Advocacy & Safety - Cop ticketed driver tailgating and honking at me today!

So, I drop my six year old off at school (we ride a tandem every morning) and I am headed back home in front of the school where there is a lane in each direction and traffic is very slow due to the line of parents in SUVs (mostly) dropping there kids off at school. I am taking the entire line because there is no shoulder and with the lane opposite me stop and go there is no room for both me and a car.

So I am crusing along at 17 MPH or so (in a 20) and this guy behind me thinks he is Johann Bruneel and 3-5 from the back of my bike honking his horn. I look back and then hold my left arm (palm down) in a "slow down jesture". He continues and keeps honking. I only have about 300 yards more to go so I shrug and keep riding. As I am getting ready to turn into my sub I notice a police car in the sub and think about saying something to him but as I turn the police car puts on his flashers and pulls out behind the guy and pulls the guy over. I ride back out on the main street to watch.

Net/net, the guy gets out of his car pointing at me and asking the officer "did you see him, did you see him?", "he was riding in the middle of the street, not the sidewalk", etc. . .The officer tells him (I am close enough to hear) that I was doing the right thing and he was doing the wrong thing, that cyclists have a right to the road and can take the whole lane where safe (Texas law). The guy is going ape sh** and the officer very calmly tells him to go back to his car and get his license, registration. He comes back and hands his stuff over and is again pointing at me (the officer asked me to hang around for my info as he suspects this guy will contest the ticket). The officer points out that it is a school zone with a 20mph limit and I was going almost 20.

He writes the ticket and hands it to the guy who sees it and starts screaming "what the f*** - reckless driving?". At that he tells the guy to either get in his car and leave or he will arrest him for disorderly conduct. The guy got in his car and drove away.

I was pumped! The cop told me he is done being nice to drivers that act like he did - he said if he wasn't honking and driving in an almost threatening manner he would have let him off with a warning. I thanked the officer!

Adam

Oh man right on!

And of course the driver had no clue as to the actual laws... making them up as he went along. Classic.

This really hits the nail on the head... many many times I have stated that motorists simply don't understand that we have the rights to be there.

OK so that's 1... there are only another 100 million or so to go. ;D

Bwahahaha. Kudos for the officer. He should have set the perp on fire right from the "he was riding in the middle of the street" comment.

That's one nice thing about suburban school zones. There is often a cop there waiting for dangerous behavior around the kiddies.

That is great! Thanks for the story. Now if they'd only enforce the law out of the School Zone as well.

Excellent. Not much more I can say.

(I've been on rare occasion close followed and honked at by drivers when I was traveling in the lane at 16mph in a 15mph school zone. One driver even passed me crossing double yellow with agressive swerving and just barely missed hitting the 'SCHOOL ZONE - DO NOT PASS SIGN as they did it. Boy did I wish an officer was there at the time.)

Al

Am I dreaming???????? That is sooooo cool. Update us on the outcome, if you get called as a witness.
:D :D :D



So, I drop my six year old off at school (we ride a tandem every morning) and I am headed back home in front of the school where there is a lane in each direction and traffic is very slow due to the line of parents in SUVs (mostly) dropping there kids off at school. I am taking the entire line because there is no shoulder and with the lane opposite me stop and go there is no room for both me and a car.

So I am crusing along at 17 MPH or so (in a 20) and this guy behind me thinks he is Johann Bruneel and 3-5 from the back of my bike honking his horn. I look back and then hold my left arm (palm down) in a "slow down jesture". He continues and keeps honking. I only have about 300 yards more to go so I shrug and keep riding. As I am getting ready to turn into my sub I notice a police car in the sub and think about saying something to him but as I turn the police car puts on his flashers and pulls out behind the guy and pulls the guy over. I ride back out on the main street to watch.

Net/net, the guy gets out of his car pointing at me and asking the officer "did you see him, did you see him?", "he was riding in the middle of the street, not the sidewalk", etc. . .The officer tells him (I am close enough to hear) that I was doing the right thing and he was doing the wrong thing, that cyclists have a right to the road and can take the whole lane where safe (Texas law). The guy is going ape sh** and the officer very calmly tells him to go back to his car and get his license, registration. He comes back and hands his stuff over and is again pointing at me (the officer asked me to hang around for my info as he suspects this guy will contest the ticket). The officer points out that it is a school zone with a 20mph limit and I was going almost 20.

He writes the ticket and hands it to the guy who sees it and starts screaming "what the f*** - reckless driving?". At that he tells the guy to either get in his car and leave or he will arrest him for disorderly conduct. The guy got in his car and drove away.

I was pumped! The cop told me he is done being nice to drivers that act like he did - he said if he wasn't honking and driving in an almost threatening manner he would have let him off with a warning. I thanked the officer!

Adam

Road rage takes many forms. In Texas there are definitely some serious laws against it. The same can be said of reckless driving, as at least one bonehead cager has discovered. Cool!

Horrible school zone killings. Motorist charged with murder.
http://www.sfgate.com/flat/archive/2005/10/20/chronicle/archive/2005/10/20/BAGDCFB8G01.html

VACAVILLE
Crash kills 2 young schoolkids
Brother, sister die, 10 people hurt when speeding car loses control, hitting a group of children as they were leaving class
Demian Bulwa, Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, October 20, 2005

A speeding driver in Vacaville lost control of his car and crashed into a crowd of mostly young children near an elementary school that had just let out, killing two siblings and injuring 10 other people on Wednesday, police said.

DUDE that is so awesome :) Maybe the cop rides, too??

Reminds me a LOT of a ticket I did not get for speeding. 80 MPH back in the 55 limit days. The CHP Sarge who pulled me over asked if I had $40 that I wanted to throw away. I said no sir and he said then slow down. End of stop. Reading between the lines it seems this cop might have been leaning the same way, but then this jerk at the least talked himself into a bigger ticket.

It's.... it's just so beautiful! *sniff*





:D Seriously, hooray! Let's hope this sort of thing becomes a trend (I mean the enforcement, not the situation). Two days ago a cab squeezed around me when I was rightfully in the lane going fast... right in front of a couple of cops. Now, they did not ticket the guy but one cop yelled at the cabbie. Made my morning! (I thanked the cop as I went by, of course!)

Here is how the driver will remember it:

I was just driving down the and this guy on a bicycle is doing circles the the middle of the street. I stopped and waited a little bit to see if he would see me. After a minute of waiting I tapped my horn to get his attention. Then all of the sudden this cop pulls up behind and gives ME a ticket. Cops got nothing better to than pull me over for nothing on my way to work.


So, I drop my six year old off at school (we ride a tandem every morning) and I am headed back home in front of the school where there is a lane in each direction and traffic is very slow due to the line of parents in SUVs (mostly) dropping there kids off at school. I am taking the entire line because there is no shoulder and with the lane opposite me stop and go there is no room for both me and a car.

What police jurisdiction was that? KUDOS to them and to you!

You know, when the f-word left the guy's lips, the officer could have written him up for another offense. It is illegal to swear at a peace officer in Texas.

Woo-hoo! The Lone Star State is getting wiser !!!

i have dreams about this sort of thing.

Priceless. :D

:) that story made my day

Extra points for the Johann Bruneel reference.

The officer kicks @ss!

You may want to consider a letter of commendation to the cop's boss. Rewarding positive behavior works wonders.

Absolutely, write that letter!

Great story. Thanks for sharing.
Although, assault with a deadly weapon sounds like it may have been an even more appropriate charge.

Where in Texas do you live? Please say the D/FW area!

Reckless driving! That's uber cool. I don't think you can take defenseless driving to get out of reckless driving. This guy will need to go to court and ask for deferred adjudication or get stuck with the fine and a very nice insurance rate hike. He may even need to hire a lawyer to help deal with it. Even if he ends up getting off, it's going to be a major PITA for him.

Am I dreaming???????? That is sooooo cool. Update us on the outcome, if you get called as a witness.
:D :D :D

I had a similar experiance on a marked bike route not so long ago tht was also a construction zone. Guy driving beside me cussing me telling me to get the f off the road bikes dont belong there etc etc. Threatening me all kinds of crap. I glance back and see a cop coming up and matchign speed with me and the driver of the truck. He pulls along side the driver and instructs him to appologize and says you best hope the cyclists acepts it. Other wise you got a huge ticket headingyour way. Told the guy fines were doubled as it was a construction zone and also double do to it being a bike route (first i heard of doubling fines in a bike route when its car v bike incidents. Scare tactics maybe?)

So this guy appologizes to me and i just totaly ignore him. Cop taps his siren and lights and i hear to bad now pull over. I just road on. When i looked back i seen the motorist waving his hands and pointing my way. Seen the cop smiling and heard him say cyclists have every right you do on the road. Seen him gester to the bike route sign and could no longer hear what he was saying.

I was laughing damn hard from the time i heard to bad now pull over.The driver had to hear me yell to bad for you moron.

Some times us cyclists get a little vengence on the morons who infest the roads and put our lives in danger.

Absolutely, write that letter!


To make the letter even more impressive, make a donation to some charity (police fund, Katrina relief, L.A. Foundation, etc.) in the name of the dept. or officer. As they say, putting your money where your mouth is.

I did this for a ferry boat crew member who found my pack and returned it.

All I can say is SWEEEET!!!!!!!!

Absolutely, write that letter!

In fact post a copy here and we can all put our names to it then print out the sheet with out name on it and give it all to them :)
Something along the lines of thanks from all of us
then we put our names city and state where we all live.

Acrafton, you just made my day. :D

Do you mind if I print this to stick on my refridgerator and send e-mail copies to everyone I know?

In fact post a copy here and we can all put our names to it then print out the sheet with out name on it and give it all to them :)
Something along the lines of thanks from all of us
then we put our names city and state where we all live.
Oh and maybe a pay pal donation set up. Unfortunatly im jobless at the moment and cant donate squat. But it would sure speak for cycle advocacy to donate a large portion of money to a good charity in any ones name.

Thanks for the great responses - it indeed made up for any/all dumb drivers I have encountered!

BTW, I live in the DFW area.

Adam

Finally! Woo Hoo!

Keep Cycling,

Great story! Reckless drivers are reckless everywhere and with everyone. Hope he gets his license pulled.

Justice at last. If only it were the norm rather than the exception.

I'll put my name to that thankyou letter, even though I'm on the other side of the world - that will at least convey a sense of just how far reaching a single act of justice can be. :)

I think more of us should be cops

Good to hear that other policemen stick up for cyclists!
Had some high schoolers whoop/holler/blow horn at us; then they threw something at us while we were riding our tandem on a main road.
Person with a cellphone in a car saw what happened and called the local police . . . unbeknownst to us.
About 5 miles up the road squad car puts on siren and pulls us over!!!
Could not figure out what we had done wrong. Cop relates story of cell phone call and caller had given license number, etc. of the culprits' car. Cop asked if we would be willing to file a complaint; said yes. He said we'll nail the kids in school and they'll get an earful.
We make it a habit when out riding our tandem to always wave if we see a police car . . . never know when you might need 'em!

Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

I think more of us should be cops

I'm still waiting for one of us to make a lot of money and buy some small landmass in hospitable climate and set up a car-free country.

At about 6:30 every morning, there are two 35 mph. lanes going my direction and very light traffic. I ride in the center of the right lane so nobody squeezes me. Once in a while, someone will honk at me who doesn't think I should be there, but I also see police from as many as five different jurisdictions (county and city) and none of them ever bother me.

I'm still waiting for one of us to make a lot of money and buy some small landmass in hospitable climate and set up a car-free country.

In terms of "one of us" and "hospitable climate" this may not qualify, but check it out nevertheless: The Mackinac Island (http://www.mackinac.com/)

--J

Wow, I missed this yesterday so I'm really glad it got bumped.

This story really makes my day! Your officer's reaction makes me feel legitimate! :D And it also makes me very proud to be a Texan. Thanks for sharing!

YESSSSSSSS!!!

Thanks for the story, good for you, good for us as cyclists.

So, I drop my six year old off at school (we ride a tandem every morning) and I am headed back home in front of the school where there is a lane in each direction and traffic is very slow due to the line of parents in SUVs (mostly) dropping there kids off at school. I am taking the entire line because there is no shoulder and with the lane opposite me stop and go there is no room for both me and a car.

So I am crusing along at 17 MPH or so (in a 20) and this guy behind me thinks he is Johann Bruneel and 3-5 from the back of my bike honking his horn. I look back and then hold my left arm (palm down) in a "slow down jesture". He continues and keeps honking. I only have about 300 yards more to go so I shrug and keep riding. As I am getting ready to turn into my sub I notice a police car in the sub and think about saying something to him but as I turn the police car puts on his flashers and pulls out behind the guy and pulls the guy over. I ride back out on the main street to watch.

Net/net, the guy gets out of his car pointing at me and asking the officer "did you see him, did you see him?", "he was riding in the middle of the street, not the sidewalk", etc. . .The officer tells him (I am close enough to hear) that I was doing the right thing and he was doing the wrong thing, that cyclists have a right to the road and can take the whole lane where safe (Texas law). The guy is going ape sh** and the officer very calmly tells him to go back to his car and get his license, registration. He comes back and hands his stuff over and is again pointing at me (the officer asked me to hang around for my info as he suspects this guy will contest the ticket). The officer points out that it is a school zone with a 20mph limit and I was going almost 20.

He writes the ticket and hands it to the guy who sees it and starts screaming "what the f*** - reckless driving?". At that he tells the guy to either get in his car and leave or he will arrest him for disorderly conduct. The guy got in his car and drove away.

I was pumped! The cop told me he is done being nice to drivers that act like he did - he said if he wasn't honking and driving in an almost threatening manner he would have let him off with a warning. I thanked the officer!

Adam

Whooooo!!!!!
Sometimes the good guys win :beer:

Reminds me of my ride last weekend when I was trackstanding in a righthand turn lane waiting for the light to switch. Some girl was obviously a bit rushed and decided to honk at me. I just turned around and stared at her, didn't move and waited for the light to switch. Pure bliss.

Thanks for the ray of hope!!!

A letter to the editor of each of your local papers would be a nice step as well (I forget if I read anyone else suggesting this). This may encourage the officers, and awaken any cagers on the verge of awakening.

I am in the midst of composing an email to the editor to respond to a brain dead cager that wrote a letter complaining that sometimes he has to actually hit his brakes instead of whipping around bicycles... The writer's proposal was to get bikes off the road rather than slowing down. I was asked about this article by two people at work, since they know I have alreadt published at least one letter concerning the rights of cyclists to be on the road...

Letters to the editor do good, especially when they are well thought out.

Praise the officer publicly and also take advantage of the slight chance to counteract the story the cager is undoubtedly spewing to those that will listen (if anyone that hears the story reads the paper).

Again, thanks for the good news from Texas!

Extra points for the Johann Bruneel reference.

Um, who is Johan Bruneel?