Traffic ticket while riding bike???

Champion

11641

Fairport, NY

Subject: RE: Traffic ticket while riding bike???

kproudfoot - 2007-09-14 4:38 PM

marina - 2007-09-14 2:55 PM

In Columbus OH, cops have had the radar out on some pathways and ticketed cyclists for going over 15mph - the posted speed.

Cyclists aren't immune to the rules.

The law is the law but that sounds crazy to me unless the path is used for alot of foot traffic and then 15 mph might be dangerous to others around you. If it is a "Bike Path" 15mph speed limit or any speed limit is crazy. What if someone was practicing sprinting on the path and went more than 15mph would they get a ticket?

I would hope so. Most 'bike paths' are actually mixed use trails and are used by pedestrians, runners, rollerbladers, little kids etc. Anything more than 15 mph in that situation can be life threatening. I've seen some very close calls on mixed use trails due to cyclists going too fast for the environment.

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Elite

3022

Preferably on my bike somewhere

Subject: RE: Traffic ticket while riding bike???

Yeah, back where I USED to live, there was a rail trail/mixed use path and it was a major source of controversy. Every week there were a handfull of incidents that made it into the paper (when the police were called) where there were conflicts with cyclists and others. Personally, I don't feel that roadies/triathletes belong there - we simply go too fast. Most people who use those trails think they own the WHOLE thing and swerve around all over the place. Given that people can't here us coming up behind them, it's a recipe for disaster. c
Personally, I think we belong on the road. As long as we follow the rules of the road...

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Member

21

Subject: RE: Traffic ticket while riding bike???

As a Police Officer and avid cyclist I think I have a pretty good take on this. All states have pretty much the same law's regarding cyclist on the road. Stay to the right, obey all traffic laws, blah blah blah!!! And yes the laws are there for a reason. I have stopped cyclist in the past for doing a lot worse and more dangerous than blowing thru a stop sign when no one is around. But I usually just say look bud, I love to cycle too but that was not a smart play on your part. Cars hate cyclist (for the most part) and are always looking for an excuse to complain so please do the right thing and then I let them go. And if they are cool about it and dont make excuses and become a smart then I let them go. So I can only summize from my 14 years as a police officer three things could have happened in the scenario you speak of:

1. The Officer was doing what he was told to do based off a complaint about cyclist and dept was making a point.

2. The officer is an and hates cyclist as well, in that case your screwed!

3. Or, your friend had his/her on her shoulders and mouthed off to the cop and the officer put them in there place.

It is a case by case basis no matter what state you are in. Bottom line 90% of people think cyclist are idiots and shouldnt be on the road and are always looking for an excuse to complain. We should always do the right thing and take the higher ground.

Member

21

Subject: RE: Traffic ticket while riding bike???

Question: if you're riding in a group, does that group count as a single entity? If the front person stops but the people in the rear keep rolling are they at fault? Can the group go through all at once or do they stop one at a time letting other cars go first?

We always go through stop signs as a group.
-----
-Andrew

No, its just like cars that are all stacked behind each other. Each Unit (car or bike) must legally clear the intersection themselves, TECHNICALLY! But, In my case as a police officer, of course I am a cyclist, common sense would prevail. But, as a disclaimer, that is just me speaking and that would be if you were riding in my jurisdiction. I would wave them all thru together!

Edited by holsombread 2007-09-15 7:38 AM

Master

2202

St. Louis

Subject: RE: Traffic ticket while riding bike???

D.Z. - 2007-09-14 3:15 PM

ranger5oh - 2007-09-13 4:52 PM

Laws were designed to serve people... not people designed to serve the laws.

If laws dont make sense in certain circumstances, they shouldnt be applied.

I think we all know a girl who has gotten out of a speeding ticket merely because she started crying. Giving tickets is discretionary....even if a low is broken , the officer is not REQUIRED to ticket you.

SO yes... I DO expect to be treated differently on my bike than in my car. Im not endangering the lives of anyone but myself when I do a rolling stop.

Again... Laws were designed to serve people... not people designed to serve the laws.

I couldn't disagree with this more. What you are arguing is that people should decide where and when not to follow the law. This is incredibly dangerous. Differently people will behave differently in the same situation. Let me give you an example. Last year, I was writing our employee handbook, and we were discussing the appearance section. Some advocated wording to the effect of "clean looking". Their white, wealthy suburb definition meant one thing - shortly cut hair, no facial hair, no earrings, nose rings, or tongue rings. My experience in the city showed me that people their thought all of those things were fine.

Leave people to their discretion and you will have nothing but problems. Just tell that kid to turn his sub-woofer down in his ricer to a reasonable level, and see what you get.

I guess I dont understand your disdain at the possibility of having officers be reasonable in their discretion when applying the laws.
Maybe you should have talked to the employees who came to work dressed improperly, and warned them that their attire didnt meet your standards? Sounds to me, like what you are advocating is firing the person who comes to work dressed improperly the first time? Just like an officer should give a ticket the first time a cyclist breaks the wording of a law.

If an officer truly thinks you are breaking a law, and that you are going against the spirit of the law.. then by all means, give a ticket. If an officer is just giving you a ticket because you have broken the words of a law only, well... thats pretty stupid to me. (Please note, I am speaking ONLY of laws for stop signs, speeding, stop lights.. etc. This view of mine does not extend to every law dealing with every crime.)

Im pretty sure we can just agree to disagree on this though.

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Elite

3022

Preferably on my bike somewhere

Subject: RE: Traffic ticket while riding bike???

ranger5oh - 2007-09-15 6:17 PM

D.Z. - 2007-09-14 3:15 PM

ranger5oh - 2007-09-13 4:52 PM

Laws were designed to serve people... not people designed to serve the laws.

If laws dont make sense in certain circumstances, they shouldnt be applied.

I think we all know a girl who has gotten out of a speeding ticket merely because she started crying. Giving tickets is discretionary....even if a low is broken , the officer is not REQUIRED to ticket you.

SO yes... I DO expect to be treated differently on my bike than in my car. Im not endangering the lives of anyone but myself when I do a rolling stop.

Again... Laws were designed to serve people... not people designed to serve the laws.

I couldn't disagree with this more. What you are arguing is that people should decide where and when not to follow the law. This is incredibly dangerous. Differently people will behave differently in the same situation. Let me give you an example. Last year, I was writing our employee handbook, and we were discussing the appearance section. Some advocated wording to the effect of "clean looking". Their white, wealthy suburb definition meant one thing - shortly cut hair, no facial hair, no earrings, nose rings, or tongue rings. My experience in the city showed me that people their thought all of those things were fine.

Leave people to their discretion and you will have nothing but problems. Just tell that kid to turn his sub-woofer down in his ricer to a reasonable level, and see what you get.

I guess I dont understand your disdain at the possibility of having officers be reasonable in their discretion when applying the laws.
Maybe you should have talked to the employees who came to work dressed improperly, and warned them that their attire didnt meet your standards? Sounds to me, like what you are advocating is firing the person who comes to work dressed improperly the first time? Just like an officer should give a ticket the first time a cyclist breaks the wording of a law.

If an officer truly thinks you are breaking a law, and that you are going against the spirit of the law.. then by all means, give a ticket. If an officer is just giving you a ticket because you have broken the words of a law only, well... thats pretty stupid to me. (Please note, I am speaking ONLY of laws for stop signs, speeding, stop lights.. etc. This view of mine does not extend to every law dealing with every crime.)

Im pretty sure we can just agree to disagree on this though.

Agree or disagree, fine, but you have missed my point completely. I'm not talking about officer discretion, I am talking about people picking choosing which laws to obey and when. It's the officers responsibility to ENFORCE the law, regardless of whether or not the violator is violating the spirit of the law or is truly breaking the law (I'd like to see you expound on this idea, please).

It's funny how you automatically jumped to me firing people because of their attire. Talk about reading words that aren't there... I brought up that example to illustrate that where discretion is involved, you get wildly different outcomes. If there are going to be rules and regulations, they need to apply to all people at all times, regardless of who they are and where they are from. If you are advocating that officers use discretion when handing out tickets, you are inviting racism, ageism, sexism, and any other -ism you can name, into the mix. Let me know how that's worked out around the country over the last few hundred years. To humor your point about firing an employee at the first hint of poor attire, the comparison only works if you believe that a ticket is the automotive punishment equivalent of getting fired. To me, a verbal or written warning would precede termination, just like a ticket would precede a loss of driving privaleges.

I can't believe I am defending the police as I am generally not a fan, but don't get mad at the officer for enforcing laws that are on the books. He/she is doing what he/she is supposed to be doing. If you want to be mad, change the laws. Too much work? Too bad.

Edited by D.Z. 2007-09-15 7:42 PM

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