Not that cyclists aren't constantly breaking the traffic laws (most often not stopping when a sign or a light indicates they should). Of course they (who am I kidding -- "we") are. But what did that guy do to get a ticket? A friend of mine was stopped once, but let go with a warning. He rolled a stop sign right next to a cop. Not smart, but still not enough for the officer to take the time to write the citation. So what's it take to get a ticket (or was the cop just in the mood?).
The thing that's frustrating about all of this is that I want to do the right thing, but I'm torn by two other influences; first, I don't want to stop when I don't have to; and second, the folks driving the cars apparently don't want me to follow the law, either. You know the situation: you roll up to a stop sign, see an approaching car and do the right thing: you stop. The driver looks at you like you're crazy, waves you on, and throws her hands up in disgust that you wasted her time like that (she's in a hurry, too). Even if the driver gets there before you, the pattern is often the same. What's a guy to do?
Well, here's what I do: I break the law, but I try not to get killed. If there's cross traffic, I stop, at least long enough to get a signal from the driver (I don't care if that guy's in a hurry, I want to make it home tonight in one piece). The biggest conundrum for me is riding on San Francisco's Embarcadero in the morning. I'm headed North from the train station, with the Bay to my right. That means even at the lights there is no cross traffic, because the roads T into Embarcadero. Well, there's almost no cross traffic: there are sometimes pedestrians. The commuters I ride with (and I) constantly blow those red lights. Poor cars are stacked up at them, we go right through. Now, I slow down and take a hard look for those pedestrians, but rarely do they appear, so away I go.
Is it the right thing to do? No. But (I rationalize), if I were on the sidewalk to my right (as many of my fellow bike commuters are), I wouldn't stop. What difference does the curb make? Moreover, I think I'm safer and far less likely to mow down a pedestrian than those guys up on the sidewalk, so why should they get to burn through, but not me? On top of that, at Bryant, where there actually is cross traffic entering the parking lot on the pier, I stop . . . or at least slow to a near stop to make sure there isn't any tracffic. Those guys up on the sidewalk barrel right through, and I've seen several close calls from that. So you see, I'm in the right . . . right!?!
That's what I tell myself, anyway.
Look, I want to live to see tomorrow as next as the next guy. From what I've seen from a lot of cyclists (commuters and otherwise), I'd say more than the next guy. But at the end of the day, we're not all great drivers all of the time. I get annoyed at cars and other cyclists that do dumb things, but the reality is I do them sometimes, too. I've had a close-ish call with a pedestrian or two that was my fault. I've misread a light change and taken off when it wasn't my turn. I've thought an intersection was clear when it really wasn't. You probably have, too. So patience with those who trespass against you . . . and caution, my friends.
My brother once wanted a speeding ticket on his bike. That was a traffic law he was more than willing to break. Alas, to my knowledge he never got one. That would be a neat trick.
It being my generation, I guess I'll leave on this note:
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