I presume Rob means this ABC News article and photo.

Yeah, I’d noticed this also used in a previous article with a similar caption and it struck me as odd on a few counts.

Why is there a clear gap between the riders at the red light and those in the intersection?

Because the riders at the lights are slowing to a stop while the continuing riders are clearing the intersection.

Why are a number of riders sitting upright, not in a hunched ‘racing’ position?

Because they are stopping.

Conclusion?

This photo does not show the Hell Ride running a red light.

I’m not pretending that some riders on the Hell Ride haven’t run red lights and for all I know some still do. The point is this photo is not evidence that do. In fact you can only prove that with video or a suitable sequence of photos.

And I will be very keen to hear how Dr Reid responds to Rob’s enquiry. I doubt that there is any empirical reseach on this topic.

I called on Dr John to explain his thesis and the ABC news article today. I’ll let all know if he does.

Meantime, when will the media get it right and stop misleading us, even the ABC news photo accompanying Dr John’s article claimed it was riders going through a red light, examination shows the riders behind the red light have stopped and those ahead of the red light are leaving the intersection as required by law… enough already… embellishment is one thing, lying is another… thank heavens for Blogs, Twitter and the Internerd.