2new2this

So we have all these speeding complaints about cars, but I personally speed almost every ride on my bike. When there are huge hills, or even smaller ones, it is very easy to do 32-35 in a 25 around these parts. Has anyone been pulled over for speeding on their bike? Is it considered just as evil as running stop signs/lights? I know that this section of the forum is pretty strict about how a cyclist should behave. What are your views on speeding on a bike?

Saving Hawaii

If I got pulled over I'd ask for a ticket... going to court over that would probably be enjoyable in and of itself and I could frame the ticket.

jtaddei

yeah i agree with the above. If i got a ticket for speeding i'd ask for the ticket just for proof of going so fast so i could brag to all you folks

Basil Moss

My Uncle Alfie once got a reprimand from a policeman for "pedalling furiously" in a town. This was long before the days of speedometers, so no idea how fast he was going...

resipsa

I would welcome a speeding ticket - so long as I get to keep it for posterity's sake. Then again, I'm in Massachusetts, so the maximum penalty for a traffic violation on a bicycle is all of $20.

bhop

If you did get one, I don't see how it could hold up in court since bike's aren't required to have a speedometer.

resipsa

I'm 100% certain that the lack of a speedometer is not a bar to a ticket's validity.

It's like how having a baggie of cocaine is illegal, even though you lack the lab equipment necessary to prove that it is indeed cocaine and not baking soda.

2new2this

But they are required to follow all traffic laws.

dcrowell

I've never been pulled over for speeding, but I have far exceeded a speed limit (of 15 mph) on a nice downhill run. I won't do it again, it was a little too twisty for the speeds I attained. I'm glad I didn't slam into a tree.

EnigManiac

Back in the early 80's, when I was in my late teens, I borrowed a friend's Bianchi touring bike so I could ride the longest street in the world, Yonge St. from Lake Ontario to Rainy River near the Minnesotta border. Along the way back, I was heading out of a town, though I can't remember which one of the thousands of little towns it was, when an OPP officer pulled me over for speeding. He told me I was doing 35mph in a 20 zone. I remember I was racing down a steep hill and wanted the momentum to carry me right over the preceding smaller hump. He didn't give me a ticket but seemed incredulous that a bike could go that fast and was asking, in a very friendly and fascinated way, what kind of bike it was, how many gears (12) and why, if it was loaded down with a sleeping bag, tents and clothes, was it not slower. I answered his questions politely though I was cursing under my breath, because by the time I stopped, I was almost the very bottom of the hill and had to climb the smaller hill all because he never got his fat ass out of his cruiser. But he was a nice guy.

zeytoun

Did your Uncle Alfie use the rare, but quite effective, "how on earth can anyone be angry while they pedal" legal defense?

uke

I haven't gotten a ticket, and I'm more than happy to break the limit whenever possible and practical. Top speed was 35.8 mph in a 30 mph zone with heavy traffic. On another stretch of road, where the construction limited speeds to 20 mph, I hit 32.6 mph once. Now that the sidewalk's been constructed, though, I don't have to use the road any more, and look forward to using that there.

2new2this

Maybe I am not understanding what you are saying, but I always thought that sidewalk=death

uke

^
I died 47 times using the sidewalk this morning. True story.

jefferee

'sidewalk=death' is a little overstated. Riding on the sidewalk at a junction (including a driveway) can be dangerous because drivers do not expect sidewalk users to be traveling at bicycle speeds. And bicycle/pedestrian interactions carry their own hazards and charms.

That said, in my city there are some stretches of predominantly empty sidewalk next to busy 35 mph+ arterial roads with narrow curb lanes (and no bike lanes), no driveways, and infrequent intersections. Riding on such a sidewalk would be at least as safe (and considerably less taxing on the nerves) than riding on the road, as long as appropriate care is taken at intersections.

surveyor

Uh-oh. Now you've done it.



Side walk does not always = death. Frequently it = having to travel a bit slower, watch for pedestrians, and exercising extreme caution when crossing streets.

I am not a fan of the sidewalk, but I also like to ride at speed and the sidewalks around here are abysmal.

2new2this

I guess I am not much for going slow. What I consider slow is anything<10mph. I can't ride more than 5-7 on sidewalks here without being unstable, or unsafe. I shouldn't have worded it that way. If you like going slow and being super careful sidewalk=the place for you.

Allister

I sometimes go over the 60km/h speed limit descending the Story Bridge. The cars are still passing me though.

oldster

In the early 50's, pal and I bolted the front of an english bike to the back of a schwinn to make a three wheel tandem...went out on main street ,which was a gentle down hill ,and went as fast as we could...
the Cop stopped us for speeding. ripped us a new one.. no ticket...in those days judge woulda laughed...(this would probably be better on 50+)
Bud

atbman

Re: pedalling furiously" - you can't be done for speeding on a bike in the UK, but you can for "furious riding", for the reason that the law does not require bikes to be fitted with speedometers, therefore riders cannot knowingly commit a speeding offence, since they cannot know what speed they are doing.

The charge used to be "furious and reckless riding", but I believe the reckless bit has now been removed.

tatfiend 

From reading bicycling history that "furious riding" charge goes back at least as far as the penny farthing bikes. I get the impression that the landed gentry hated anything that could keep up with, or go faster, than their horses. After all did not the "Red flag law" limit motor vehicles on public roads to 5 MPH until about 1896?

trekker pete

There is a long straight downhill near my house. It has a 25 mph limit. Achieving this limit pretty much means riding the brakes most of the way. 40 mph takes little effort. I have been pulled over on this road, in my car. Not yet on the bike, but, I suspect/hope someday I will.

bakerjw

If I see a cop shooting radar at the bottom of a hill or on a good downhill section, I keep it in mind in case I come back that way. I can then try to see how close or past the speed limit that I can travel. A speeding ticket on a bike would be saved and framed.

Pig_Chaser

School zones... i have to slow down for them at 30kph some days. I'll take the lane in that situation and still get passed by cagers in the oncoming lane. I know it speaks to the weakness of my character, but i shamefully admit i always hope there's a cop around when they do that.

2manybikes

I have been trying to get a speeding ticket on a bicycle as long as I can remember. There's plenty of hills here where I can speed, but the cops refuse to give me a ticket. I think they care more about something important. On the roads where I do it, speeding bicycles is not one of them. There's no peds around, not much traffic, good visibility, etc. It's not very dangerous, certainly not to others. They have better things to do paperwork about.

I don't want to speed if there are peds or heavy traffic. That might be an easy/stupid way to get a ticket.