Originally posted by grego262
I don't get it. Cyclist are not pedistrians, and are not cars. You are on your bike you blow a stop sign and you get a warning. From what I learned growing up while riding your bike you are supposed to obey all traffic laws. You blow a stop sign, (breaking a law) and get a warning and are pissed off about it. How is the situation different that you were on your bike and not in your car. I'd feel safer knowing that the cop stopped me and warned than sitting there and do nothing.
Carrying your license may not be a law, but I would hope you carry some sort of identification on you, I do every time I am on the street be it running or cycling.
I'm not/wasn't pissed. Annoyed yeah. Like I said, had he been good natured about it I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. The weighing factor was the fact that he tried to tell me that carrying my drivers license was law in MI, when it wasn't. I found that later to be false, as I had guessed it was. I found that to be an insult to my intelligence, as though I wouldn't find out the truth. He was very short and curt with me. By his attitude, you would have thought I had blown a stop sign at a school crossing just after school was let out. I put 2 and 2 together and figured it was a hot day, the guy was bored, and decided to take out his frustrations on this insignificant cyclist who posed no threat to anyone. I'm no cop hater. I think they serve a very useful function in society - when they do it right and empathy where empathy could be warranted, as in my case. As Bigtime pointed out, how many of us haven't seen a cop speeding or rolling thru stop lights/signs, just to turn into Ram's Horn for a bite to eat? I see it on average once a month here. So since I know that it's not safe for him to do so, should I race him down on my bike and give him a warning? Behaviour like that could get me run over by him.
As for ID, I carry a photocopy of my drivers license and insurance card along with a few buck in a ziplock bag with me now. Not because of the cop, but because of the rash of cyclist getting mowed down by gas guzzlers.