OFF THE WIRE
chicagoist.com
A new state law allows motorcycles and bicycles to legally run red lights in some instances, but bikers still must wait barreling through the intersection. The law explicitly states that this doesn't apply to Illinois municipalities with more than two million people — that means Chicago.
Gov. Pat Quinn asked state legislators to add a mandatory wait time before the vehicles continue through the intersection. CBS reports that they settled on 120 seconds. The law exists because bikes and motorcycles aren't heavy enough to trigger sensors to change the light, and if a car doesn't come along, the bike is stuck waiting. The law seems a bit superfluous, though. How many intersections are there outside of Chicago that have stoplights longer than two minutes and so little traffic that bikes are waiting around to get through them?
Also, once again we'd like to note that this law doesn't exist in Chicago, so get some brakes on your fixie before you go barreling through a six-corner intersection during rush hour. I'm looking at you, every bike on Milwaukee Avenue.