One Reason Cyclists Are Disliked

[OakLeaf]

I would never dream of running a red light.

Do you have a steel frame? Where you ride, are the lights triggered by optical sensors, or the older magnetic induction loops? On a bicycle, particularly a non-steel frame (and even some motorcycles) you may not be able to trigger a light. In busier areas there may be a pedestrian crosswalk button that you can dismount and push. That carries its own set of risks - but at a lot of intersections, there's no button.

Most of the places I ride, the induction loops are slowly being phased out, and I am SO loving the optical sensors! But at many intersections, a cyclist may have no choice but to either run the light, or to do a right turn on red and then a U-turn which may be quite a bit more dangerous.

[Aiacha]

Do you have a steel frame? Where you ride, are the lights triggered by optical sensors, or the older magnetic induction loops? On a bicycle, particularly a non-steel frame (and even some motorcycles) you may not be able to trigger a light. In busier areas there may be a pedestrian crosswalk button that you can dismount and push. That carries its own set of risks - but at a lot of intersections, there's no button.

Most of the places I ride, the induction loops are slowly being phased out, and I am SO loving the optical sensors! But at many intersections, a cyclist may have no choice but to either run the light, or to do a right turn on red and then a U-turn which may be quite a bit more dangerous.

Most of the time, there is traffic where I'm riding. Sometimes a cycle of lights passes me by, but a car comes up shortly and I move along. If I just can't catch the light, I'll walk it across. If there is an area without a lot of traffic, it probably doesn't have a light, just a 4-way stop.

Heh. It's funny you mention this. On the self-same ride, near the beginning, the ride passes through a couple lights. There was no officer at the lights, like there usually is on a large organized ride. We never got the light, probably through 2 or three cycles, so we just started piling up. It was almost ridiculous.