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Philly here as well. There are practical reasons for bikes going through red lights and stop signs. 1. We want to clear the intersection and get to the other

Philly here as well. There are practical reasons for bikes going through red lights and stop signs. 1. We want to clear the intersection and get to the other side ahead of the traffic. Car-bike accidents occur most often at intersections rather than mid-block. Getting through the intersection before the light turns green is a way to relieve worry about getting right hooked or sideswiped by a car. Cross traffic, if any, is visible and avoidable. Cyclists choose to "risk it" because the real risk at intersections comes from oncoming and in-flow traffic. 2. It takes a lot of energy to start up again from a dead stop. Average speed will drop A LOT from stopping unnecessarily, moreover, it is far more tiring to get back up to speed. It means more sweat and discomfort. Some people feel, especially on forums such as this, that all traffic laws need to be observed "to the letter" by every vehicle including bicycles. That's overly strict and impractical. It is why cops almost never "pull over" cyclists who run stop-signs. There is no good reason to do so unless the cyclist was deliberately precipitating emergency evasive maneuvers from motorists.

eertami 9y ago
>There are practical reasons for bikes going through red lights I'd hardly call "I have a desire to be killed by a car" or "I harbour a blatant disregard of the saftey and wellbeing of those around me" practical reasons. The laws are written for the protection of everyone, not solely to inconvenience you. Stop signs aren't something we really have in my country, but cycling through red lights has been the cause of death and injury for both cyclists and pedestrians. I find it horrifying that you're so quick to disregard even the most fundamental rules of the road and worse yet aggressively defend your anti-social behaviour.
- crispyambulance 9y ago
  > quick to disregard even the most fundamental rules of the road and worse yet aggressively defend your anti-social behaviour. Such behavior is, actually, the norm. It has been going on since the dawn of traffic control. Cars and bikes are intrinsically different. Traffic laws can't address everything and are broken (or deliberately not enforced by police) for pragmatic reasons all the time.
- Fricken 9y ago
  Here's a good article that links to a study on Scofflaw cyclists: https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/new-study-shows-scofflaw-cyclists-dont-break-law-any-more-drivers.html https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/new-study-shows-scofflaw-cy... “Bicyclists, perhaps despite popular conception, really don’t break the rules at any greater rate than any other modes: pedestrians or drivers,” said Aaron Johnson, one of the authors. “When there’s a disregard for the rules it tends to come from efforts to negotiate infrastructure that really wasn’t built for them.”

eertami 9y ago

>There are practical reasons for bikes going through red lights I'd hardly call "I have a desire to be killed by a car" or "I harbour a blatant disregard of the saftey and wellbeing of those around me" practical reasons. The laws are written for the protection of everyone, not solely to inconvenience you. Stop signs aren't something we really have in my country, but cycling through red lights has been the cause of death and injury for both cyclists and pedestrians. I find it horrifying that you're so quick to disregard even the most fundamental rules of the road and worse yet aggressively defend your anti-social behaviour.

crispyambulance 9y ago
> quick to disregard even the most fundamental rules of the road and worse yet aggressively defend your anti-social behaviour. Such behavior is, actually, the norm. It has been going on since the dawn of traffic control. Cars and bikes are intrinsically different. Traffic laws can't address everything and are broken (or deliberately not enforced by police) for pragmatic reasons all the time.
Fricken 9y ago
Here's a good article that links to a study on Scofflaw cyclists: https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/new-study-shows-scofflaw-cyclists-dont-break-law-any-more-drivers.html https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/new-study-shows-scofflaw-cy... “Bicyclists, perhaps despite popular conception, really don’t break the rules at any greater rate than any other modes: pedestrians or drivers,” said Aaron Johnson, one of the authors. “When there’s a disregard for the rules it tends to come from efforts to negotiate infrastructure that really wasn’t built for them.”