Busting the myth of the “scofflaw cyclist” Danish Road Directorate studies reveal that while 66% of motorists routinely break road traffic laws only 5% of cyclists do so. Law breaking by cyclists is higher where there is no cycle-specific infrastructure.
People like to think that bicyclists are breaking laws all the time because they assume that bicycles must be treated as either cars or pedestrians. They are, in fact, a secret third thing with their own set of laws. Motorists don’t know those laws because they have no reason to look them up. It’s easier to just assume that the bicycle on the road/on the sidewalk/not stopping for the stop sign must be breaking the law because it would be illegal for a car to do it.
Thank John Forester for that one
Cyclists go through red lights when it makes sense. Who wants to wait for dumb traffic signals when the road is empty and the infrastructure been built to protect pedestrians from cars (and cars from cars).
If a cyclist goes through a red light, the cyclist is dead*. If a car goes through a red light, the cyclist dead.
*yes, technically it could be worse for others too