Hi Johnny, thanks for the pushback, especially from a fellow not-car type. First off, I freely admit that I *do* want to have it both ways, sometimes, because a bike is neither a car nor a pedestrian, and it can (generally safely) do some things that neither of those two can. I don't think bikes should have every right a car has (for example, to ride on high-speed highways), so I want some extra stuff in return.
1) Would you run a red light in a car if there's nobody around?
Yes. If I'm in northern Ontario, at midnight, in the middle of the deep woods, I'm not waiting for the light to change. The number of situations in which a bike can do this safely is far higher than for a car, I think. My most-used route hits many red lights on tiny side streets where I can see and hear any cars coming a block away, and make that determination while coasting up to the light.
2) I agree that people can be responsible about popping up onto the sidewalk (ie, they ride really slowly). But the law can't be written assuming that everybody will be a responsible person, they have to outline what is and isn't allowed. Otherwise, we might as well not have speed limits or just have suggested limits and not enforce them.
I'm okay with the law forbidding it, so that people who are evil or dangerous can be punished. But there are many situations where I believe I'm safer and nobody else is less safe if I take the sidewalk (around construction, for example). Maybe because I grew up in Montreal, where you seem to have fewer traffic jams because drivers work things out, legally or otherwise (once I was on a city bus that drove a block down the sidewalk).
And I think there are many situations where cops don't enforce speed limits. Like, almost all the time, if you're only 10 km/h over the limit.
3) Passing on the right is idiotic [...] I seriously don't know why anybody would do this.
I was thinking of in gridlock, or at red lights, or when six cars are backed up waiting for someone to turn left.
I acknowledge that some of the things I do (or want to do) are based on the fact that almost all my riding has been in Canadian downtowns, where streets tend to be narrow, many drivers are bike-aware, and average car speeds tend to be low or zero. I totally get that I would have to back off if I rode more on suburban six-lanes.
I imagine we're going to see a lot of rewriting of procedures and laws and social norms as the mainstream comes to terms with the existence of transportation modes other than "car" and "driver temporarily out of car". Bikes, mobility scooters, electric bikes, mopeds... there's definitely not gonna be one-size-fits-all answers. (Ain't that a grand wrap-up for what's basically a justification of my selfish riding practices?)