Why cyclists should be able to roll through stop signs, ride through red lights

Re:Why cyclists should be able to roll through stop signs, r... by shkkmo on Thursday May 15, 2014 @08:03PM (#7753042)

So, I hear you hate bicyclists?

On the flip side:

I have lost count of the number of time I have stopped for pedestrians at crosswalks in Oakland, only to have a car blow past me, sometimes coming close to hitting pedestrians I had stopped for.

As a pedestrian on MLK, I have to be VERY careful of when crossing crosswalks because many cars are NOT paying attention.

Clearly there are many incompentent and thoughtless bicyclists and drivers.

> I spoke to an SFPD officer on Market and 2nd the other day, and he watched as five different cyclists ran a red light stopping vehicular traffic on Market. I asked him why he wasn't giving tickets to the cyclists, and he told me that he is specifically not allowed to. He reiterated to me that the official policy of the SFPD is not to enforce traffic violations by cyclists on Market Street.

So why don't we tie a law legalizing the Idaho Stop, with a law mandating cops enforce traffic laws against bicyclists?

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Re:Why cyclists should be able to roll through stop signs, r... by Torgo on Thursday May 15, 2014 @08:18PM (#7753095)

I have had this happen repeatedly just because the driver wanted to roll through a stop light to do a right hand turn. One thing I don't think car drivers realize is how much of what bicyclists do out of self-preservation rather than convenience. I learned pretty quick when to break traffic laws so I had less of a chance of dying at the hands of an inattentive driver.

On the other hand, I was living in a city of about 70,000, pretty small. I am sure it all depends on the city and its size.

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Re:Why cyclists should be able to roll through stop signs, r... by FireBeyond on Friday May 16, 2014 @12:55AM (#7753814)

"I have lost count of the number of time I have stopped for pedestrians at crosswalks in Oakland, only to have a car blow past me, sometimes coming close to hitting pedestrians I had stopped for."

Are you kidding? "Why should I have to stop? Vehicles run red lights!" I'm seriously struggling to determine if I'm unable to pick up on your sarcasm... but really, I know you're absolutely sincere.

"So why don't we tie a law legalizing the Idaho Stop, with a law mandating cops enforce traffic laws against bicyclists?"

Your sense of cause and effect is seriously damaged. Are you honestly proclaiming with any sincerity that cycling "radical" groups like Critical Mass, etc, will be suitably satiated by the legalization of the Idaho Stop that they'll feel that they now receive fair and equitable treatment (when in the past, that wasn't necessarily not the case, but rather, 'everyone harasses us')?

Oi.

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