Advocacy & Safety - Pulled over by the CHP while biking on I-280

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So it's legal to ride a bicycle there but not a motor driven cycle? Seems strange to ban motor driven cycles from being used on a highway where bicycles can be ridden. Signs can easily be defaced. Anybody could come by and put something over the "bicycles" on the sign, although in this case from what you've said it sounds like a well established route.

Have you called the CHP and mentioned the interaction you had with the officer? If she actually did make some kind of permanent note of your drivers license # and you know the exact time you were pulled over they may be able to look back through the records and find out which officer you were detained by.

The officer mentioned a recent fatal accident. Maybe she had to respond to it and the scene was still fresh in her mind. Either way I can see her point of view, even if she was wrong. On the other hand, if it's legal for you to ride there, the decision is yours and she shouldn't be detaining you or ordering you to do anything if you're not breaking any laws.

If they can't find out exactly which officer it was, they could at least do some research on the legality of riding there and maybe bring it up during a meeting or post a memo or something...I'd definitely give them a call on the 7-digit non-emergency number.

whatabunchabs

If the signage is confusing or ambiguous, take it up with the proper authorities. The law officer was only enforcing as he saw it, and didn't even ticket you.

You were warned. If your caught again, you can't say you hadn't been.

Buck up lil fella.

The cop was obviously in the "need to right" mode.. Regardless if there wer flashing lights that said next 1/4 mile bike riders this way, he would of still said the same thing.. There was no way once he went to the trouble of pulling you over was he going to admit fault..

. . . The sign at the Larkspur on-ramp reads: "Pedestrians, _________, Motor Driven Cycles Prohibited" -- with a blank sport where "Bicycles" would normally appear.

At the next off-ramp, a quarter mile down the freeway, where I had exited and was ultimately pulled over is a sign that reads: "Bicycles Must Exit."

So... as I'm exiting and about 50 yards beyond the "Bicycles Must Exit" sign I hear a "STOP!" over the cruiser's loudspeaker and I dutifully oblige. . . .
It sounds like it's obvious that cyclists are allowed there. The DOT removed "bicycles" from the prohibition sign for a reason. No one puts up "bicycles must exit" signs on freeways where bikes are banned.

You have three choices:

Never ride that route again.
Politely talk to the local CHP post to see if you can convince them to change their attitude.
Ride the route again, politely take a ticket, and hope that the judge is more reasonable than the cop.

If you chose choice two, it might help to get your local cyclist advocacy organization involved.

Join your local/state cycling organization and the League of American Bicyclists (if you haven't already done so). Get them on to contact the CHP. The CHP will know what officer made the stop by the date, time and location.

Air your grievance in the Letters to the Editor section of your local paper giving date, time, location and how the officer was in the wrong.

After a few weeks for word to get around I would go back to riding that very same route and if ticketed, would be prepared to fight it in court, asking the cycling organizations for assistance.

One good thing that may come of taking an alternate route is, you find one you like better.

Ride it again, and take it to court. Honestly, if the cop was sure about her position she'd have written you a ticket right then, given her attitude.
See the second part of my sig. If the info that you have given is correct, then make her waste her time in court, make her look like the fool she is.

Join your local/state cycling organization and the League of American Bicyclists (if you haven't already done so). Get them on to contact the CHP. The CHP will know what officer made the stop by the date, time and location.

Air your grievance in the Letters to the Editor section of your local paper giving date, time, location and how the officer was in the wrong.

After a few weeks for word to get around I would go back to riding that very same route and if ticketed, would be prepared to fight it in court, asking the cycling organizations for assistance.

One good thing that may come of taking an alternate route is, you find one you like better.
+100. You really want assistance to take on the CHP. I think it would be worthwhile, too. People who ride their bikes on freeways don't do so because they're fun, pleasant routes. They do it because no better alternative exists.

People who ride their bikes on freeways don't do so because they're fun, pleasant routes.
This ZooBomber respectfully disagrees.

I did two Friday rush hour 'parking lot' bombs on Highway 26 yesterday evening. All the motorists in 5mph bumper to bumper traffic got to watch me go by on my stingray. It was fun!


;)

:D

Isn't there a better route than taking an Interstate?

I rode that stretch many, many years ago, just to be able to say I rode a bicycle on the interstate.

There has to be some definitive authority, a state statute, federal statute, that states that bicycles can ride on 280. Have that on you next time you ride adn show it to the cop.

Are bikes allowed between the Skyline entrance and Skyline exit, or does it really start at Larkspur? That would make sense, and it might save me some trouble tomorrow.

This ZooBomber respectfully disagrees.

I did two Friday rush hour 'parking lot' bombs on Highway 26 yesterday evening. All the motorists in 5mph bumper to bumper traffic got to watch me go by on my stingray. It was fun!


;)

:D
:rolleyes: ;)

Wouldn't your Department of Transportation be the place where signage, speed limits and rules of the road are created and not the CHP?
I think that is how it works in Massachusetts, but we don't have Ponch and Jon here either.

I sympathize with you and would follow the advice given by others. Yet, years ago I rode north through that exact same area and followed a bike path along the east side of the Crystal Springs Reservoirs between the on and off ramps you mentioned. It was back in 1983 and I found the path on a map I got from the CA DOT through Adventure Bicycling. Is that path gone? Or is it closed at the time you were there? This same path still shows on the regional bike route maps available on the 511.org site.

I sympathize with you and would follow the advice given by others. Yet, years ago I rode north through that exact same area and followed a bike path along the east side of the Crystal Springs Reservoirs between the on and off ramps you mentioned. It was back in 1983 and I found the path on a map I got from the CA DOT through Adventure Bicycling. Is that path gone? Or is it closed at the time you were there? This same path still shows on the regional bike route maps available on the 511.org site.



That would be the Sawyer's Camp trail. Getting on at one freeway entrance and off at the next would let a rider stay on a wide shoulder the entire time. If it was later in the day, I'd rather be on a freeway shoulder like that than on a dark trail.

A while back I got stopped by two local police as I was cycling home from work on I-70. There was an alternative, but it was 2 AM, I was tired, and I wanted to get home and get to sleep as soon as I could.

I tried to explain to them that what I was doing was legal, they wouldn't listen, so I got their names and got off the Interstate and took the long way home. Next morning I called the Silverthorne police department, described the episode, and asked them to please double check the law. I got a call back from the Silverthorne police a few hours later saying I was right, the cops were wrong, and I never got bothered again when I used I-70 to get home.

I would call the local CHP office and ask for the desk sergeant and get a clarification on that section of road.. If you decide to ride it again and get hassled, you can say well I spoke to Sergeant Smith the other day at your office and he said that this section of road was fine for riding my bike..

The desk sergeant will be the officers direct supervisor..

I dreamed about this thread last night and wound up skipping the entire state if Indiana in my dream.

I think this incident just ticked me off, hope you get it worked out to your satisfaction. Good Luck.
Steven

Tell her to go ahead and write the ticket. Go back, take photos of the signage with a date stamp and see the creep in court. Don't let that pig (and she sounds like a self-righteous pig instead of a Police Officer) get away with trying to bully you.

I would call the local CHP office and ask for the desk sergeant and get a clarification on that section of road.. If you decide to ride it again and get hassled, you can say well I spoke to Sergeant Smith the other day at your office and he said that this section of road was fine for riding my bike..

The desk sergeant will be the officers direct supervisor..

I think that this is a good idea. I would leave out the intimidation stuff for the time being since what you really want is the ability to ride on that small section of the freeway. Discussing the officers behavior prior to resolving the legal issue, in my opinion, would just be a side issue. When it is resolved, particularly in your favor, then I would bring that issue up.

I thought her comments were odd.

Why did she tell you that they had a fatality in an effort to get you not to ride there again. Does she tell all the motorists to stop driving in areas where one of them was killed?

Im sorry sir but Im going to have to ask you to stop driving on this interstate because 937 people were killed here last year..........

This ZooBomber respectfully disagrees.

I did two Friday rush hour 'parking lot' bombs on Highway 26 yesterday evening. All the motorists in 5mph bumper to bumper traffic got to watch me go by on my stingray. It was fun!


;)

:D

So these forums arent the only place you display your blantant
disrespect for authority and the system designed to protect you ??
Ill be alerting the 0HP to this thread so they may monitor your subversive
activities in the name of public safety.

... your blantant
lack of disrespect for authority and the system designed to protect you, on ??
Ill be alerting the CHP to this thread so they may monitor your subversive
activities in the name of public safety.

Didn't you mean "lack of respect"? .. or do you want more disrespect?:rolleyes: I'm telling my mom!:p

Opps......... Need. more. coffee.
:p

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:)

OMG, illegal freeway bike-ins! Are those SFBC people commies or something? I think it would have been better to just sit quietly back and wait for CalTrans to realize the error of their ways on their own.

:rolleyes:

;)

:roflmao:

Unfortunately I cannot locate any official notification or confirmation on the Caltrans or CHP websites with regards to the legality of cycling this section.Without bothering to look it up, I think the law says something along the lines of "bicycles are prohibited from limited access highways where posted." If that's correct, then if a prohibition against bicycles isn't posted, riding there wouldn't be in violation of the law. You should check the statute, though, to be sure.

It sounds like you could get back-up from the San Francisco Bike Coalition if your independent action goes nowhere. I'm sure they'd like to know cyclists are being pulled over and intimidated for no legal reason.

I really dislike cops who legislate by the side of the road, then pull that "It will be my word against yours" routine. Sounds like your CHP officer is very similar to some Massachusetts state police officers.

Link to some case files at a law firm's site (http://www.jasonandfischer.com/c_rowinsky1_complaint.html)

I wonder what your CHP officer would have done if you had not had a license on your person at the time of the stop?

A agree with the advice already posted. Join the LAB if you have not, and get to know who your local acvocacy groups are. They will also know who the cyclist's attorneys are in your area.

CA Vehicle Code Section 21960 states, in effect, that bicycles are allowed use of the freeway unless there is a sign specifically indicating otherwise. ...In that case, you don't need clarification from the CHP. You have the statute, and you have the lack of signage as your evidence. Further evidence is provided by the archived photo you have. Rather than ask the CHP for clarification, you may want to clarify matters for that office, perhaps with the assistance of the SFBC.

One more thing to keep in mind however-- there *may* be a statute to the effect that notwithstanding the law, an officer may give a contrary order for purposes of public safety.

Pms???? . .

If it were me, I would photograph the signs and copy the law. Then continue riding the route with both in hand. If stopped again, show CHP copies of how you will make them look like fools if they ticket you. That may cause an appropriate attitude adjustment.

CHP telling you to never ride the route again, even though it is legal for you to do so, is the equivalent of a restraining order. Judges have the power to issue restraining orders, not CHP. Judges really hate it when cops step into their territory.

Pms???? . .
How does that explain male cops who pull the same crap?

Sympathetic Reactive PMS Syndrome (SRPMSS)

Sympathetic Reactive PMS Syndrome (SRPMSS)
:roflmao:

Or he lives in a house full of women...:D:rolleyes:

Aaron:)

If the signage is confusing or ambiguous, take it up with the proper authorities. The law officer was only enforcing as he saw it, and didn't even ticket you.

You were warned. If your caught again, you can't say you hadn't been.

Buck up lil fella.

LOL what a ridiculous response. The OP should feel lucky he/she wasn't ticketed? The officer was clearly in the wrong here. Cops are not robots. They do have free will and hopefully the ability to use common sense. She was just being a prick. Using your argument, nobody should be blamed for anything.

How does that explain male cops who pull the same crap?
Obviously transgender. The switch isn't quite 100%.

Look it's pointless to argue with the cops. That said you don't have to stay there and get lectured by some clueless person in a uniform. Next time tell them to either give you a ticket or to let you go. If the officer gives you a ticket bring evidence that they are wrong to the court and let the judge straighten them out. Works much better then you trying to explain the same thing.

Location: SF Bay Peninsula: I-280 between the Larkspur on-ramp and Skyline (Route 35) exit.

As I was biking home from work this evening (6:45pm -- still very light with sun in sky) I headup up the Larkspur on-ramp onto I-280. The I-280 is a 5-lane freeway. As I did, I saw a CHP officer parked behind the offramp, on the main freeway shoulder, giving a motorcycle a ticket.

"Uh, oh," I thought and mentally braced myself for trouble. Why? Well despite it being entirely legal to bike this short stretch of I-280, I don't think it's common knowledge. I recall asking a CHP officer about the legality of biking this stretch a year ago and got a "I'd give you a ticket if I saw you" response.

The sign at the Larkspur on-ramp reads: "Pedestrians, _________, Motor Driven Cycles Prohibited" -- with a blank sport where "Bicycles" would normally appear.

At the next off-ramp, a quarter mile down the freeway, where I had exited and was ultimately pulled over is a sign that reads: "Bicycles Must Exit."

So... as I'm exiting and about 50 yards beyond the "Bicycles Must Exit" sign I hear a "STOP!" over the cruiser's loudspeaker and I dutifully oblige.

This is the ensuing conversation as best I can recollect. I was very polite throughout:

"You can't be on this road!"
"The signage says I can."
"There's a short stretch between the prior ramps, but not this one."
"With all respect, that's incorrect. [this got a visible reaction -- not in a good way] There's a sign right back there that says 'bikes must exit."
"The portion that you can ride on is back at the previous ramp."
"But the sign at the ramp down here-"
"I've heard you say that three times now. Do you think I didn't hear you the first two times?
"I'm sorry. I apologize. Sorry."
"Your license please." [goes to the squad car -- comes back with my drivers license # written on a 3x5 card]

"What are you doing on this road?"
"I'm commuting home from work. This is my route."
"There are alternatives. I've written down your license number, if I see you again on this freeway, I'll give you a ticket."
"May I respond now?"
"..."
"At the ramp I just got on, the sign that would usually prohibit bikes has the bicycle portion deleted. The sign right back there [points] says 'bikes must exit' so if it's illegal then the signage is very confusing."
"Did you see how narrow the shoulder is back there? We just had a fatality the other day on 101."
"Okay, I won't ride this way again."
"If you ride this way every day, I don't want to see you here again."
"This is a popular route, there are others who ride this all the time."
"I'll talk to them as well."

I didn't get a ticket, but I felt *very* intimidated by an officer who was 100% clearly in the wrong. She had mentioned a particular ramp that bikes *were* able to use and I had checked that ramp not 10 minutes prior -- it clearly prohibits bikes. That prohibition was not present on the signage for the ramp I took (the ramp she claims I wasn't allowed to take).

Unfortunately we were out of visual range of the signs. I would hope she would have checked the signs out for herself later in the evening, but I highly doubt it. She was gruff if not downright rude and I wasn't getting anywhere trying to explain that I was riding legally. I really hated that I caved and said that I wouldn't ride that way again even though I'm legally entitled to. I was also so intimidated that I didn't get the officer's name.

Now I fear that if I *do* ride that way again, not only will I get a ticket, but I'll also get some "pay back" for disobeying like have my bike impounded for my own "safety." A ticket wouldn't be an issue in itself as I'm clearly in the right here, but I would hate to have my bike impounded or something ridiculous like that. Admittedly -- I may be paranoid about this level of retaliation.

The thing is, it's well known among bikers that you can ride this stretch, but there's nothing official on the Caltrans or CHP sites indicating what stretches of CA freeways are rideable (there are quite a few portions).

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

How does that explain male cops who pull the same crap?

SPS (small penis syndrome)

Obviously transgender. The switch isn't quite 100%.

Yea, this was in San Francisco after all.;)

Last post and I'll drop this:

I called the SF Field Office and spoke to the Watch Officer who was very sympathetic -- apologized, actually -- and agreed that it was absolutely legal to bike where I was. He told me he would speak to the officer and clear things up.
:beer: It's good that you let the SF Bike Coalition know that it happened, too. If they spot a pattern, they can get official about it.

Last post and I'll drop this:

I called the SF Field Office and spoke to the Watch Officer who was very sympathetic -- apologized, actually -- and agreed that it was absolutely legal to bike where I was. He told me he would speak to the officer and clear things up.

Cool, and thanks for keeping the forum posted.:)

Last post and I'll drop this:

I called the SF Field Office and spoke to the Watch Officer who was very sympathetic -- apologized, actually -- and agreed that it was absolutely legal to bike where I was. He told me he would speak to the officer and clear things up.
You did the right thing and you got the proper response. I hope you got the Watch Officer's name, in case you ever again encounter the *itch from Hell.

How does that explain male cops who pull the same crap?

My guess would be his Wife/girlfriend told him to go jump in the nearest lake, when he asked for "a little" the night before. Well, that's my guess.