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In most cases it is SAFER for a bike to go through a yellow than to try to stop,
The only time you should be going through a yellow is if you are past the "point of no return" and cannot safely stop before entering the intersection.
No cop is going to condone running a yellow signal. They may not site this particular indiscretion, but that does not make it 'legal' or right.
Any argument as to why someone on a motorcycle should run a yellow light is merely rationalization. If you are being surprised by changing traffic signals, you need to increase your situational awareness in general.
Do you not slow down as you approach an intersection? I do, even green lights. Roll off a little and drop a few mph to give you time to see what is going on, maybe a few tenths of a second to see someone who is running a red from the other direction. Tap your brakes to wake up the cager behind you.
In short, if you are following proper defensive driving techniques and using due caution, there should be virtually no circumstance that you cannot safely stop for a traffic signal with no danger of being rear ended.
Keep blasting through yellows - you may not be breaking the letter of the law, and you may even have the right of way.... then again, does it matter when you get T-boned by a F250?
Each year more than 800 people die and an estimated 200,000-plus are injured in crashes that involve red light running. Total deaths in such crashes numbered almost 6,000 during 1992-98. More than half of these deaths were pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who were hit by the red light runners. Another 2,779 deaths occurred in the vehicles running the red lights. During the same time period (1992-98), about 1,500,000 people were injured in such crashes.
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