Texas - Police Ticketing Stop Sign Runners at White Rock Lake

Heads up to anyone planning on riding White Rock Lake. Dallas police are setting up survelliance near stop signs and ticketing riders who they observe running stop signs. Lotek and I saw several riders being ticketed on Sunday morning. Remember that when we are out on the roads we must obey all the laws. We are ambassadors for our sport. As Lotek said, if we expect the cars to stop at the stop signs, we cyclists need to stop as well.

Well good for DPD. I hate it when some dip weed on a bike blows through a stop sign out there and almost takes me out. And yeah, I absolutely agree that they give us all a harder ride because of the example they set for the rest of us.

Thanks for the heads up Jeff. ;)

How much are your tickets down there?

I think I heard $215 or was it $120ish, something over a hundred bucks if I heard right.

Btw JSharr, what am I, chopped liver, or was I so far ahead of you at that point you don't consider me having been riding with you at that point?

I'll never blow a stop sign full speed, on a Saturday morning I'll slow significantly till I'm sure that all directions of traffic at the crossing is absolutely empty before rolling it. If there is any traffic, motorized or not, I'll put a foot down before proceeding. In higher traffic times, always stop. Period.

:D At the speed you were going all you saw was a blue blur to your left. Marty and I were going slow enough to observe what was going on!:D I guess I mentioned Lotek because we slowed down to observe and then started warning other riders heading that way.

There was a guy stopped and being handed a ticket when I went by I do believe. At least I heard the guy asking about what court as I went by. I certainly backed it off a bit as I went by though, just in case.

See, this is exactly why I just close my eyes and coast through any stop sign or traffic light. That way I can tell the officer that I didn't even see it.

See, this is exactly why I just close my eyes and coast through any stop sign or traffic light. That way I can tell the officer that I didn't even see it.
It is creative thinking like this that makes teh Southwest forum so great! I hereby nominate Pup for president of this forum!:D

They're cracking down all over the Dallas area. The RBM rides have been stopped in Sachse and Murphy so keep your head up out there.

There cracking down all over the Dallas area. The RBM rides have been stopped in Sachse and Murphy so keep your head up out there.

Daym, stopped for running stop signs or what? Are they wanting the pack to go through the stop sign one at a time or something? :rolleyes:

There cracking down all over the Dallas area. The RBM rides have been stopped in Sachse and Murphy so keep your head up out there.
I remember hearing about Murphy and Sachse doing this last year as well. Thanks for the warning.

Daym, stopped for running stop signs or what? Are they wanting the pack to go through the stop sign one at a time or something? :rolleyes:

I was in a PBA group that was stopped in Sacshe last Thurs evening. They were warning us that they would start ticketing if everyone didn't stop. In our case the front guys all stopped with feet down, but when the stopped cross traffic waved them through some of the mid pack and back pack guys didn't come to a full stop and rolled through at a crawl.

In Sacshe it sounds like they want everyone 2 or 3 across and to act just like cars coming to a complete stop at the stop and not roll through as a group even if you have already stopped. Each group of bikes would act like a single car rather than the whole pack moving through like a large truck. So if you had a group of 30 in groups of 3 you would be like 15 cars and would need to come to complete stop again as you came to the sign and if there is cross traffic let them alternate and intermix with the bikes.

Seems like a great way to increase the danger by making cars pass multiple small groups of bikes and also greatly increase the time multiple cars will have to wait on bikes through the congested intersection. :rolleyes:

I wonder if maybe the shops and groups that plan these rides should come up with multiple routes for each ride and only ride each route once a month?

My reasoning for this is that the locals in Sachse/Murphy who do not ride probably do not like the weekly influx of cyclists riding the same route every Saturday morning. It probably is an annoyance to them adn the local police are gonna respond to the complaints and stake out the problem areas to catch offenders.

If we vary our routes and do not give them a pattern to follow, they are not going to get as many complaints and are going to have a harder time establishing a pattern and placing officers at intersections.

Just a thought in case any ride marshalls are reading this.

Oh I'm 100% sure this is driven by resident/driver complaints about having to deal with the bikes. It's ironic that if we follow the popo's rules that it would greatly increase the impact on the residents.

I know that finding alternative routes is high on all the ride leaders agendas. Unfortunately there just aren't a ton of alternatives, especially heading east. I would also like to see some designated representatives of the various groups (pba, rbm, gdb etc) schedule a meeting with town officials/ police to discuss safety and how to mitigate impact on the residents from bike traffic. I'm not optimistic it would do much in the short term, but long term it would be good to open a line of communication and show that the organized groups are trying to work with the local officials.

I think the first thing would to be actually look up the laws that partain to cyclists at a stop signs. But you are right, making the cyclists go through at a very much slower pace though the stop sign is going to cause more problems than solve. :rolleyes:

I easily imagine when the bike clubs get talking with the locals (even if only the PDs), the locals will try to restrict bike traffic on some or many of the roads. That's the way Home Owner Assocs think.

Some people have even reported being stopped by the police for riding 3 abreast instead of 2. It appears that the law is not clear from city to city as to how many riders can ride next to eachother in the same lane because it has also been reported by a couple that they were stopped for riding 2 abreast. The officer said they could only ride single file even on a multi-lane road.

Some people have even reported being stopped by the police for riding 3 abreast instead of 2. It appears that the law is not clear from city to city as to how many riders can ride next to eachother in the same lane because it has also been reported by a couple that they were stopped for riding 2 abreast. The officer said they could only ride single file even on a multi-lane road.

I think we need to find a cyclist lawer asap who's willing to do some looking into the actual laws of some of these citys and the state. Riding single file in a pack of 50+ will cause many more problems than they solve. Additionally, I'm fairly sure that motorcycles are legal to share the lane which would mean that cyclings should be able to as well. They're just trying to bully us off the roads in my view.

technically motorcycles laws in TX aren't any less ambiguous; cycling law enforcement seems to be arbitrary but on the rise. I was pulled over for splitting lanes on my motorcycle yet the TX law says that you can and I had to tell the cop that. The law doesn't address whether a motorcycle can ride two abreast or if they have to be staggered but 3 is a no no.

2 abreast is fine for cyclists as long as they are not impeding traffic.

For the record:

Texas State Bicycle Laws

Stipulations in the Texas Traffic Laws that bicyclists should be familiar with include:

Cyclists have all the rights and the duties that apply to drivers of vehicles. This statement includes stopping at signs and signals, yielding the right of way and obeying posted speed limits and one-way street signs.

No bicycle shall carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed.

A bicyclist moving below the speed of other traffic shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, except when:

The person is overtaking and passing another vehicle going in the same direction;

The person is preparing to turn left at an intersection or onto a private road or driveway;

Conditions of the roadway, including fixed or moving objects or vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or substandard lanes, make it unsafe to ride next to the right curb or edge of the roadway.

The person is operating a bicycle in an outside lane that is less than 14 feet in width and does not have a designated bicycle lane adjacent to that lane, or it is too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to safely travel side by side.

For night use, a bicycle shall have a lamp on the front with a white light visible from a stance of at least 500 feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear that is of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety, and visible when directly in front of lawful upper beams of motor vehicle headlamps from all distances from 50 - 300 feet to the rear of the bicycle, or a lamp that emits a red light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the bicycle.

Violation of the law is a misdemeanor offense and could result in a Justice of the Peace Citation.


and some more from Bicycle Texas:


http://www.biketexas.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=65

Great Link, dl613! I wonder about the wording in those things...what if you and your kid are riding with a trail-a-bike? Would somebody who really wants to hassle you call that device a problem? See...I'm a little paranoid about non-bikers...except I don't think it's paranoia...maybe it is, and I'm just a bit cynical.

I would guess since that and a tandem are specifically designed to carry more than one rider that would be the "exception" but again, my interpretation would be that "one person" is a capacity issue. one a$$ per seat, maybe. Anyone.

Too bad there aren't any bike cops that frequent these forums. I usually see a couple on my early rides at WRL and I'll ask one this week and relay any info I get.

There is a Frisco Bicycle Police Officer who lives close to me. The next time I see him I am going to ask him about some of these items.

Frisco Bike Cop?!?!?!?! Since WHEN is FRISCO big enough to warrant BIKE COPS????? (sez the old man who only remembers Frisco as a farming community and doesn't thing Ikea really is there).