It, sadly, makes sense in some instances. Many drivers become filled with rage if you slow them down even a smidge - and it's no secret bikes accelerate from a

It, sadly, makes sense in some instances. Many drivers become filled with rage if you slow them down even a smidge - and it's no secret bikes accelerate from a dead stop more slowly than cars. Hell, you see this in Manhattan. The streets are nearly clogged, a bike will beat a car in these situations, but still, drivers will fly into an unbelievable rage if a cyclist slows them down by a fraction of a second coming out of an intersection. In those cases starting your acceleration before the light is green avoids a lot of wrath. You're taking advantage of that brief 2-second dead zone when there's is no significant traffic within the box. It is not a risk-free maneuver, but even the most hardened cyclist would rather not be yelled at by an asshat in a SUV.