BIKE: How to break the law?

[Fred Meredith]

At 4:33 AM -0500 4/21/04, Michael Bluejay wrote:
>On Apr 20, 2004, at 7:52 AM, Mike Dahmus wrote:
>
>>SUMMARY: CYCLISTS RUN RED LIGHTS AND STOP SIGNS IN A WAY THAT 
>>MOTORISTS DO NOT. MOST MOTORISTS, IF THEY EVER DO THIS, "RUN THE 
>>ORANGE" OR DON'T COME TO A FULL ROCK-BACK AT A STOP SIGN. TRYING TO 
>>EQUATE THIS WITH THE WILD-WEST ATTITUDE OF MANY CYCLISTS IS MAKING 
>>YOU LOOK STUPID AND MAKING MY JOB HARDER.
>
>First of all, as for motorists running lights, it's not a case of 
>"if they ever do this".  I can go to most busy intersections in 
>Austin and see motorists running red lights on every single cycle, 
>period.
>
>As for motorists not running red lights in the same way that 
>cyclists do, that's really funny.  I thought the argument was that 
>cyclists were bad because they were breaking the law?  Oh no, my 
>mistake, it's not that they're breaking the law, it's that they're 
>breaking the law in a less socially acceptable way.  It's perfectly 
>acceptable to break the law if you do it the proper way.  Motorists 
>break the law in a good way, cyclists break the law in a bad way.

Come on Michael. You aren't that thick. You know what he means. It is 
not an issue of whether it is socially acceptable, but whether it is 
marginally understandable based on skills, timing and possibly poor 
judgement.

I don't like anyone running a red light, whether it is in the middle 
of the red cycle or the transition between yellow and red. I also 
don't like motorists who pull into an intersection behind gridlocked 
traffic and then are stuck there blocking the intersection when the 
light changes. They are breaking the law, but their error may be the 
result of poor judgement or optimistic belief that the traffic would 
start moving before the light changes (or, yes, more of the "me 
first, I don't give a damn whether the light changes or not" 
attitude).

The difference is that it is possible that the actual infraction was 
one of poor judgement of time and space or attempt to "beat the 
cycle" by getting in under the wire.  Are you telling me that you see 
no difference between that and a cyclist (or motorist) just flat 
going through the middle of a red light with no possible excuse that 
their timing was off, or they thought it was still yellow, etc.?

It is a matter of degree and obvious attitude. Can you spell "FLAGRANT?"

I can even see a difference between a motorist who slows for the red 
light and then blows through and the motorist who hits the brakes 
hard and when they realize they are already into the intersection, 
proceeds.  One signals flagrant contempt for the law while the other 
appears to be a mistake -- not seeing the red light in time.

Both have broken the law, but we tend to take a different attitude 
regarding them. They are both dangerous, but while we don't know what 
to do about the human tendency to make mistakes inadvertently, we do 
know how we feel about the flagrant violator and the obvious "me 
first" attitude that has motorists racing up lanes that disappear so 
they can get in front of everyone else and bicyclists who just flat 
disregard the fact that they are responsible for obeying traffic laws 
at all.

My own problem is how to balance my opinion of otherwise nice decent 
people and sometimes good friends with their obvious need to have the 
whole traffic situation be all about them -- whether they are in 
motor vehicles or pedaling bicycles.

Fred (trying to learn that it is about ALL of us) Meredith
-- 
When in doubt ... ride your bike (or at least write about it).

Fred Meredith
P.O. Box 100 (12702 Lowden Ln for UPS/FedEx)
Manchaca, TX 78652
512/282-1987 (office/home)
512/282-7413 (fax)
512/636-7480 (wireless)
More than you want to know at: http://2merediths.com