#  Survey Surprise: Bicyclists and Motorists Ignore Traffic Laws at Similar Rates

     Details    Robert Boos   ![logo](https://mail.citywatchla.com//templates/ja_teline_v/images/logo.png)         July 20 2015       [ARCHIVE](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)   - [  Previous Article **Diverting Water Revenues to City Hall Is Not OK**  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9335:diverting-water-revenues-to-city-hall-is-not-ok&catid=16)
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> ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2015/059z5.png)TRANSIT TALK-After surveying 18,000 people, Wesley Marshall, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado, is trying to understand why cyclists, in particular, might bend or flat-out flout traffic regulations.
>
> Answer honestly. As a bicyclist do you follow all the rules and regulations of the road?
>
> Ever zipped over the speed limit, or glided past a stop sign when no one’s around?
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> When it comes to obeying traffic laws, “we’re all criminals,” says [Wesley Marshall,](http://www.wesleymarshall.com/) an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado.
>
> After surveying 18,000 people, Marshall is trying to understand why cyclists, in particular, might bend or flat-out ignore traffic regulations.
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> “When you look at the transportation system and the laws we have, pretty much everybody is a criminal. ... We’ve all gone a few miles an hour over the speed limit, and as a society we seem OK with that.”
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> We often imagine these reckless New York bike messenger-like people, Marshall says. The criticism gathered by the survey was sometimes quite venomous, he said, even when discussing perfectly legal maneuvers, such as coming into and taking the lane.
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> “People think that is rude.”
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> The study gathered similar rates of infraction — 8 percent to 9 percent for drivers, and 7 to 8 percent for cyclists. And when Marshall researched the reasons a cyclist might break a traffic law, it turns out they are doing it for nearly the same reasons that a driver would, but with one difference.
>
> Drivers and pedestrians will drive through or walk against a red light to save time.
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> “They’re not trying to be reckless or rude,” Marshall said. “Cyclists, they’re doing it for their own personal safety or perceived safety. They felt like they’re more visible.”
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> On a transportation grid designed with cars in mind, Marshall says cyclists are acting on what they perceive is better for their safety. It is a rational choice in a cyclist’s decision-making, he said. At a red light with no other cars crossing, a cyclist can get a head start on the next block.
>
> “It’s interesting that you would break the law to feel safer,” Marshall says.
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> A city with a great deal of mass transit is expected to be a lot safer than a typical driving city, Marshall says. But cities with lots of bicyclists, which you might think would be more dangerous, are in reality much safer.
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> “Our safest cities are the ones with a ton of bicycling. And the Netherlands is one of the safest countries in the world, [also has a ton of bicycling.](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23587916)”
>
> *(Robert Boos is an editor at and blogs for [Public Radio Internationa](http://pri.org)l … where this piece was first posted.)*
>
> -cw
>
> CityWatch
>
> Vol 13 Issue 59
>
> Jul 21, 2015

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