We all hear it. It is the first thing out of every anti-cyclist screed. So how does it fair in honest evaluation?

Drivers love to complain that cyclists are constantly breaking the law by rolling through stop signs and running red lights. Does it happen? Sure. Cyclists do it, and I sometimes do it too. When it comes down to it though, motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians are all people going places, and they all break laws in their own ways. After all, that speed limit sign? how often do you treat it as a minimum? If the regional studies are accurate, the number of cars at or under the posted speed limit is < 25%. In addition, studies have shown no meaningful difference in the percentages of law breaking between groups. Pedestrians jaywalk. Cyclists roll through stop signs and run red lights. Motorists speed, tailgate, fail to signal, fail to stop before turning right, drive while drunk, drive while distracted, and others. In other words, yes, cyclists don’t obey the laws, but then again, neither does anyone else.

One group breaking laws does not justify another doing the same. You do not hear anyone saying that car drivers do not deserve to be on the roads because they break the laws, that is reserved for drivers who have made egregious errors in judgement that have typically cost lives before they are removed from the roads. It is not that cyclists break the laws any more often, only that because they are different, drivers cling to that as a reason to vilify them. Breaking the rules is something many people do regardless of activity.

On a scale of truth to bullshit, let’s call this truth as a front for bullshit.

As the old saying goes, People in glass houses shall not throw stones.