watched a cyclist blow through a red light yesterday with zero hesitation. it was a T intersection with him going straight and road coming in from the left. There were cars waiting to turn right so and the road to the left is an incline to the intersection so I’m not clear how he could be certain there was not a car coming up to turn left. I can only imagine what drivers in the other cars must have been thinking. As a cyclist, it always pisses me off when other cyclists blatantly break the rules of the road.
People do some seriously stupid shite out on the roads for sure. That guy is an idiot.
Do you get pissed when you are driving when other drivers do stupid things and think it’s a bad reflection on your as a driver?
Unfortunately, the onus is disproportionately and frequently on the more vulnerable road user to “take the high road” if you will.
Pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles. Everyone talks about the jaywalker, the douche roadie, and the squid doing something stupid one out of 50,000 times.
Everyone is OK with their own spouse driving their car like an absolutely selfish piece of trash. Normal behavior.
Since that onus is on us though, doesn’t change that we shouldn’t do what we can.
Do you get pissed when you are driving when other drivers do stupid things and think it’s a bad reflection on your as a driver?
Yes!
The T road was coming in from the cyclist’s left? So he was in the right hand shoulder with no road on his right?
I guess I don’t see the issue. We do that all the time here and think nothing of it. The only way you can get in the way is if a vehicle tuning left from the T swings wide on to the shoulder, and that is easy enough to see and avoid. Or the light changes on you and the car turning left on to the T has to wait, forcing the car behind it to go around it on the right. Again, you just have to look for that to avoid it. Not a big deal.
I realize it is illegal, but it isn’t dangerous.
Ready to be crucified for the above statement. Have at it, its just the internet.
Do you get pissed when you are driving when other drivers do stupid things and think it’s a bad reflection on your as a driver?
If you want to live in the fantasy world where cyclists aren’t seen as a nuisance and annoyance out on the roads (at least in the a lot of the US anyway). Feel free. But idiots like this guy do not help the situation.
I’m with you on this - I have a T intersection with stop signs on my route to work. I seldom stop when I am going straight along the top of the T.
Man, you will be in rage all day then
.
That’s not where I live… I am questioning the OP that as a cyclist himself, why would you think like that? Isn’t this perpetuating the stereotype ourselves? Yes, I agree the fact is that no matter how we ride, we are the nuisance on the road to motorists, and no amount of “well behaving” is going to change that.
The T road was coming in from the cyclist’s left? So he was in the right hand shoulder with no road on his right?
I guess I don’t see the issue. We do that all the time here and think nothing of it. The only way you can get in the way is if a vehicle tuning left from the T swings wide on to the shoulder, and that is easy enough to see and avoid. Or the light changes on you and the car turning left on to the T has to wait, forcing the car behind it to go around it on the right. Again, you just have to look for that to avoid it. Not a big deal.
**I realize it is illegal, but it isn’t dangerous. **
Ready to be crucified for the above statement. Have at it, its just the internet.
a few things
- it’s illegal. the light was red. It hadn’t just changed.
- no shoulder
- the dangerous part for the rider was on the corner to his left are trees and apartments so he could not see further down the road to his left. also on the road to his left the right turn lane had waiting cars also blocking his view so he likely would not even see a car until he was crossing in front of the left turn lane. I’m not saying a left turning car wouldn’t be able to stop if they saw him but I wouldn’t take that risk.
Do you get pissed when you are driving when other drivers do stupid things and think it’s a bad reflection on your as a driver?
unfortunately thats not how it works for cars/trucks etc
It’s more like you get lumped into a group by type of vehicle or race/gender. Somebody does something on a bike = all cyclist.
That’s not where I live… I am questioning the OP that as a cyclist himself, why would you think like that? Isn’t this perpetuating the stereotype ourselves? Yes, I agree the fact is that no matter how we ride, we are the nuisance on the road to motorists, and no amount of “well behaving” is going to change that.
I don’t think I’m perpetuating the stereotype when I’m on a forum full of cyclists who know the stereotype is BS. I agree that no amount of “well behaving” is going to change that but I still don’t like a cyclist blasting through a red light anymore than a car doing so.
Not all T-junction lights operate the same way. Some will cycle the cars turning left in the same lane/flow as the cyclist going straight while it gives a right arrow to the “tee” coming into the main road.
We have lots of those here. You would see a red for the lane the “tee” folks are turning right into and possibly assume the opposite flow to be red also. Also, 3-way and 4-way stop signs. If you’re in line with others, own your lane/spot and take your turn in line. If nobody there, blow it. Slow up from your 30mph roll, maybe 15. Make sure a car also isn’t going to blow it. Cars at 3 and 4 ways tend to get very confused, and if you’re there first by 100 yards…best you can do is roll it.
Back to the “tee stop light”.
So yeah, you see that legally a lot here. People continue straight thru the green while it’s letting folks turn left/right.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.819231,-78.7051167,113m/data=!3m1!1e3
The road on the left here operates this way. The hospital side might rarely have a car exiting straight/left. So no need to stop both directions of travel on the main road.
Also, while running a red…you can go safely since legally the left turning car is supposed to turn into the near (left) lane anyway. Not the right lane, like here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.826924,-78.711043,88m/data=!3m1!1e3
Here’s what I’m guessing is actually at issue here…if like this…yeah, I’d stop. That’s a suicide call there, somebody runs the left at 40mph screetching tires and plows you as you run the red straight.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9224242,-78.7279588,56m/data=!3m1!1e3
That girl is one door opening away or lane change from being toast. Good skills though.
Technically she only ran one red. The first one right in front of NYPD. The rest were all green.
I think they were probably in more danger from the pedestrians than the cars.
As a cyclist, it always pisses me off when other cyclists blatantly break the rules of the road.
Everyone breaks the rules - drivers, pedestrians, cyclists. And studies have found that drivers and cyclists break them at about the same rate.
Personally, I care more about drivers breaking the rules, since 30,000 people die and hundreds of thousands of people are injured by car crashes. YMMV.
Do you get pissed when you are driving when other drivers do stupid things and think it’s a bad reflection on your as a driver?
Not even a close comparison…Not. Even. Close.