" Because to do so at every stop sign effectively means that you cannot ride a bike in the city." Of course not. It just means that riding a bike requires a little more energy. How many times has a cyclist run a red light and crossed my path while driving on the side walk in a direction opposite to the flow of traffic? Wide intersections may permit such behavior due to the wide field of view, but bikers do the same thing whether the intersection is small (residential dump to larger road). Bikers should also adjust their behavior for dark. While some may have a sense and view of traffic, many obviously do not. "es, I see stupid bikers doing stupid things, but the percentage is actually fairly low and the amount of danger that they are creating is much, much less than a motor vehicle." They are creating danger to themselves. This is not a big deal until you consider that motorists are both fiscally reponsible as well as emotionally connected to a sever injury or death.