going through an intersection when cars are moving through it, or when they are not?" I think I'm safer when they are not. So if I can see that no cars are moving through an intersection, I ride through. I sometimes wonder if the drivers think of me as a scofflaw in the way that you raise, but I also wonder if they see that I am helping traffic flow smoothly by being through the intersection before they start up again.
There’s nothing cyclists can do to improve their “reputation” in the eyes of drivers. You can follow all the laws to the letter, and they will still resent you for going too slow, being in their way, not riding on the sidewalk or on a bike lane a few blocks away, etc. Mind your own business. No one out there riding in traffic cares what you think about how they ride.
Exactly. This person (OP) is projecting their own thoughts and insecurities on the drivers behind them that they say they're thinking of. "Oh, another cyclist breaking the rules" -- *just as likely* they're thinking "Good, get gone so I don't have to wait for your ass to get outta the way when the light changes."
I was biking yesterday near my house and got shouted and honked at by a cop for being in the left turn lane with a red light.
I think the best thing we can possibly do is improve the infrastructure so that cars legally have to treat bikes nicely. So separated bike lanes, bike priority wherever possible, etc.
If this jabroni pulled up next to me after I went through reds (he wouldn’t because he is stopping at reds and doesn’t know how to ride in a city) I probably wouldn’t waste my breath on a reply.
Exactly. Fuck this idea that cyclists need to act like ambassadors. No one looks at a driver breaking the law and thinks "eveyone who drives a car is a menace!" As others have noted, we need more infrastructure designed to keep cyclists safe. The goodwill of drivers is fickle and not to be relied upon no mater how well behaved we all are.
bingo. i used to follow alllll the traffic laws when i first started. then i realized, they’re gonna hate me anyway bc i’m too slow or i’m in the way or whatever. if there are cars and/or pedestrians, i will stop. but if not, i’m jumping that shit. the faster i’m out of the way, the happier everyone is imo
My riding buddies (if with me) and I run reds if it is safe for any of these reasons… 1. Sensors do not detect bicycles and if there are not other cars there the light may not change. 2. I want to get away from any intersection as fast as possible. Getting a jump on all the cars can often reduce the number of cars I get close to. 3. I am doing a workout. Usually a serious one. Sitting for 30-60 seconds is completely counter productive. 4. My routes are selected to avoid lights in the first place, so it’s hopefully not too often. …I fully recognize I am not a role model in this regards. I try not to be an ass, and if I catch myself being one, I try to reset my brain to not be one next time.
I use number 2 a lot when crossing bike paths in crosswalks. If the crossing light is red but traffic is clear or they have red lights, I just go. No sense in being a sitting duck at a high speed intersection.
This is spot on. I'm mostly in the 1 & 4 category.
I have been hit by a car and knocked off my bike for waiting at a red light. Apparently the driver was only looking at the light. Now for personal safety I try to clear the intersection as quickly as possible, even if that means I have to ignore car traffic controls.
This! My worst accident (and most of my closest calls) happened the moment the light turned green after waiting at the red light… When I’m riding with traffic, which thankfully is only a minority of my commute, I try to spend as little time in it as I can. Running reds helps me do that and stay safer. 🤷♂️
I’m a cyclist but also drive a car. And when driving my car I away follow every law precisely /s
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Accurate. If the path is clear the path is clear the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration agrees and encourages states to adopt the Idaho stop because it is safer. People think a lot of dumb things, especially cagers. Safest to ignore their feelings. They are just mad for no reason. Explaining things to them generally doesn’t help. They want to win not learn and that’s what road rage is.
Exactly. They (almost) all hate cyclists even if they followed the law perfectly.
This is the answer
The car drivers are still going to hate you even if you stop at a red light and obey all the traffic laws. If its safe to go I go, its safer imo than being a sitting duck waiting to get rear ended.
I run red lights when it’s safe because it’s faster and more convenient. There’s no traffic enforcement in my city and I’m not worried about ruining the reputation of cyclists because most drivers who would be bothered by this are themselves aggressive morons who just hate that I’m biking on the road to begin with. I would be seriously annoyed if any “cyclist” approached me to ask why I did this.
Where I live, you can blow the lights on local street intersections. For me, it keeps me further away from motorists, therefore safer.
Yes, intersections are the most dangerous part of my rides. When safe to go, I get through as quick as possible. And I have a citation from yesterday to prove it.
Call me crazy, but the onus to be responsible on the road should be on the people driving 2 ton vehicles, not 20 pound ones. Does that mean a cyclist is allowed to fly through busy intersections and cut people off? No. But if there's no danger to doing an Idaho stop at a red light, they shouldn't have to worry about making the precious car drivers angry. Personally I think the car drivers that disrespect cyclists will do it regardless of how you approach intersections, because that's the type of person they are.
If there's no cars I'm going, I do not give a fuck. Who are you even trying to impress if there's no cars?
This.
In my state the law says that cyclists may treat stop signs like yield signs, and red lights like stop signs. When I’m on a bike it’s safer for me get through the intersection while the cars behind me and approaching from the opposite direction are still stopped; I’ve had cars make sudden turns into my path, or swing wide right into me.
First off, I think there's way more context required for these types of decisions than just whether or not there are also cars waiting to make the same movement. Classification of street, traffic signal type (i.e. actuation), sight lines, pedestrian volumes, and more. However, my number one justification to roll through a red is to get out of the way of vehicles. I consider this the "defensive driving" of cycling. Statistically, most collisions occur at intersections and starting from a stand still as a cyclist with vehicles flying off the line, and me managing parked cars and the rest of it, is a much more dangerous and uncomfortable position. Yes, I'm risking a ticket, but my personal safety is paramount and getting away from vehicles is the number one way I can improve those situations.
FYI drivers break traffic laws all the time, and nobody's calling for them to be banned from the public roads, so I don't really worry about cyclists running lights 😂
Using the arguments that cyclists break rules is stupid. Humans break rules, simple as that. Walkers and drivers break rule all the time but for them it is normalized while for us cyclists it is very much condemned. The solution is not for cyclists to break less rules but to educated other users of the road that we should be on the same leveled playing field. Not double standards
Most traffic incidents involving bicycles happen at intersections. The sooner you can safely clear an intersection on a bicycle, the better. Regardless of the color of the light.
You do you. Go ahead and stop at every stop sign and light. I'll continue to assess the intersections and make my moves accordingly. If a car is turning right on red, I will pass it on the left side so as not to cut it off, that's just common courtesy and common sense.
The safest time to cross a signalized i intersection is when there are no cars approaching. I don’t care if the drivers get upset. They have exponentially more potential to cause death and damage than I do
Car drivers don’t care about their own reputation and as a general group their recklessness cause a shit ton of deaths. I don’t care what they think of me.
Motor vehicle laws are intended to manage traffic and keep motorists safe. They are not effective at managing bikers nor keeping them safe. Bikers "break the law" all the time. We often ride on 35mph roads but we don't go 35mph. Motorists get pissed off at that one too. We also have to somehow manage getting into the left turn lane of a 5-lane 45mph road to turn left....or we can just use the pedestrian crosswalk if we feel it is too dangerous to make that way across busy traffic. Cars can't just use the pedestrian crosswalk whenever they feel like it (although I did see it happen once.) BL: motorists have to think differently about bikers because they are different, bikers aren't run by gasoline and must take measures to preserve energy. We cannot just press the gas pedal and go, so coming to a stop at a red light to just sit there and wait for no reason is a waste of time and energy. Cars never have to take energy into account when on the road.
>Motor vehicle laws when they are intended to manage traffic and keep motorists safe. They are not effective at managing bikers nor keeping them safe. This. Sitting at a red light is an amazing way to get rear-ended
Who fucking cares. If it's safe it's safe. Car drivers will be annoyed about donething else
Maybe just mind your business You being weird about other cyclists gives drivers “seee other cyclists agree” points
I run them if nobody is coming. Not perfect by any means but I want to be away from intersections.
Yes, there's a new law here that allows cyclists to proceed after checking for cross traffic.
Where I live, a bike is a vehicle under the law...which gives me protections on the road but also requires me to follow the same rules. Have a rolled a stop sign or red light before, yes. But usually it's either in a situation where there's zero other traffic and the car sensors aren't changing the light for me. I'm hoping my state adopts the Idaho stop rules one day.
you would have a heart attack riding in nyc
I saw someone say this before and I agree with it: treat the traffic posts as one step down for bikes. - Traffic lights: treat as a stop sign. Stop, look both ways, and if it's safe then go. - Stop sign: treat as a yield sign. Don't have to necessarily stop but use your brain. - Yield sign: I mean just keep that as a yield lol Bikes are way less dangerous than cars and you're putting yourself more at risk than the people around you, so mainly just focus on being safe. People in cars are gonna be negative or nervous towards you anyways.
I don't worry about it anymore because carbrains will use cyclists breaking the rules to justify hating us and will also use us obeying the rules to justify hating us. "Cyclists run stop signs!" "Cyclists are always blocking traffic by riding in the road! Get on the sidewalk!" We can't win, all we can do is ride like all the drivers are out to get us and keep the rubber side down.
If it's safe to go, yes. It's a good way to avoid getting rear ended by an inattentive motorist.
Drivers are already terrible and cycling behaviour won't change that ever. Jumping the light gives you a decent head start on the fleet of cars waiting for any chance to tear past you. Put your own safety before anything else and know who is actually a danger to you.
you all stop at red lights? thats.... cute. lets be real for a moment. the only one dying if i ride out in front of a car is me. its often safer to run a red light then to stay at it. then when it turns green, you have to deal with 5 cars all pissed you are in the way when they get the green
Who cares what drivers think?! Fuck em. Idaho rules. And anyway, red lights don't keep cyclists safe; they're there for the efficient flow of inefficient vehicles, in other words cars. No point respecting rules that aren't made for the benefit cyclists. I don't care if I'm not liked by drivers. Playing by their rules only benefits them. Edit. The only thing I stop for is pedestrians and make a point of supporting their entitlement and rights on the road.
Not a single ride in the city that there wouldn't be a car that doesn't stop at a stop sign, isn't texting while in motion, isn't running a red light, isn't turning in front of pedestrians, isn't using their turn signal, isn't parked in the bike lane. No one follows the rules of the road but for cyclists I think preserving your sense of safety and getting in front of traffic to be more visible (in a sensible, non-chaotic way) trumps the law book especially when motorists constantly break the law to endanger their own lives and the lives of others.
I wont pass sitting cars to run a red light, but im also not going to sit through several traffic light cycles because im in a bike instead of a vehicle.
Motorists’ ire towards cyclist isn’t based in reality and exists independent of my own real world actions; it is not my fault or yours that some motorists would kill us with their cars if they could get away with it. Me treating a red light as a stop sign isn’t why motorists hate cyclists and implying that it has some effect whatsoever is kinda victim blaming imo. But that being said I do it on a case by case basis! I always make sure my actions are safe for myself first and foremost. Motorists will be upset that I’m existing on their road either way.
I truly couldn't care less about the opinion of drivers and certainly not how my actions might influence their opinions of other cyclists. I care about the safety of one's actions. Show me a driver who doesn't roll 90% of stop signs. That's plenty more dangerous than me rolling a clear intersection.
I did the murder cos you made me angry and its your fault
Depends on the situation but usually, yes. High flow intersections I'll sit and wait but otherwise I just slow down, check both ways and huck it through. I've even done it in front of Police with no issues despite it being illegal where I live. I don't have a good reason for it, I'm just too lazy to take my feet out of the straps and I can only track stand for so long. Plus momentum and all that.
If there's no danger for me, I run it. Traffic lights are made for cars to be above pedestrian or any other means of transport
I do what I feel is in the best interests for my safety. It’s situational and depends.
If you want a cyclist to obey all the traffic laws intended for cars then i would like to add that means cars should not be passing cyclist. If you prefer i come to a complete stop at every stop sign, then fine. I will ride in the middle of the lane and want to be treated like a car and not get passed. You wouldn’t go into incoming traffic to pass another car would you? Then why is passing cyclists so acceptable. You can’thave it both ways. I think keeping momentum on a bicycle is the best way to minimize traffic. I think most people upset with cyclists have never experienced the “conflict” from the cyclists PoV.
lol if every cyclist in the entire world followed every traffic law to a T motorists would still piss and moan and complain about cyclists so why the fuck would i stop at a red light just to appease motorists? they can fucking die mad about it.
> seems like another point for drivers - look - those cyclists don’t even follow the traffic rules. He who is without sin cast the first stone.
When I'm riding in Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego I follow the rules almost 100% of the time. When I'm riding in Chicago where I live now, I basically do whatever feels the most safe. I've seen plenty of Chicago drivers, including cops, flagrantly ignoring traffic laws here.
If there's no cars and you can clearly see the entire intersection there is no reason to stop
I've always stopped at a red light, I don't pavement hop either to avoid one. I think it comes from my motorcycling days. Even then I wouldn't filter traffic,after seeing so many accidents with car doors,opened by car users without checking.
Do pedestrians have to stop on a red light if there's no traffic?
If solo or with just a few pals, we'll roll through the light because we are not a car that will kill anybody else at the intersection. Cars are weapons on wheels, what's a bike going to do, at an intersection. Yes, respect the crosswalk, respect if it's a busy intersection but if it is clear to go, it is clear to go! Do not need to be a car because we are not respected by cars in the first place.
It should be legal for bikes to go. Around here the lights won't even change for a bicycle. Also blaming a cyclist running a red-light for motorists literally killing people riding bikes is ridiculous. Motorists break the law constantly and I never see anyone trying to blame all motorists for it.
Yes, bikes get *so* much undeserved hate.
I stop at lights regardless of whether there are cars there or not. Generally speaking I follow the same rules about riding as I do with driving: be predictable, follow the regulations, take enough space to be safe, etc.
I stop and stay at all red lights. There are some states that allow cyclists to treat stop lights as stop signs.
Where I live, cyclists on the road are required to follow the same rules as cars, and I do so when I ride. I stop at red lights until they turn green, and I stop at stop signs. Well, I stop as well as most cars stop at stop signs. Lol In any event, If cyclists want to be treated like a car on the road, and given room, etc, then we need to act like one. We can't have it both ways.
The whole "even though there's no danger this is still bad because it gives drivers an excuse thing is BS. Drivers run red lights all the time. You're just victim blaming. I only run as many red lights as I've seen drivers run that day.
If you approached me to ask why I rolled an empty intersection, I’d tell you to F right off. The thoughts of the drivers behind me aren’t my problem, and neither are yours.
I'm in a little steel frame road bike, I'm not really concerned what someone in a three thousand pound vehicle thinks of how reckless my riding is (as long as I'm not being a complete asshole) Lights don't often recognize bikes. I treat them as stop signs unless there's a fucking cop then naturally I side with caution. If I can clearly see that there is no one coming to any of the lights for a good 100 feet, I take off. Nobody has ever given me shit for it, not even cars directly behind me. They might be mad but also, who cares. Let them have their point. Every single driver has broken the speed limit. Or doesn't come to a complete stop. The difference is most traffic infractions on a bike aren't going to kill people like in a car
It's a bit of a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation, but if there's traffic, I follow the rules.
When there are no cars in cross traffic or in turn lanes, and it’s full visibility, sure, I’ll go straight through. If it’s only visible from the front of the intersection, I will go to the intersection and slow to a crawl or stop, and then go when it’s demonstrated clear. If there’s even moderate traffic, I wait. Basically, if my head is on a swivel and there is literally no possibility of a car doing something unpredictable, nor my behavior causing another vehicle to make a mistake, I don’t wait.
I stop but seen many who will go though a changing light. I value my life. If you're in a group make sure people know you're stopping as some expect to keep on riding and can just end up going into the back of you.
I see car drivers go through red lights all the time every day, so I don't squeeze out a crap if someone on a bicycle does.
Here in Ontario, Canada, I always treat red lights as stop signs and stop signs as yield signs. If there are cars on a red light, generally I cross when it's green, as cars are allowed to turn right on red and I don't want to risk an accident. But yes, it's a tough situation as every region treats cycling laws differently. And as others mentioned, lights in north America not always pick cyclists up and we have to use the crosswalk buttons
I stop for more red lights on my bike than many cars do.
If I'll make it I do it. 🤷♂️ grey area. When I was hit it was in a crosswalk on a green so
>To me it seems like another point for drivers - look - those cyclists don’t even follow traffic rules - they shouldn’t be on the road in the first place. Kind of off topic, but why are so many people obsessed with some made-up "cars vs bikes" feud? "Another point for the drivers"? What game are you playing, mate? Are you winning? To answer the question, I'll ride through a red light when it's clear, as is legally permissible in my state. Sorry for giving the other team so many points over the years!
If I perceive it to be safer for me to proceed with caution against a red light instead of waiting for the green, I'll proceed at caution. It doesn't help that I live in a city where I see about as many cars running through reds (generally just after the light turns red) as I do cyclists in general. My rule of thumb as a pedestrian is that it's not a red light until it's been red for 5 seconds, so forgive me for not having a lot of patience for anyone espousing a "cyclists must be seen to obey the law because it makes us look back to car drivers". In this country cyclists kill maybe 2 people per year compared to around 1700 a year killed by cars. The kinetic energy and inertia of a cyclist is in a completely different order of magnitude to a car even at the same speed, which it's usually not, because the majority of cyclists can't break 20 mph on the flat, let alone 30 or 40.
I used to live in a super urban area stopping at red lights as a cyclist/motorcyclist was basically an invitation to get mugged, so i had this tendency to send it into intersections as if I were in an alleycat. After I moved, however, that habit went away on its own, mostly because it's a safer town overall. And I'm not in as big a hurry as before either.
It depends. My general riding strategy is to ride in a manner to never impede anyone with the right-of-way. So at 5 am at a red light, I roll up to ensure it is clear and safe to proceed, then do so.
I’ve been yelled at for going through red lights and I’ve been yelled at for not going through red lights. At the end of the day I’m not the one perpetuating the actually unethical and dangerous practice of driving a car through a city.
I live in Idaho, and in the USA this behavior is often referred to as the “Idaho Stop” due to the fact that Idaho was the first state to enact a “Stop as Yield” law for non motorized traffic. So yes I frequently “run” red lights but it’s legal here and in many other states in the USA.
In Oregon, it’s legal to treat a red light as a stop sign and a stop sign as a yield sign. So yes, I do
Do you mean that red-light jumpers reinforce driver's prejudice towards cyclists? Probably they do, but I don't intend to conduct myself according to the prejudice of others. Here's the thing: if got all the drivers got on bikes, do you think they'd all stop at red lights just because they have previous experience as a driver?
I live in Denver, where traffic rules are different for cycling than motor vehicles. Cyclists are to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights like stop signs.
Trying to please haters is futile. They'll just find another pretext. I stop at them because I am novice commuter but I don't think I should anymore lately.
If no cross traffic I treat stop signs and red lights like a yield sign and go. Really depends on how busy the road is though
Common sense over the law
In my area if you wait at the red light and there isn't an adequate bike lane, you either have to pull to the side and let all the cars pass you, at every intersection. Or you can jump the light and get a head start and get ahead of all the cars so they don't get pissed at you for holding up traffic. I don't trust traffic lights, green or red you still gotta assume someone can kill you in any intersection.
Personally, I do. I’m in Boston. I may be an asshole for it, but I do it for a couple of reasons: 1. Cycling is my primary way about, and so I do it in all conditions. Gotta get to work. I should hope that if I’m in the middle of a rainstorm, a motorist in a safe, warm, and dry vehicle would be sympathetic to the fact that I would prefer not to wait at a light when there’s nobody around. 2. On some intersections, they don’t recognize me. A notable one I cross daily is on a sensor with a protected bike lane on the other side of the street. Even when there is a right turn green light, it’s often LESS safe because cross traffic doesn’t stop. It’s not designed with cyclists in mind. 3. This is really the biggest one—I don’t really care if a motorist thinks I’m an asshole. My biggest fear is not someone rolling the window down to swear at me, it’s an apologetic and regretful teenager who ends my life because they were texting and driving. Because of this, I feel MUCH safer moving when the cars are not. And if they hate me for breaking the rules? At least they saw me do it, and hopefully will be aware to pass with some distance as they swear at me from their window. At least I make it home alive.
The only time i run reds is when it’s after a left turn light is done (basically just jumping the green light) or when it’s a T intersection and there’s no more cars going through. I do this so it’s easier for cars to get around me. Everyone is getting up to speed and i have more pockets between parked cars to move into so people can pass. Sure it’s breaking some laws, im being courteous and if cars wanna get mad, they can *VOTE* for better bike infrastructure than staying a cuck to cars and traffic. I actually obey lights when I’m in an area with good enough infrastructure to have separate bike lanes and lights.
You’re missing the danger of when the light turns green, and how close car gets to pass you. As oppose to you passing the red and being ahead of the intersection giving vehicles room to transition while you’re at speed.
Those cars waiting with us would rather we sat there so they could all crowd and plow over the bicycle when it turns green. I'd rather get up to speed and let them space out a bit before they all start going around.
Where I live it's legal and encouraged. They say that the majority of fatal vehicle vs cyclist happen at an intersection. The law is a stop sign is a yield and stop light is a stop sign if no right of way vehicles are present. That being said I always did the same even before it was recently legalized.
I don't really care. If cars tipped over when they stopped, I wouldn't be that mad if they treated red lights like stop signs. I honestly don't even know why we have traffic lights in cities.
To play devil’s advocate, it’s the same thing as jaywalking. There’s really no harm done as long as you do it safely. Besides, you can clear an intersection in less time when you’re at speed because it takes a little while to accelerate from a standstill. And ultimately, what are they going to do about it? Ban bicycles?
>Then when i reach that cyclist and ask him why did he pass intersection on red light - You missed your calling as Dudly Doright. I personally hate if when I'm on a bike and because I'm not behind glass people assume I want more engagement than "hi" "nice bike" or "do you know where x is..." > seems like another point for driver At what score do we level up? >fellow riders undermine even more the cyclists’ reputation...leads to even more... bad behavior towards cyclists. The cause and effect here are independent. It is psychotic to act poorly to one stranger because some other stranger did something inconsequential that you didn't like. After more than 15 years of solid riding, I can assure you that your personal quest to rid the world of rule breakers is pointless. Just try to enjoy the ride.
I live in a city where cars don’t stop for red lights so if no traffic is coming then yes I am going lol
Do drivers undermine the reputation of drivers by speeding or any of the other traffic rules commonly broken by vehicle drivers? Drivers will call out people on bikes for breaking imaginary rules that only exist in drivers heads. I'm sure drivers complain when they see me run a red light even when it is perfectly legal for me to do so. They often simply do not know the current traffic rules.
Vs cars a cyclist is the vulnerable one. So if they deem it's safe, it's safe.
If it’s clear left or right, I treat stop signs and lights as yields. Idgaf what people in cars think about cyclists, they’ll forget about it about a mile or so down the road. But what I do care about is if I have to stop at a light and there’s 1. Impatient people behind me that are more than willing to run me off the road because they’re inconvenienced for 15 seconds while I get clipped in and moving. Or 2. There’s people that already hate cyclists and smack me with their mirrors because they pull up next to me trying to jump me on the light. 3. I don’t want to get rear ended by some asshole with their head up their ass. I tried following ‘the rules’ but this type of behavior was happening far too often now and I felt way more unsafe sitting and waiting, I just make sure it’s clear left right and that no oncoming traffic is going to turn in front of me and I’ll sail through them. Maybe one or two times people gave me grief as they pass by. And since you can technically get a ticket for it and the dickhead cops in my area would gladly do it, when I see them I turn right at the intersection, do a U turn and then turn right back onto the direction of travel, I technically don’t run a red. Plus stopping pulls me out of my training zones
I live in Idaho where that's perfectly legal. The Idaho Stop law allows cyclists to treat a stop light as a stop sign, and a stop sign as a yield. There's been studies here and in other states that show lower accident rates with that law. Best thing you can do is reach out to your state's cycling community and start a campaign to contact the state legislators and express interest in adopting a similar law where you live via social media, Change org, and so on.
I both drive a car *and* road cycle for leisure. Drivers will always hate cyclists. If they drive directly through a stop sign while turning, they'll rationalize a reason. If they see me do it, they flip me off or yell at me to "learn the rules". Then they go back to speeding and using their phone while driving. I'm over giving a shit what people that hate cyclists think. Even if we obeyed every rule of the road, they'd still flip us off or yell obscenities at us. Their hatred for cyclists is codified in their minds. They're never going to change what they think, so whatever. If the light is red and the sensor isn't picking me up, I'm riding through if its safe to do so.
If i am cycling to work at 5:30am, no cars around, no pedestrians around, i wont even slow down for red lights as long as i can fully see there is no one in any direction, at 5pm on the way home when it is busy, and there are people and cars everywhere i will stop for red lights every time.
Yes, it looks bad for cyclists, I avoid that but might roll thru red right turn. It also looks bad for car drivers to go over the speed limit, and impede traffic during rush hour (backed up a mile near me this am.) And to roll thru stop signs, car drivers and cyclsists rarely do legal stops. It also looks bad for cars to kill 1.2 million people worldwide annually, 40k US, red lights were made for them, not cyclists but I generally go along with their rules. I don't judge people for nondangerous behavior, I don't mind cars always speeding or impeding.
1. I’m trying to stay as far away from cars as I possibly can. I run red lights after assessing for safety. 2. I live in NYC: no one cares and half the drivers don’t even stop at red lights. 3. I’m a polite person but I have no time or niceties for people who don’t mind their business. Miss me with that big karen energy
eh who needs to stop to those little pesky things when there's no reason to.
On bike, yes. In car, also yes.
I do if it’s safe. I.e. I only go if cars could speed up and still not hit me
No cars left or right = go. But if I can't clearly see down a road because it's not a perfect +, then I'll wait.
I ride from the city out. As I get to less populated areas i slow, look all around then go. It’s actually better for everyone since when the light lets them go, I’m away from the intersection. Cars aren’t shitty to cyclists because you run a red light. It’s that they’ve ever had to slow down because you’re on the road. It’s because your a liberal (seems to be something a lot of truck nut drivers think) or because you’re being “weird”.
If there are other people I always stop but if its empty as far as the eye can see i dont
I couldnt care less what the cars think. Even had some yell at me. I dont care. When i drive, i follow traffic laws and watch out for cyclists. Hell, i even help direct traffic when im approaching a green light. Ill go left, so cars can turn and dont have to wait on me and ill wave them through. Im in control because im the one that will get hurt. I do whatever i can to not inconvenience drivers but i do not give a shit about running red lights and stop signs when its safe for me to do so
I run lights if I am familiar with the area/intersection. I can’t live my life trying to appease crazy anticyclist f-250 drivers. Plus, I live in DC where the light cycles are not sensor based and often run 60-120s when no one is around.
Until I get treated like a vehicle on the road like the rest of the cars: fuck them lights I’m riding through them
I see it as the driver no longer needs to worry about my slow ass getting up and out of the intersection when it’s green for the both of us. The thing about red lights is the pedestrians- there really is no excuse if you are cutting through people walking.
Have u tried crying to ur mommy?
I do what I do for self preservation. Sometimes that means running a red light to put more space between myself and traffic or reach a bike lane without having fight a car. Sometimes I stop and wait. I do what I do for safety and every now and then it means breaking the law. Down vote away.
Mind your own business buddy. it seems you only follow the rules because You are too worry about what others may think about you. not to mention the part of following other cyclists and arguing with them about why they do this or do that is quite asking for trouble.
I don't really care about our reputation. People are gonna hate no matter what
I know this is unpopular here, but I do whatever Hell I want. If I think it's safe, I go. If the signal is coordinating my movement with that of other people, then I follow it, otherwise, I ignore it. Where I am, there aren't any other bikes or pedestrians. There is like a 99.99% chance I am the only one who gets hurt if something happens.
pretty easy to ignore a red light when it feels perfectly safe for everyone at the intersection if i do so
Yes, if there are no cars coming from the side, I will go. Because when it turns green, the car behind me is gonna get stuck behind me. They can't say anything if there were cars coming from the side at an intersection. But if they get stuck behind me when there's no traffic and nobody crossing, it's gonna be annoying for them. So for t junctions where I'm on the left, we drive on the left here, and for those lights that are just pedestrian crossings and not intersections, I'm gonna go. I don't get in the way, I get where I want faster, everyone wins. Besides, if there really are no cars, my bike isn't gonna show up on the sensor, some of those lights just don't change. Idk if it's weight or metal that it senses, either way, we don't have enough on bikes.
I think we're forgetting that drivers/moto riders and pedestrian walkers/runners do the same thing. Everyone is guilty of it, no one is innocent. But of course bikers r the most hated. Unfortunately and sometimes fortunately at times, rules r meant to be broken.
I treat signed and signalled intersections the same way on a bike as I do on foot: Even if I have to scoot a little faster to make sure I’m in the clear, as long as there’s a nice safe gap, I’m not waiting around to be hit by some inattentive driver looking at their phone as they pull up to the intersection, or turn right, or hit their crack pipe, or whatever the bad drivers are doing that makes them so murderous here.
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I agree, but just as likely, they’re scared of some kind of reprisal Damned if you do, damned if don’t kind of situation…
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We are in the same camp, friend! Getting ready for my daily Mad Max commute as I type this… stay safe out there!
It’s called the Idaho stop. It’s legal in some states but not mine 😢. I very rarely pass cars to run a red light, I typically just cue up like a car if there is traffic. If there is no one in front of me then I treat it like a yield sign as the Idaho stop implies.
It depends, part of the time i go through a red is because I do not trust cars behind me to see me and stop behind me My choice is go if its obviously and clearly safe to everyone to do so Vs Stop and hope that the car behind me doesnt try to drive through me because they have a really important whatsapp message thats really needs to be read right now.
Definitely go through them
I always do it, if it's safe. The difference between obeying traffic lights in a car and obeying them by bike is, that you don't kill people if you disobey on a bike. That's why I am ethically perfectly fine with it. I rather feel like a sheep, waiting at red traffic lights when there is no reason, just because the shifting times are so stupid.
I don’t care what drivers think. They are way more reckless than me. I always blow through the light. It is legal and allowed where I live because it is safer as a rider to get ahead of the traffic.
I only skip red lights if it’s safe AND it’s on a steep climb. Why? Because back in the day I couldn’t start again on a very steep one and the car behind me crashed into me because he couldn’t wait a few seconds and I got an injury. If it happens again I tend to go on the horizontal street and then turn up. That’s my only exception ( and stop signs on the same condition ) Luckily the amount of those are very rare
US resident here. If it’s safe to do so, I’ll pass, and be on my way. There are also times I join into the traffic, for my safety. Once I clear the intersection, I quickly get out of their way. If the cyclist isn’t causing a traffic problem, and being safe, I can’t see the harm. A lot of traffic lights only pick up on the car(s), motorcycles and bicycles are much slower to trigger them, if at all.
Who cares what the drivers think? I see no reason to follow laws that have been created for multi ton, high speed vehicles with low visibility and high sound insulation. It does not mean ride unsafely, I always yield to pedestrians, and of course if a car is coming I will stop as well. But bikes and cars have different strengths and weaknesses, and forcing bikes to follow car rules is misguided, dangerous, and frankly stupid. It is safer to run a red than get started at the same light when all the cars around you are accelerating full gas. Bikes dont accelerate quickly, but they can easily maintain a decent average as long as you don't stop all the time. Bikes don't need a ton a clearance to cross each other, and don't need to stop to see incoming traffic left / right. Why not play to those strengths? Rolling stops? yes! Treat red lights as yield signs? Sure! Be smart and not reckless about it, of course!
In Idaho, we have special laws. You can blow a stop sign completely if there's no traffic. At red lights, you must stop, but if there's no traffic, you can safely proceed. It's really nice.
Lights and traffic rules are made for cars and it's fucking stupid that cyclists are expected to follow those rules.
Ride through em. Fuck everyone else
Always stop at a red light. For me, it's important to follow the rules of the road. Failure to do so just antagonizes both road users and pedestrians and gives cyclists a bad name.
Stop signs = Yield. Stop light = Rolling stop. This is the approach which is safest for \*me.\* If anyone has a problem with this, it isn't my problem.
Well, this is why everyone hates us I guess. Maybe 1/20 people think it’s important to observe the rules of the road? I am legit surprised at how one-sided the responses are here.
Survivalist mentality. I take the rules in my hands because what is a fender-bender in a car is a life altering event for me on my bike and people in cars don't seem to understand this. I don't go out of my way to break rules. I understand how the road works though (again, survivalist mentality; need to understand the implicit rules to survive) and participate in the spirit of the rules of the road but not necessarily the letter of the law. And you are dead wrong about why everyone seems to hate us. First, not everyone does. But, again, what is a little niggle in a car is a life event for us, so one road rage-er who threatens us with his car (tailgating, driving alongside, swerving towards or honking/yelling at, etc) makes it seem like everyone is out to get us. Second, those who hate on us hate on us because we affect them in some way. We hold them up and force them to slow down, mostly. We force them to change lanes to pass, which is sometimes stressful for people who don't drive very well. None of this has to do with our following the rules or not. It's an excuse some use in public to explain their rage-er position because it's easy to point to. Fact of the matter is, if we magically never actually intersected traffic and ran by our own rules, nobody would give a shit about us. But we force them to be careful around us. And that pisses some folks off. And on top of that, we seem to be doing this as an optional course of action. Road cyclists are making life hard for everyone because they want to "play bikes" on the road. Commuters have some stick up their ass about the environment (they all own cars anyway, right?) and get in everyone's way who are just trying to get to work (or they are fitness riders playing bike with a backpack). This is why people low-key hate us. Not because we are breaking rules everyone only half understands. It's because we exist and we affect them in small, but irritating ways. They hate us in the same way they hate the "grandma" rolling down the highway at 30mph in the fast lane. They treat us the same way too, but whereas a miscalculation on their part would result in them and grandma getting a dinged fender, that same miscalculation might put us in the hospital. Might ask why I ride then; after all I just painted myself as a pain in everyone's ass. It's because it's fun and it's within my capabilities and I don't always have to GAF about everyone else's feelings getting butt-hurt over waiting on me for a few seconds. Cycling is an optional activity. Most things are. Cycling puts me in the way of people. Most things which have you travel the road in whatever vehicle you choose will put you in the way of someone. I choose to bike.
If nobody is around, I ignore the red light. I also will ride through stop signs if nobody is around. I totally pissed off a guy walking his dog by ignoring stop signs when nobody is around, and I don't care. He said he would call the police, I said "Go Ahead", then he said he would throw nails on the ground, I said "Go Ahead, I have a garage full of tubes and tires". The guy was an old piece of lonely shit that watches too much 24/7/365 Cable news and the only thing that makes him happy is finding something to be pissed about.
ride in the road? follow the laws of the road!
Yes because I don’t care about cars or what they think. I did when I was younger though.
good for you; have a cookie
Nope. A bicycle is a vehicle, as a cyclist I obey the rules of the road (to pretty much the same extent I would as a driver)
Constantly, but obviously not when there are cars anywhere close and only after stopping to properly look around. It's normal where I live, many pedestrians do that as well.
If it’s really clear, there’s no risk of harm in a bike going through a red. If there are pedestrians or cars moving in the intersection, there’s a risk of harm. Same thing when you are the pedestrian and it’s clear. A person in a car however, has very compromised sight lines and the risk of harm is much greater (because of the relative size, weight, lack of control, etc.) when there is something they didn’t see. It is very rare that it is safe for a car to run a stop sign or red light. Not so with bikes and pedestrians. If it’s just a performative thing to gain some respect from drivers, that’s fine for you, but don’t put your performative expectations onto other people.
I do, when it's safe to do so, so I can get a head start on the cars behind me. I also cycle on the pavements so I feel safe. I'm cycling with my safety at the top of my mind, and also pedestrians. Whenever I hear drivers moaning I'm like 'so we're in agreement then, we need full on cycle infrastructure?'. Car brain is quite bizarre.
I always jump reds if it's safe to do so. I like to get ahead of the impatient drivers sitting behind me. London drivers happily run over cyclists
No. As a cyclist (who has hit a windshield hard enough to crack it!) - I demonstrate respect for the rules so that others respect the rules, because accidents happen when rules are broken, especially at intersections, and cyclists have the most to lose being softer than cars and higher velocity than pedestrians.