Running red lights not worth it

[Andy Goodell]

See the article and video: http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2011/10/portland_bicyclists_who_run_re.html

I only biked like this for a few months when I started commuting 4 years ago, but realized that I was just spending more time at some lights that you just can't get through.

I feel like this concept also applies to drivers that feel the need to pass cyclists no matter how inopportune the moment is. On any given road, they might feel that being behind me for 10 seconds is slowing them down, but without a doubt they zoom ahead to traffic again and in no time are behind the very car they were previously behind anyway, whether they passed me quickly or waited for a clear and safe moment to pass.

It's just that feeling like progress needs to be made no matter what. If there's the opportunity to go faster for a minute, even if it means the overall average speed is the same, it appears typical that the opportunity is taken.

Hmmm. I feel like Yoda might have something to say here.

[kulik_000]

Sometimes (rarely) when I'm controlling the lane in traffic a car behind me will start to pass as we are closing the gap at a red light queue.  I guess they didn't notice that the reason I was going so slowly is because the car in front of me was going so slowly, and that the light was red, so we would all have to stop anyway.

 

In the most extreme cases, the car will pull aside me and then pull back into my space.  A quick knock on the window stops them, but they are generally belligerent about the situation.  I've only once followed up with the police, because the driver very deliberately pulled sideways into me after I knocked on the window.  The police officer I spoke with on the phone followed up with me and claims that they spoke with the operator (based on license plate), but that because there was no injury or property damage, and no other witnesses, they could only verbally reprimand them.

 

I will stress that normally, most motorists do not seem to have a problem holding their place in the queue behind me, and that most of those who make the mistake of trying to pass realize the situation and pull back in (more or less) behind me.  Having someone persist and pull aside me doesn't happen more than once or twice a year, and I can always tell that it's happening.

 

Bruce Kulik

[MaggieO]

This kind of impatient, dangerous motorist behavior is really part of the appalling lack of education and testing of motorists and the failure of some police departments to enforce the vehicle code. Nothing's going to really change until we require training, more comprehensive tests and periodic written and behind the wheel (even a simulator) testing.

Usually I ignore ignorant motorist behavior but I was particularly irritated Tuesday night.  I'd just given a talk at a training academy for transportation engineers - an overview on addressing bicycle and ped traffic in project documents.  I was bicycling home, controlling the right lane (too narrow to share) of a street with two lanes in my direction, extremely light traffic, when a driver laid on the horn behind me. It's hard to convey to an audience the way that kind of crap feels.

Maggie O'Mara, P.E.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Engineer

Sacramento

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From: kulik_000 <kuli...@comcast.net>
To: BicycleDriving <bicycle...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Fri, January 13, 2012 10:01:59 AM
Subject: Re: [BicycleDriving] Running red lights not worth it