> I scan the entire intersection (from an elevated view standing up on my pedals, without any pylons or mirrors obstructing my view as in a car) and note that there are no pedestrians in or entering the crosswalk, and no motor vehicles approaching cross-wise (the intersecting street that has a green light). I can clearly see that the way is clear and it is safe to proceed.

It really depends on the intersection, traffic level, how many lanes of cross traffic there are, how fast they're traveling, and if there are any visual obstructions (e.g., parked vehicles, poles, building features, etc). In my experience, many signal controlled intersections have too much traffic to really proceed straight through or make a left without having to wait quite a while for a gap.

> all the motor vehicle traffic anxiously accelerates and jockeys for position in the intersection.

They may do that after the intersection, but most people don't try changing lanes within the intersection. What I do if I have a platoon of traffic build up around me in an intersection while waiting at a light is to proceed through the intersection and pull over at the far side. Once the platoon has passed, I then take the lane on the empty road behind them.

If you run the light instead, then when the light changes to green, they're going to catch up to you while moving at speed as opposed to starting from a complete stop.

> I'm in the center of my lane a good 15 feet away from them

At 10 mph, you're moving around 15 feet per second. That's not enough distance or time to react.

> Or there is a car approaching the intersection that has the green, but they're still a good 50 feet away

At car moving at 25 mph is going about 37 feet per second. They'll get to you a little over a second.

> On the one hand, some more reckless/careless riders will make closer calls than I would think are acceptable or safe.

The problem is that when they cut it too close a collision or a crash caused by evasive acion on the part of the motorist(s) occurs. This is one example[1].

> I couldn't rely on the law to tell me, because if I followed the law, I'd be risking my life unnecessarily.

Exactly in what way would following the law put your life at risk? You mentioned earlier that you felt that motorists would be slowed down by you taking the lane, or you would be at risk of a right hook by remaining in the bike lane. It's clear that the former is a perceived risk, while the latter is an actual risk. In that case, I would just take the lane, proceed through the intersection and move off to the side to let the motorist who was behind you pass (as I mentioned earlier). One you're past the intersection, the motorist isn't going to turn across your path.

> applying the existing laws evenly to cars and bikes doesn't make sense.

In my opinion, the only laws that don't make sense are the ones that require cyclists to keep as far right as practicable on roads with marked lanes and/or require them to use a bike lane. Those laws I ignore, but I still follow the general slow vehicle law that requires use of the right lane when going less than the normal speed of traffic. I just ride in the middle of it and move to the side to encourage motorists to pass when safe to do so.

[1] https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manches...