Run Red Lights, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

This was just left in a comment. It got me so riled up I thought I'd reprint it here.

Jamie writes:

A woman on a bike who didn't stop for a red light almost hit me and my dog while we were crossing the street. We had a walk sign. There was no option for us but to literally jump out of the way because she was going so fast. Bikes that don't obey the traffic laws do pose a serious danger to pedestrians!

No, Jamie. You're wrong. Assholes who don't yield to pedestrians with the right of way pose a serious danger to pedestrians.

Traffic lights are there for motorized vehicles that weigh thousands of pounds and kill pedestrians and bikes. For non-motorized traffic and pedestrians, traffic lights should be seen as a safety guide and an indicators of intersection right-of-way.

I must have run more than a dozen red lights today. I also biked the wrong way down two one-block stretches. I went on the sidewalk twice, but I would not have done so had there been a pedestrian nearby. I scared no pedestrians. I posed no more to risk to myself or anybody than had I been a pedestrian doing the same thing. And I did stop for a school bus with flashing red lights.

What's more, like it or not, I'm not going to stop running red lights. Nor am I going to stop walking against don't walk sign. Condemn me if you want. But them's the facts.

So now, that I've got that out the way, what are we going to do about it? Encourage a civil society rather than a mindless rule-based society. The problem isn't bikes running red lights. The problem is bikes going too fast in front of pedestrians crossing with the light (which also happens when bikes turn with the light, by the way).

What does "yield to pedestrians" mean? Can I cross the same crosswalk that a pedestrian is in? Of course. But should I zoom right in front of a pedestrian even if there's no contact. No. That makes you an asshole.

In too many bikers' minds, the comfort zone of pedestrians gets no consideration. That might be safe, but it's not right.

Bicyclists need to realize that pedestrians want and deserve a little more distance than is absolutely necessary for physical safety. It might be safe to zoom one foot in front of a walking person. But it's rude. Startling pedestrians is wrong. And as a bicyclist, I make a point to never startle a pedestrian that is in the right.

We should encourage bicyclists to be respectful. Don't cross right in front of pedestrians no matter what. Right is right. Running red lights has nothing to do with it.

And I just have to mention that pedestrians who run red lights pose serious danger to bicyclists and themselves. But I don't want to start a non-jaywalking campaign. I just want pedestrians to not walk in front of me when I have the green light.

On why bikers don't obey the law, part II: “I had the walk sign.”

The New Yorker piece on bikes has this crazy guy in the article who was all into the importance of everybody obeying the law—especially bikes. Even though this freak had no problem littering his cigarette butts while ranting about other people (say in German accent:) not following the rules!

[I have to give some props to the pussies at Transportation Alternatives for refusing to say that bikes should stop at red lights. They said that bikes should yield to pedestrians. They’re right. Everybody should yield to pedestrian, except, of course, when they’re in the bike path.]

A few weeks ago I was biking home in the rain from the West Side and came across a young woman lying in the crosswalk at 59th and 5th. She had just been hit by a car. She was pretty upset in the adrenalin-fuelled kind of way. She kept saying, “I can’t believe this happened to me. I had the walk sign!”

I’m sure she did. She was in the right. She was foolish enough to think that if you play the rules, you’ll be fine. And then she got hit. Pretty hard. She was going to live. But she wasn’t going to walk away. Her leg was sticking out all funny. Right does not equal safe. Bicyclists often have to violate traffic laws to be safe (getting in front of the crosswalk at red lights immediately comes to mind). The problem is not bikes and pedestrians disobeying the law. The problem is cars. That’s why we have traffic laws: for cars. Because they can kill you. Even when you're in the right.

Anyway, there wasn’t much I could do for this girl. Having been a police officer (in Baltimore... really), I moved traffic along so the fire truck could pull up. Once she was in better hands, I bolted, happy to have 59th St. blocked-off and traffic-free!

Meanwhile yesterday another fucking SUV plowed into some more pedestrians on a sidewalk. Last week the same thing happened and hit a family, killing a kid. Ripped them right out of his shoes. That’s what happens when you get hit hard enough by a car. Can you imagine how hard you would have to be hit to separate you from your shoes?

And this hot off the presses from today’s Times: “A man was killed by a speeding car late Thursday while bicycling … in Queens…. The bicyclist … was on Linden Boulevard … in St. Albans when a speeding westbound Dodge Stratus struck him…. After hitting Mr. Simpson, the car crashed into a telephone pole…. The car’s occupants, two young men ages 15 and 22, were in stable condition at Jamaica Hospital and Medical Center, the police said, adding that neither would admit to driving the car. No arrests were made.”

What’s the impact all this reckless and irresponsible driving will have on driving and public safety in New York? Now imagine if a bike was in the wrong and killed three people? Hell, even if the bike was in the right. And not that bike could kill three people, but just imagine…

Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.

On why bikers don't obey the law, part I: the Queensboro Bridge

It always pisses me off when people complain about bikes running red lights and not obeying traffic laws. Traffic laws are there for cars. Cars kill people. Not bikes. We wouldn’t need red lights if it weren’t for cars.

Running a red light on a bike is akin to jaywalking: nominally illegal but something we should all do because it’s smart, right, and prevents a fascist obedience to authority from developing. (But I also firmly believe that bikes should not ride quickly on sidewalks and always respect pedestrians in crosswalks if they have the walk sign).

Anyway, leaving aside my moral argument, bikes also don’t obey the law because we can’t. Sometimes obeying the law is dangerous. Sometimes it’s just plain bizarre. Let’s say I’m going from my place to Central Park (4 miles away) and back.

First you get to the Queensboro Bridge Bike Path. A nice green line on the bike map representing the best New York City has to offer bikes: a dedicated bike lane separated from traffic. Great. And it is pretty good. But not if you follow the law because you couldn’t bike on the damn thing. And once you get used to ignoring the no-bike signs on bike paths, well, you start to take all rules and regulations with a grain of salt.

The entrance is a bit of a traffic mess, but not too bad. There’s actually a sign indicating you’ve found the bike/pedestrian path. It might be nice for tourists to say, “To Manhattan” or something. But I’ll let it slide.



The first signs of trouble is the bridge closed at night sign.
I can’t figure out if these closing are over. I think they are, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I try to get back before 10PM because the bus shuttle is impressive to have, but still sucks.

And notice the first of the “dismount” signs. On the bike path. Look, bicyclists simply aren’t going to dismount. It goes against everything bikes are. And asking bikes to dismount just makes biking wrong. Besides, the bridge is a-mile-and-a-half long. I ain’t walking, damnit. Why not ask something reasonable, like slow down? I’ll slow down to be considerate to workers.

On the Manhattan side another sign saying bikes must dismount and walk bikes. Uh, why? Of course, nobody does.


The damn closed gate. This gate makes bike (and pedestrians) go a block out of the way to get on and off the path when this is the ideal exit. It’s something to do with traffic flow from the bridge, but the traffic just hits a light either way it goes. Something could clearly be worked out here. And when the gate was open for weeks, traffic flowed just fine.


Then you get more generic warning signs (that could be avoided if the gate was open).


Woh! Truck crossing?! Looks serious, but it’s not.


Finally you get to Central Park (S.E. corner) and your welcomed with a sign saying “do not enter,” “authorized vehicles ONLY,” and “entrance closed.” But this in the entrance you’re supposed to enter. You see, all this refers to cars, not the people and bikes that actually use the entrance. How about a sign saying “Welcome to Central Park. Come on in. Open! (closed to vehicle traffic).” Just an idea.


So you bike around the park, next to cars, and return to Queens. Here’s the Manhattan side of the bridge bike path. Does this look like a welcome path?

The sidewalk isn’t closed. It’s open. And it goes to Queens! It’s like they’re trying to keep it a secret. And because the gate above is closed, the path starts in the middle of a crosswalk, just begging for bike/pedestrian problems and red-light green-light confusion (because coming off the bridge bikes have to go North, but there’s traffic coming from behind, and oh well, trust me).

Going down into Long Island City, you hit the Walk Bike signs again. This one is pleasantly covered with graffiti.

Dismount 100ft ahead! Blocked by construction. But then we’re already supposed to be dismounted for construction.


More reminders, just in case you were thinking of biking. Again, one word: why? It’s a friggin’ bike path!


And another:


And finally, a double whammy of stop and dismount signs. And then the gate blocks off an unused lane that could be a bike path. Instead we all bike the wrong way down a one-way street. The space is there for a bike lane. The lane is even there. And yet, they make us criminal.


So what’s my point? Not that you shouldn’t bike in the city. I love biking in the city. But it is frustrating (but then so is driving. So is the subway. Biking is better). It would take so little for things to be so much better.

On this “Class One” bike path, there is a sign saying “closed” and then at least nine signs telling you not to bike on the bike path. And this is a major bridge we’re talking about. Everybody from Queens has to cross it to get into Manhattan (well, you could go over the Triborough, but check out this latest report of the crack addicts on that bike path). Making the bridge bike friendly—and what you do before and after the bridge—would be the easiest way to make biking more friendly.

[see all posts about why bikes shouldn't obey the law]