TRUE--------"Only the strong survive!" It doesn't matter if you have a "coliseum of lights", your still are on a bicycle. Think about it.........
Actually, only the smart and/or lucky MBers will survive in traffic.
This past year has been a deadly one for bicyclists. One 80-something year old guy was killed while riding on the sidewalk! The motorist was exiting a driveway, making a right turn as he watched approaching traffic on his left.
One cyclist was killed while riding between a tour bus and the curb in the same lane. She proceeded to go straight thru the intersection, while the bus driver decided to turn right.....and ran over her.
On one of the most dangerous inclines on my route, I press the pedestrian "stop" button at the intersection. I need to turn left here. When
the light turns green, I have a 30-second headstart before the stopped traffic comes after me. I'm @ 35mph before the road goes downhill towards the next light. If everyone obeys the speed limit, I can make it to the next light. If cars in both lanes are approaching fast, I hop into the bike lane and slow down to 20mph.There's a merge @ the bottom of the hill, then another very steep hill. If there's gridlocked traffic, I ride the dirt path alongside the road. The cagers are agitated because I'm passing them by, so I ride thru the hilltop intersection and pull over. When the red light stops traffic, I have another 30 seconds' head start to reach the next two lights. Once there, I drop into the bike lane and slow down to 20mph. Traffic builds up again @ the bottom of the hill and the bike lane disappears. So I hop onto the sidewalk and ride @ jogging speed for the next 2 blocks, until I reach home.
One of the nice things about commuting to work is that you learn which way's the safest route, when to claim the lane, and when to surrender that claim.