5 ms·
From my experience the main reasons are habit and laziness. I agree with the article -- It takes a lot more personal effort to get yourself moving than it does
by webnrrd2k 11y ago
From my experience the main reasons are habit and laziness.
I agree with the article -- It takes a lot more personal effort to get yourself moving than it does to step on a car's accelerator pedal. It takes even more effort when you come to a full stop on a bicycle. Once you get moving it's not as big a deal to keep accelerating until you get to your cruising speed, though, so there is more of an incentive to just slow down a bit and run stops/lights.
Ever since I got a ticket for running a stop as a kid I've been strict about coming to a full stop at all stop signs and red lights. It bugs me to see people blow through stops on bicycles, mostly because of safety reasons -- it's just asking to get hit by a car.
But I'm also super-paranoid when I'm on a bike. If I get in an accident I may have had the legal right to do whatever, but I'm still the one going to the hospital (if I'm lucky).
- jakejake 11y agoI ride a bike to work sometimes and I'll slow down, then go through stop signs on a small street if there's nobody nearby. Stop lights, I'll only go through them after coming to a stop and checking for traffic. It's nuts to just go through a red light at full speed, you're bound to get hit at some point. There's an intersection near me with heavy biker commuter traffic and they blow through the light all the time, I keep expecting to witness a death one of these days.