Running red lights is a problem

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Well, according to field research conducted by the city of Portland, there are indeed a lot of scofflaws blowing through stop signs around town.

We\'re talking about commuters who apparently have a total disregard for safety and the law, coming to a full stop at intersections only 22 percent of the time.

See! It\'s those dang bicyclists with their neon-colored jackets, self-righteous attitudes and ripped calves, right? Right!? Actually, no. Those were automobile drivers.

\"The law says a complete cessation of motion is required,\" said Greg Raisman, traffic safety specialist for the Portland Bureau of Transportation. \"I think a lot of the time, people think they stop. But they were watching the wheels.\"

\"They\" were the Bureau of Transportation\'s data-collection team, which camped out at various stop-signed intersections in 2006 and 2007. The monitors recorded a \"full stop\" whenever the wheels on a car, bike, minivan, truck or any other vehicle came to a complete halt, even for just a second.

Although automobile drivers weren\'t as dismissive of stop signs as cyclists, who stopped just 7 percent of the time, you\'d think the study might erase some of the nasty stereotypes that they have of bike riders.

Don\'t count on it, said Randy Blazak, a Portland State University sociologist.
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Of course, there\'s also a such thing as \"transportation envy,\" Blazak said.

\"Cyclists have a kind of freedom that people in cars don\'t have,\" he explained, \"including getting around backed-up traffic, going up on the sidewalk, being out in the elements. It breeds a certain amount of resentment and jealousy when you\'re stuck listening to a mattress commercial in a traffic jam.\"
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<a href="http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/04/so_you_think_cyclists_are_the.html">http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/04/so_you_think_cyclists_are_the.html</a>;