this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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utility cycling
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Running red lights can be safer if the junction is clear. Junctions are the places most collisions happen, including cyclists getting rearended or hit by motorists changing lanes without adequate checking/signalling (the latter is the single most common way cyclists get seriously injured or killed, so it's understandable that people want to avoid it).
I'm not advocating for running reds (I never run them myself). I'm saying that road design that sometimes makes a road user choose between doing what is legal and what is safe is a bigger problem than a few bad actors.
Incidentally, there are lots of studies about this. Most cyclists don't run red lights and motorists are more likely overall to break trafflc laws than cyclists. EDIT: Just noticed that link's dead. Here's an article summarising the results of the study, instead.
Agreed. Drivers are often turning when they have the light which is dangerous because they don't care if someone is crossing there even though the crossing pedestrians also have the light. I often feel like it would be safer to j walk as a pedestrian than to cross at the proper time.