[SDCBC] Defense against Red Light Runners: Not As Easy As You Think

[Serge Issakov]

On 9/20/07, Tom Harvey <tah at san.rr.com> wrote:
...
> so, summarizing: avoiding red light runners is harder than i thought,
> and i wasn't doing quite as good a job of it as i thought i was.

Thanks for the tips, Tom.  Glad you and your sons didn't get hit!

I didn't go into all the details of red-light runner avoidance, but
certainly the following are part of it:

1) Wait a few seconds after the light turns green before entering (to
avoid the late-yellows)
2) A car stopped at the stop line (blocking all runners within his
lane behind him) is a good thing.
3) A lane without a car stopped at the stop line is something to be
wary of.  Do not cross a lane until you can clear it by either
establishing that a car is stopped at the stop line, or that there are
no cars coming that might hit you if they run the red light.
4) Beware of empty lanes obscured by blocked lanes (the situation in
which you almost got hit).
5) Establish the habit to ride further left than most cyclists ride
(but about where most motorcyclists ride) in order to improve your
sight line/angle and increase your safety buffer size.  This makes it
easier to clear a lane sooner.

Anything else?

Serge

-- 
NOTE: Any opinions expressed above are mine and not necessarily shared
by any organization in which I am involved.