Ridenparadise
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Isn't the point of this that traffic jams are caused by traffic (and infrastructure), not by cyclists?
Bike riders running red lights
- Thread starter Big JD
- Start date
Art Vanderlay
Hourly daily
Bike riders, stop running red lights
rearviewmirror
Likes Dirt
It's easier to ride through red lights than it is dismount and run through them.
Mywifesirrational
I however am very normal. Trust me.
I worked as a bicycle courier in Melbourne in my younger days spending 6 years on the bicycle then another 3 on the motorbike. I have run thousands and thousands of red lights in times gone past, I also did it on the motorbike, wrong way streets the wrong way, when people yelled at me I'd yell back ''I'm only going one way!" road through buildings, ran from police on both bicycles and motorbikes and generally broke every road rule possible. it was a lot of fun.
Back in those days a red light was worth $20, in 99? 2000? it became $205 after a bicycle messenger did some damage to a car jeff kennet was in. Once the $205 fine was brought in I started on a motorbike, fines where cheaper. I knew the regular police on a first name basis and new all the codes they use when you are fined. I was always respectful of police, especially the bicycle police and always sadi g'day when riding past. Its amazing what they will let you off when you are always polite to them.
In those days we got payed to deliver stuff fast, one company I worked for advertised a 7 minute delivery time in the CBD! and that's from the booking time, not when you where told. You could only make these deliveries by breaking the law. If you where slow, you didn't get any express work and hence earned a pitiful wage. No excuse but the police understood that and perhaps why they were often lenient.
In all that time I never had an accident that was my fault, not even close. When you ride professionally you get very good at it and predict peoples intentions quite well. I only got hit when I was riding along in bike lanes, minding my own business and a car would turn in on me. karma i guess.
I also managed in those years to really ^%$# up some pedestrians, broken bones ambulances, police reports... It was always a pedestrian would run out without looking or warning,for a tram, through a red man, because it was raining. Never my fault, but if you swerve to avoid them and a car passing you will nail you.
My bicycle / motorbike courier days ended when a 4x4 failed to stop at a stop sign and I hit and throw into the parked cars, karma again maybe.
I commute 4 days a week currently, for about 250km weekly commute riding. I do not run any red lights or break to many laws, I still ride on the foot paths a bit, but never busy ones and quite slowly. I do not consider this to be bad. There's a lot more bicycle commuters now days and a lot of those people don't have a clue as to how to ride in traffic, I surprised there's not more cyclists being maimed.
Cyclist should not be running red lights, its dangerous and car drivers really seem to hate it. But at the same time the average car driver has very little respect for cyclists (and also trams, buses, trucks, motorbikes and other cars), I regularly get screamed at, things thrown at me, swerved at, you name it, and I generally only ride in bike lanes or on roads with a wide parking area that keeps me out of the flow of traffic.
I ride 35km to work then again on the way home. Melbourne's road infrastructure is not tolerating the amount of car traffic. Cycling to work is not promoted near well enough, more roads should be converted to have bike paths - at the expense of car lanes. There is no future in more lanes, more roads, it only leads to more cars and more angry car drivers. Except the car driver cannot understand this.
personally I find lyrca'd roadies on bike paths to a bigger problem than red lights, they have no respect for other cyclists and will constantly ride the wrong side of the bike lane forcing on coming riders to swerve off the bike path and will often cut people off when passing dangerously close. I quite enjoy running them off the path when they do this to me, Little things amuse little minds...
summary, cyclist should not be running red lights, it's dangerous and angers other road users. karma will get you!
Back in those days a red light was worth $20, in 99? 2000? it became $205 after a bicycle messenger did some damage to a car jeff kennet was in. Once the $205 fine was brought in I started on a motorbike, fines where cheaper. I knew the regular police on a first name basis and new all the codes they use when you are fined. I was always respectful of police, especially the bicycle police and always sadi g'day when riding past. Its amazing what they will let you off when you are always polite to them.
In those days we got payed to deliver stuff fast, one company I worked for advertised a 7 minute delivery time in the CBD! and that's from the booking time, not when you where told. You could only make these deliveries by breaking the law. If you where slow, you didn't get any express work and hence earned a pitiful wage. No excuse but the police understood that and perhaps why they were often lenient.
In all that time I never had an accident that was my fault, not even close. When you ride professionally you get very good at it and predict peoples intentions quite well. I only got hit when I was riding along in bike lanes, minding my own business and a car would turn in on me. karma i guess.
I also managed in those years to really ^%$# up some pedestrians, broken bones ambulances, police reports... It was always a pedestrian would run out without looking or warning,for a tram, through a red man, because it was raining. Never my fault, but if you swerve to avoid them and a car passing you will nail you.
My bicycle / motorbike courier days ended when a 4x4 failed to stop at a stop sign and I hit and throw into the parked cars, karma again maybe.
I commute 4 days a week currently, for about 250km weekly commute riding. I do not run any red lights or break to many laws, I still ride on the foot paths a bit, but never busy ones and quite slowly. I do not consider this to be bad. There's a lot more bicycle commuters now days and a lot of those people don't have a clue as to how to ride in traffic, I surprised there's not more cyclists being maimed.
Cyclist should not be running red lights, its dangerous and car drivers really seem to hate it. But at the same time the average car driver has very little respect for cyclists (and also trams, buses, trucks, motorbikes and other cars), I regularly get screamed at, things thrown at me, swerved at, you name it, and I generally only ride in bike lanes or on roads with a wide parking area that keeps me out of the flow of traffic.
I ride 35km to work then again on the way home. Melbourne's road infrastructure is not tolerating the amount of car traffic. Cycling to work is not promoted near well enough, more roads should be converted to have bike paths - at the expense of car lanes. There is no future in more lanes, more roads, it only leads to more cars and more angry car drivers. Except the car driver cannot understand this.
personally I find lyrca'd roadies on bike paths to a bigger problem than red lights, they have no respect for other cyclists and will constantly ride the wrong side of the bike lane forcing on coming riders to swerve off the bike path and will often cut people off when passing dangerously close. I quite enjoy running them off the path when they do this to me, Little things amuse little minds...
summary, cyclist should not be running red lights, it's dangerous and angers other road users. karma will get you!