Comments on: Running Red Lights: Not Safe

By: Erick

Erick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:26:03 +0000

Snappers almost forgot yes I did filter to the front and stayed right instead of in the middle… theres a fire house near there and I like to stay close to the curb in case the fire engine comes out in a hurry, that way I can hop onto the curb and get out of the way.

By: Erick

Erick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:16:45 +0000

Hey guys/gals just saw my view count was up thought it was odd… a few more things on this video you might find interesting. The road the cyclist is crossing is Campbell Airstrip (minor artery) and Tudor considered by AK as a highway… we don’t have many bike lanes and oddly on the side me and the other cyclist are on has no bike lane but on the other side there is a space on the side called a bike lane but motorists don’t respect it (AK = Oil Company Nation.) at night this intersection decent to cross with red lights as waiting for cars will mean getting paint balled or worse. I love the article though I found it very true BTW the cam is mounted to my Surly Nice Front Rack so it’s unobstructed… I mainly had it on for driver aggression but I want to be fair in my postings if I see cyclists doing things like that and ignore it I don’t think it does any good to just post motorists doing bad things when cyclists do equally bad things…

By: Colin

Colin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:02:27 +0000

I’ve been cycling in traffic for 25 years or so. If cyclists want the full protection of the traffic laws, they need to fully obey traffic laws. There’s nothing that irritates me more than cyclists running reds or riding pretty much full speed on sidewalks or public plazas. There’s a certain kind of cyclist with this holier-than-thou attitude where they place themselves above everyone else, and they make the rest of law-abiding cyclists look like jerks.

What I usually do is stop about three or four cars back from the stop line. As a result I find that I get up to speed at the same rate as traffic once the light turns green. Depending on what the traffic is like that may mean me passing some cars, but if the street is narrow I will just come to a stop and deal with the light traffic as needed.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:17:59 +0000

What are thoughts on red lights when its just for a crosswalk? No turning, all traffic goes straight but there’s a crosswalk and a red light. Is it acceptable to move through that light?

By: Ron Newman

Ron Newman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:30:06 +0000

In the absence of bike boxes, I prefer to wait just *beyond* the crosswalk, not inside it, so that I don’t block pedestrian traffic. There’s usually just enough room for one bike to fit there.

By: Andres Salomon

Andres Salomon — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:48 +0000

Boston Biker: I’m not aware of any. I’d be interested to see it.

explohub: I *love* PDX’s bike boxes. I’d never heard of them before visiting Portland, but they were so incredibly useful that I want them everywhere. Drivers are much less likely to get angry when bikers are waiting in clearly marked areas.

By: matt

matt — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:01:26 +0000

the reason I usually run red lights is b/c if I don’t I will get run over by other cyclists bent on running every one! then it becomes a habit.

these are good points though. i will endeavor to stop whenever I can.

By: J

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:44 +0000

It was my understanding that bike boxes are intended for left turn, not to “filter to the front”.

Bostons first bike box, on commonwealth avenue, will be painted expressly so bikes can go to the left, not so they can cut the line and dictate the speed of acceleration.

By: explohub

explohub — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:05:22 +0000

any thoughts on PDX’s bike boxes???
http://www.portlandonline.com/TRANSPORTATION/index.cfm?c=46717

By: Boston Biker

Boston Biker — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:04:44 +0000

Andres: I have seen a survey that shows that cyclists run reds basically because of two reasons, they feel it is unsafe, or they are in a hurry. I will post the links to it once it has been published (which should be soon actually). I am sure if I was to look harder I could find something that already exists, do you know of any?