I have always felt a little odd as a bicyclist regarding traffic laws. I've always thought I should follow the same laws as automobiles because I am using the same road as automobiles. Unfortunately this requires stopping, which is quite different on a bike, so I have some exception to a stop sign treating it as a yield. On my daily commute I'm usually the only bicyclist waiting at a light with other bicyclist proceeding through the light. For some reason most bicyclist don't feel the need to stop at a red light. A new article published in Cycling discovered that bicyclist breaking the law is becoming more of a concern among communities. The negative perception is making expansion and adoption of bicycle networks harder to approve. I think it's time bicyclist suck it up and follow the law. NPR's Talk of the Nation recently had a segment regarding this issue. Also, I feel Portlandia describe the public perception quite well in this bike clip.
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