Stoplights and You

it depends if they have the cameras that take pix of your license plate.

and obviously on other things, traffic etc. but if there is no other car around and you have already stopped at the red light it's up to you i think.

also if the light is yellow, gun it through, DONT come to a halt. that causes way more accidents then speeding through a yellow.

like if the light has just turned yellow, there is at least a 50% chance the person behind you wants to make the light. keep driving and make it fast.

i typically allow a 2 second window for red lights & have never been pulled over for it tho im pretty good at scanning for cops

*checks to make sure still on iltrmb*

i meant like, on a bike. they did just put in those red light cams in Denver tho

oh sorry. i didn't realize this was on the bike board. i suppose i should take my aggressive driving talk elsewhere.

lol sorry i thought this was ile, blame it on site new answers

so embarrassing. sorry bikersz

i wasnt clear in my post, but i think both yr input is totally relevant. because even when im on a bike, im worried abt getting hit by car, but today i could have been hit by another bike.

as i approached a red light at a quiet 4 way that i know extremely well, i slowed to about 5 mph and looked right (it was clear). as i prepared to look left, a voice called out "heads up," so i stopped. as racer girl quickly rode through, about 5 feet in front of me, she said in very exasperated manner "DONT RUN THE LIGHTS, MAAAAAAN."

i laughed and then proceeded. i resented being schoold, but of course she was correct on the merits. im rather sure id have seen her anyway, but my intention to disregard the light was a clear risk to her.

on the other hand, if i didnt roll some lights on my way to work, it would take at least 5 minutes longer.

(im pretty sure id have seen her because she really was totally hot btw)

i'm usually really good about obeying lights, but i did run a red the other night. it was late, no one was around, it was drizzling and i was like "fuck it".

haha, when i'm at a red light with other bikers i sometimes feel like there's an "uh, i'll do it if you'll do it" vibe.

No police + no pedestrians + no junction + no other risks = run the lights if I'm tired or in a hurry or want to retain momentum.

haha, when i'm at a red light with other bikers i sometimes feel like there's an "uh, i'll do it if you'll do it" vibe.

-- Jordan, Friday, 30 May 2008 15:21 (34 minutes ago)

Haha, I've totally experienced this in the past!

No police + no pedestrians + no junction + no other risks = run the lights if I'm tired or in a hurry or want to retain momentum.

-- Mark C, Friday, 30 May 2008 15:40 (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

This is my approach too. We are obv lycra louts who should be decapitated by irate sunday times readers, or something.

my formulation as i finished my commute was that cyclists:red lights as drivers:speed limit.

yet it bothers me that im a bit of a scofflaw on this. and i can understand joe suv hearing me argue the above and deciding cyclists are jerks.

I stop if daylight and/or busy. Check if clear, proceed if I can get through before the next car gets there. Pretty much.

At night if there are no cars (headlights) coming and no other cyclists (with streetlights everywhere it's never really dark) I'll probably just go through. Especially true for red lights on my way uphill.

Probably like 80% of the intersections I cross are one-way streets, so you don't have to be able to suss both ways, just keep your eye on the oncoming side as you approach.

what's a stoplight

nice work bell labs

i mean isn't the convention of yelling "CLEAR!" at a red light pretty much accepted by cyclists in group rides? tacit approval of the red light running, i'd say.

Wait till the Brits get wind of that.

i once got lectured by j0n v4ughters for running a yellow/red light while doing an interval by myself 10s off the front of a 80 rider group training ride. i'd been out there for like 4 minutes alone, it wasnt like i attacked through the stop light. he was cool but, s'like- dude yr in the pack, yell for them to stop. and why are you risking yr neck with us losers?

also if the light is yellow, gun it through, DONT come to a halt. that causes way more accidents then speeding through a yellow.

This is totally wrong from a car-driving standpoint. Yellow means caution, i.e. slow down to a stop. A biker was killed recently in my neighborhood turning left on yellow when a driver decided to try to beat the light.

Running lights is asking for trouble. Maybe you won't get hit, but how will you feel when a car swerves and hits someone else?

No police + no pedestrians + no junction + no other risks

+ no other traffic. I don't wanna help project the lawless cyclist image so even if it's an empty ped xing I will stop if there are cars around who would see my transgression.

traffic lights are signs are for cars ffs.

No-o, traffic lights are for road users. But you probably peadl on the pavement anyway ;)

There's a couple of left turns (in the UK) that I know very well and feel comfortable running red lights on. I don't do this in places I'm unfamiliar with though. I do run the lights when it's deserted at night, but that's more because I feel stupid stood up looking at a traffic light for 45 seconds while no one is around.

i'll never outright run a red, but total postman stop on several choice ones - but damn this town and its unwritten stoplight/stopsign/jaywalking rules, used to make me feel stupid for stopping at a stop sign but now i don't care, i wld rather be alive & unmaimed than blow through - i even see cars run reds like all the time!

momentum plus learned road logic minus ego seems to be the winner here

I just think "would I do this if I were driving a car?" and the answer is almost always no. Goes for 1-way streets, too.

i more think 'would i do this if i were riding a motor cycle?'

dan m otm re: charging yellows with oncoming traffic looking to turn. rip that dude :( oh wait, i mean lol he deserved it right!

i basically blow stop signs like its my job---within reason. that is, no one's waiting? go. car is going the opposite direction? go. car traveling parallel to you is just about to take off when you get to the line? go ("pilotfish").

with lights, i'm waaay more cautious. generally, i won't blow red lights if there's any kind of traffic around. danger + scofflaw biker image. then again, if there's a car waiting next to me and it's clear in both directions and no one's making a left, peace. the drivers may resent it, but i say sour grapes. plus i like to be out ahead of them once they get off the line because it's easier to see me.

oddly, i feel like most law-scoffing i do is actually with my own safety in mind. defensive biking.

i feel like such an asshole for my posts on this thread! blame site new answers

I don't mean to make anyone feel like an asshole, but I drive a car around too (though happily not nearly as much as I used to) and am regularly freaked the fuck out by things other drivers _and bikers_ do.

gbx i hope to one day rides bikes with you!

ie gbx all otm

If I'm the only one around, I'm not waiting for a green light ever, I'll use the green man from a departed walker if needs be too!

gbx i hope to one day rides bikes with you!

-- rrrobyn, Thursday, 5 June 2008 17:20 (Yesterday) Link

ditto, homey