I generally train alone, but since race season is over, I’ve been going out with groups more on the weekend. One thing I began noticing (that I’d forgotten about since last winter) was how often people in the group totally ignore traffic laws.

OK- I’ll be the first to admit… I’ve run stop lights on my bike (you know, those ones that don’t see much traffic and have a road sensor that’s not tripped by bikes that’ll make you stand & wait for a car to come by to get a green light… yeah, those), and I generally don’t come to a complete stop at stop signs if no other traffic is around.

What I’m talking about are the people who blow through red lights and stop signs without touching the brakes. Also, those that cut corners into oncoming traffic when making a left turn. The ones that are showing people in cars that cyclists don’t hesitate to blatantly disregard traffic laws and act like road hogs.

Example A: Car politely (without getting too close, revving motor, or cutting off) passes group. Light ahead turns red. Rather than pulling up behind the car and waiting for green, group blows through red light since there’s no traffic coming from the right or left. After light turns green, car gets stuck behind the group. Result: Former polite driver is now pissed. Cyclists look like jerks.

Example B: Group is approaching a light where they wish to make a right-hand turn. Light turns red before they get there. Even though there is plenty of room to safely stop, cyclists blow through and make right turn anyway. Cars approaching from left (as they should, considering that they have a green light) are forced to stop in the middle of the intersection to prevent a collision with cyclists. As a result, cars are forced to pass cyclists once the cyclists clear the intersection. Once again, we look like jerks.

I’m not going to be a hypocrite and preach stopping and unclipping at every stop sign or waiting forever for a green light when the streets are otherwise deserted. I’m just asking that you not show your ass around people in cars. It will reinforce the ideas that we should “share the road” and that we all have the same legal responsibility out there. It could also possibly prevent someone from throwing bottles at me from their car because they assume that since the last cyclist(s) they saw was being a road hog that I must be one as well.