stop signs and traffic lights
KaktusJaque
Posts: 141 Member
I recently read an article about a group of riders that were all pulled over for running a stop sign http://pvpost.com/2013/08/23/prairie-village-police-ticket-26-bicyclists-for-disobeying-stop-sign-20654
Wanted to post here for discussion to see who does and does not obey stop signs and lights.
I almost never stop for a sign unless there is a car already there. Traffic lights are a different story for me, Im not so brave to run a traffic light if its red for me. I will though if there are no other cars around.
So what do you do?
Wanted to post here for discussion to see who does and does not obey stop signs and lights.
I almost never stop for a sign unless there is a car already there. Traffic lights are a different story for me, Im not so brave to run a traffic light if its red for me. I will though if there are no other cars around.
So what do you do?
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Personally, I'll never run a red light. I did once. Only once. I mistimed my turn and nearly got planted. I was shaking for about 10 minutes afterwards, thinking "*THAT* was your warning. You won't get another one". I have not done it since.
Stop signs, it depends on the traffic, if it's empty roads, I'm unlikely to run through them, but slow significantly.0 -
Run the red? No, although I will push a hot yellow into red if I think I'm unable to slow safely in time. I have been known to run stop signs, especially when I have good sight lines and there is no traffic but I slow based on the idea of the Idaho stop (using them as a yield). Near where I used to live in Oregon there was a training ride that rolled through one of the small towns in the rural areas west of town and there was a long stretch with a stop sign in the middle that group rides would usually blow through...until the sheriff got wind of it and staked it out. Tickets galore.0
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I obey them all, except when all alone when there is just me and a stop sign and high visibility exists to the extent that no car could possibly be around. Even then, I go through it slow.
Guess I'm trying to maintain good habits for my kids. My oldest comes with me on some back road rides and I want him to learn; especially when he starts driving too.0 -
Safety safety safety... I'll do as much as I need to in order to be safe and respectful of others on the road.
Stop signs in quiet neighborhoods I generally treat as yields.
Stop signs on busy streets I stop at (or at least slow as much as I can without having to unclip)
Traffic lights I almost always stop at... only time I treat them as yields is on quiet streets where it's a T intersection and I'm going straight through in the outside lane (i.e. I'm not turning or cutting across lanes/traffic).
If there are other people around me (pedestrians, cyclists, cars), I'll always yield to them, and I'm always careful to acknowledge/thank/waive when they yield to me. IMO, showing drivers some basic courtesy is the best way to improve driver/cyclist relations. That 30 seconds I stop/yield isn't going to make or break my ride.
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I always obey lights. Stop signs depend on the area and traffic, but I'm always looking before I roll through. If there is even one car present, I stop. We don't need motorists hating us anymore than they already do.0
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I slow at stop signs, giving the right of way to a car/truck getting there first. If there is noone there, I roll through.... in a group ride, the leader will shout: "rolling". But, Stoplights... I always stop if red. If the light needs a car to trigger the light (often does in the country) and there simply are no cars, then I'll cross when safe.
I have seen cyclist slow up to a stop sign where cars are waiting their turn... then they blow through it. The drivers of the cars get upset and I feel this is rightly so. If we expect them to share the road, we need to be courteous as well.0 -
Safety safety safety... I'll do as much as I need to in order to be safe and respectful of others on the road.
This. The other day some driver yelled at me "You have rules to follow a**hole!" after he caught up to me at the next light (after I went through the previous red). I always slow and/or stop at intersections and I will pick the safest moment to cross red or not. I believe moving with cars when a light first turns green is more unsafe than crossing an intersection when clear of opposing traffic. And if a cop ever pulls me over, I'll tell him that and I will likely win the argument. I don't bluntly run red lights that may cause some significant violation--my #1 priority is to cross intersection with my safety in the highest order, #2 to be as the least burden to the flow of traffic.0 -
I almost never stop for a sign unless there is a car already there. Traffic lights are a different story for me, Im not so brave to run a traffic light if its red for me. I will though if there are no other cars around.
I feel I should explain myself a bit better, don’t want ppl to think I'm one of those jerk bike riders. My road rides are 90% farm roads. The roads for the most part are on one mile grids. Every intersection has a 4 way stop sign. I can see for a great distance if there are any cars around, (until the corn grows too high). These are the stop signs that I usually go right on through provide there are no cars there already. The stop signs that are in the residential areas, I do slow down for and will stop and wait my turn if there are cars waiting. I won't go through a red traffic light in town or a residential area regardless, but the ones that are out in the farm areas, (only two) those I will be more inclined to go through when there are no other cars around.0 -
Don't run the red.
However, there are 2 lights where I regularly ride that won't trip and there are NO pedestrian buttons to push the light change
(can you say a Backwards Town?). After the 5th light change to everyone BUT me, I ran the Red. Freakin Dangerous too cuz its a major highway.
I'll cruise through a few neighborhood stop sign slow if I have clear visual. And the streets have to be sleepy quiet, too. Daylight hours only.
Will never blow a stop sign on main traffic roads or a 4-way stop.
(eta: meh, I change my mind. I forgot about this one segment. There's one section of highway intersections off/on ramp that I'll go the red light to get across while the rest of the cars stay put. I get across fast, the cars aren't held up by me when their turn comes, everyone wins. And I did this in front of cops, too.)0 -
Living in Melbourne with commuting and riding on busy roads, I obey all the road signs. There is too much of a chance of getting clipped by a car or pedestrian if not.
Plus it is a very contentious issue with cyclists here, regularly there are articles in the paper about cyclist and then every asshat jumps in about how bad cyclists are and that they deserved to be driven off the road, with the next best line being about registration of bicycles and having licences etc.
So in my own way I am trying to improve relations. That's not to say that I haven't accidently ridden through a red light or stop street and I mean by accident.0 -
I live in NYC and we have the same problem as the person from Melborne. Theres not a lot of respect for the road from many drivers or bicyclist. Most of the time, bikers run red lights here. I stop at red lights and stop signs. It sometimes feels like I'm the only one who does it.0
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The lights are there for a reason - damn right they should get pulled over if they disobey traffic laws!
It's people who run red lights & disobey traffic laws who give the rest of us cyclists a bad name - and gives the anti-cycling lobby a stick to beat us with!0 -
The lights are there for a reason - damn right they should get pulled over if they disobey traffic laws!
It's people who run red lights & disobey traffic laws who give the rest of us cyclists a bad name - and gives the anti-cycling lobby a stick to beat us with!
^^^this - it's the "pedestrian on a bike-shaped-object" that mainly causes that effect in my experience - well, that and cycle messengers in the Big Citys but they're always a bit of a law unto themselves and usually either calm down and get a proper job, or take themselves out of the gene pool anyway.
Though it's important to remember that traffic lights were invented to aid traffic and pedestrian flow, not to increase safety. Anything that causes stops and starts (especially in heavy city-centre traffic) will always cause the odd numpty to fail to stop in time. Which is another reason WHY we need to be careful in these situations.0 -
I don't ever run lights but have been known to slow and roll through a stop sign. But I never blow through any stop sign. That is just asking to get run over!0
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I've heard of a movement to try and get the laws changed so that cyclists can treat stop signs as yield signs, and red lights as stop signs.
I'll be the first to admit that I roll through 4 way stop signs, but only if I can see that there is no cross traffic. If there is, then I'll see if they are letting me go, but if it doesn't look like it, I'll stop. I always stop for red lights, and if there is no cross traffic I may go, but if there is even one car then I'll just wait it out.0 -
WHY do we feel some kind of psychological pressure to roll through?
As I very slowly rolled through a deserted intersection with a stop sign the other day, I thought back to this thread with a tiny twinge of guilt added (hah). It is not a big deal to unclip and put a foot down for a second or two. Is it??
Does it feel stupid to stop when nobody is around at all?0 -
I have always stopped at all traffic lights and stop signs. However, I recently started slowing and looking at stop signs and if there are no cars around I've been rolling through them. I will always stop at traffic lights however....in my opinion that's just asking to get hit.
Chelle0 -
I always stop at lights, but if I am out in the country and there is a four way stop... I will probably slow down to make sure it is clear, then blow through it.0
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I always stop at lights, but if I am out in the country and there is a four way stop... I will probably slow down to make sure it is clear, then blow through it.
^ This.0 -
I CHOOSE to blow through lights and stop signs when it is safe knowing full well that I can be ticketed just like a motorist.0
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It's people who run red lights & disobey traffic laws who give the rest of us cyclists a bad name - and gives the anti-cycling lobby a stick to beat us with!
This!!!!
In addtion to the obvious laws that cyclists should be obeying on each and every ride we do for your own safetly, and the safety of motorists - think about what you are doing out there on the bike! If you wouldn't do it in a car, don't do it on a bike.
Additional benefits of obeying hte law by stopping: Every stop I do provides a chance to practice clipping in and accelerating once the light is green (race start practice), and every stop sign gives me the chance to accelerate after stopping with a track stand (good practice for singletrack riding/racing).0 -
The lights are there for a reason - damn right they should get pulled over if they disobey traffic laws!
It's people who run red lights & disobey traffic laws who give the rest of us cyclists a bad name - and gives the anti-cycling lobby a stick to beat us with!
I disagree. If it is safer for the cyclist to cross a intersection during red then he or she should do so. I'm not advocating blind disregard to the light and laws; however, there are sometimes when waiting for a green light is more hazardous to cross a intersection with traffic then when it is totally clear and other traffic are behind red.
I had this conversation with my cousin who is a detective (on police force for 20+ years) he agreed most officers would be on the side of the safest time to cross a intersection. Especially in the case where I live where there are no pedestrian signals, bike lanes, etc.
If a cyclist or pedestrian slows to yield to traffic and crosses when clear & safe there should be no repercussion to this IMO. I have several cycling buddies who are lawyers (and represent bike law type cases) I will bounce this theory off them as well.0 -
The lights are there for a reason - damn right they should get pulled over if they disobey traffic laws!
It's people who run red lights & disobey traffic laws who give the rest of us cyclists a bad name - and gives the anti-cycling lobby a stick to beat us with!
I disagree. If it is safer for the cyclist to cross a intersection during red then he or she should do so. I'm not advocating blind disregard to the light and laws; however, there are sometimes when waiting for a green light is more hazardous to cross a intersection with traffic then when it is totally clear and other traffic are behind red.
I had this conversation with my cousin who is a detective (on police force for 20+ years) he agreed most officers would be on the side of the safest time to cross a intersection. Especially in the case where I live where there are no pedestrian signals, bike lanes, etc.
If a cyclist or pedestrian slows to yield to traffic and crosses when clear & safe there should be no repercussion to this IMO. I have several cycling buddies who are lawyers (and represent bike law type cases) I will bounce this theory off them as well.
Good luck with that theory. A law is a law. Red light means you must stop - no matter what your "theory" is....
http://bikeleague.org/content/state-bike-laws-0
Here's the Louisiana specific law on the books for stopping at lights and stop signs on a bike...
"Louisiana does not provide any modifications to the requirement to come to a complete stop when directed to stop by traffic control devices and does not authorize bicyclists to disobey traffic lights that fail to detect bicyclists.
In Louisiana bicycles are vehicles according to the statute that defines vehicles and a person riding a bicycle has all of the rights and duties of the driver of a vehicle as provided in Title 32 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, except as to those provisions which by their nature can have no application."
Source: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§32:1(92); 32 §1940 -
Another reason that I wouldn't want to live in Louisiana. In Pennsylvania you are allowed to proceed through a red light after a complete stop if your vehicle will not trip the light sensor. This provision relates specifically to motorcycles and bicycles.0
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Good luck with that theory. A law is a law. Red light means you must stop - no matter what your "theory" is....
A law is not a law in New Orleans (especially when most police don't even know we have 3-foot law for passing). No such thing as jaywalking around here. I've been hit by a car once in my 20+ years of cycling, and the dude that hit me paid my medical fees in full (and paid for a new bike). Least he could do since he ran a red light and was drunk.0 -
Speaking of NOLA law--a buddy of mine was a messenger after Katrina and was stuck in the city when things got bad afterwards. Some crooks were trying to get into his place and he was able to fight them off. Ended up finding up a cop on the street and upon telling him about it, the cop suggested stealing a car to get out of the city!!!0
