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I think as bicyclists we have the responsibility to make sure we are seen. That means don't blow stop signs when cars are stopped, don't pull up to the right of a large vehicle that might be planning to turn right and might not be able to see you (wait behind the vehicle or pull all the way in front, as at a bike box), be careful as you approach an intersection where cars are making left turns.

At the same time, bikes are not cars. When you're in a car, you need to stop fully at a stop to be able to see if another car is coming. On a bike, you have better visibility of the whole intersection before you reach it and also can hear if there are cars around. Therefore I think that bikes should be able to treat stops as yields, and red lights as stop signs. A friend of mine recently took a bike safety class from the city and the bike expert there told her that she had to "slow to a stop" for a stop sign, but not put her foot down - i.e. yield.

posted 5 years ago
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