Red Light Camera

Sep 12, 2006 By Randy Policar Posted in The Archives Tagged with Commute by Bike

Do you think cyclists should be liable under the red light cameras?

0 thoughts on “Red Light Camera”

Moe says:

September 12, 2006 at 11:22 pm

I don’t think that cars or bikes should be liable under the red light cameras. It wouldn’t matter anyway, bikes don’t carry a license plate.

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Chris says:

September 13, 2006 at 7:15 am

Yes. If you want to be treated as an equal, you must behave as an equal. No exceptions.

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Nick says:

September 13, 2006 at 7:27 am

That works fine for me, since I have no interest in being treated like a car.

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eric says:

September 13, 2006 at 9:08 am

Definitely. We can’t complain about motorists breaking the law if we do it ourselves. But how do we enforce this without license plates on bikes? I suppose we wait a few years until we all have RFID tags implanted.

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Ventura says:

September 13, 2006 at 12:24 pm

The fine should be proportional to the vehicle’s momentum. My 200-pound vehicle at 20 MPH will do a lot less damage than a 3,000-pound Honda at 30 MPH.

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cqchammer says:

September 14, 2006 at 9:00 am

The thing is that some traffic signals are photo or weight sensitive and won’t change to green for a bicycle. I’ll stop but if it’s clear I’m going.

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Dan says:

September 14, 2006 at 10:52 am

I think it was Phoenix that made a law that if a motorcycle was stuck at a red light for more than a minute they could run the light if it was clear because motorcycles weren’t heavy enough to trip the sensors. We should push to have this law enacted for bicycles.

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Jay says:

September 15, 2006 at 7:29 am

I’ve always heard under the “my bike is not heavy enough to trip the sensor” issue that you can go ahead and proceed with caution. If a cops pulls you over you can use “malfunctioning traffic signal” as your defense. Something like this…”Officer, I waited and waited and the light never turned green, therefore I assumed the light was malfunctioning.” I’ve gone through several red light due to not trippiing the sensor, but I’ve never been pulled over doing it so I can’t tell you if this argument carries any weight.

By the way, I think Nick’s comments should be taked with a grain of salt, his commuting world is unique and not really representative of traffic conditions the majority of us face on a daily basis.

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Nick says:

September 15, 2006 at 8:29 am

My comments should always be taken with a grain of salt, if not a bowl.

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Moe says:

September 15, 2006 at 11:38 pm

We like Nick’s comments because his point of view represents NY City commuting. As Jay pointed out, his world is different than what most of us face. Even though I ride in Los Angeles, I have the advantage of river trails and wide streets. I wouldn’t mind trying to ride in NY one of this days and experience what Nick sees.

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Murray says:

September 16, 2006 at 3:42 am

If the light does’t recognise me, why should I recognise the light? I’m always getting caught a intersections where the lights do not trigger for a cyclist. It leaves you (the cyclist) with no choice but to risk your neck. I wish I could fine the road designers for putting me at risk.

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Nick says:

September 16, 2006 at 5:37 pm

You’re welcome to come ride with me anytime, Moe.

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September’s Re-cap at Commute by Bike says:

October 2, 2006 at 6:33 pm

[…] Red Light Camera Big Brother is waching you…. […]

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