Advocacy & Safety - Police harassment at NYC Critical Mass- anyone else?

Last night at Critical Mass I got pulled over for crossing the street- right to left, on the crosswalk, with the light. Fifty dollar ticket (which I will contest). The cops were out in force, picking off bikers left and right for completely bogus things- riding no hands, for example. By the time they pulled me out there were more cops than cyclists. They were clearly there to give tickets and break up the mass- there was no illegal anything going on.
I'm wondering if anyone was there, got nailed, and what you're doing about it.
Thanks!
-Still fuming Duellist

NYPD will keep it up until there is no more Critical Mass in NYC, I saw the same thing happen in PDX

Last night at Critical Mass I got pulled over for crossing the street- right to left, on the crosswalk, with the light. Fifty dollar ticket (which I will contest). The cops were out in force, picking off bikers left and right for completely bogus things- riding no hands, for example. By the time they pulled me out there were more cops than cyclists. They were clearly there to give tickets and break up the mass- there was no illegal anything going on.
I'm wondering if anyone was there, got nailed, and what you're doing about it.
Thanks!
-Still fuming Duellist

Why even bother.

critical mass seems to cause more problems then it solves. I think it gives bicyclists a black eye.

more motorists hate roadies than Critical Mass participants

but Critical Mass as an urban phenom sure has gotten the media and the cops attention, I would say unjustifiably so, but it sells papers and keeps cops employed so it's 'a problem'

$50? Must be nice. Fines for moving violations in Austin, TX start at $167 and go up from there. Same fines for a car or bike ...

Speaking of nyc and CMers, what's the latest on that cop that laid a rather nice crosscheck on that dude a few months back?

As for CMs themselves, they certainly do get press and awareness. 99% of it negative.

Is there any point to it besides pissing everybody else off?

Did the NYC CM have any sort of official permission such as a parade would get?

O Woe!

If CM is broken up, whatever will the rest of us roadies and commuters do without our smelly shock troops out there demonstrating our right to ride around in circles in intersections?


If it happened in PDX (whatever that is), it can happen here. O Woe.


.

This thread is about as shocking a revelation as announcing the discovery of bees around honey.

This thread is about as shocking a revelation as announcing the discovery of bees around honey.

Or as surprising as the discovery of derailleurs by fixed gear riders ;)

-Kurt

.... completely bogus things- riding no hands, for example.

Riding no hands is bogus? Love it. Bikers complain about MOTORISTS with one hand on a cell phone; and yet riding NO hands is somehow ok?

roughstuff

Riding no hands is bogus? Love it. Bikers complain about MOTORISTS with one hand on a cell phone; and yet riding NO hands is somehow ok?

roughstuff

is there any straw too small for you to grasp at, eh?

:rolleyes:

is there any straw too small for you to grasp at, eh?

:rolleyes:

Should I grasp at these straws while riding no-handed randya? I assume then, of course, that motorists can drive no handed as well.... ;)

roughstuff

Riding no hands is bogus? Love it. Bikers complain about MOTORISTS with one hand on a cell phone; and yet riding NO hands is somehow ok?

roughstuff

I guarantee that the "no hands" cyclist is vastly more aware of what he is doing and his environment than the cell phone chatting motorist will ever be. :rolleyes:

I guarantee that the "no hands" cyclist is vastly more aware of what he is doing and his environment than the cell phone chatting motorist will ever be. :rolleyes:

Perhaps true. I know folks with better balance riding no hands than I have with both hands. :)

More aware is one thing; but you also have less protection in a crash...so keep those hands on those bars and those brakes.

roughstuff

Last night at Critical Mass I got pulled over for crossing the street- right to left, on the crosswalk, with the light. Fifty dollar ticket (which I will contest). The cops were out in force, picking off bikers left and right for completely bogus things- riding no hands, for example. By the time they pulled me out there were more cops than cyclists. They were clearly there to give tickets and break up the mass- there was no illegal anything going on.
I'm wondering if anyone was there, got nailed, and what you're doing about it.
Thanks!
-Still fuming Duellist

Sounds like you CMers rode into the middle of a CCM (Critical Cop Mass).



:D


Anyway, the stakes have been raised. For your next CM, all riders must ride with no hands for the entire ride, to assert bikers' rights to ride in clownish circles in intersections with no hands.



.

If I were to ride around with a bunch of people to try to raise a stink, I would expect the risk of getting a ticket to go way up.

Part of the cost of civil disobedience is getting harassed by "the man" and is to be expected.

What would the purpose of CM be if you didn't tick people off? If you tick people off, the man will be involved. A ticket sounds like a sign of success to me.

Riding no hands is bogus? Love it. Bikers complain about MOTORISTS with one hand on a cell phone; and yet riding NO hands is somehow ok?

roughstuff

What a ridiculous comment. Apples and oranges.

What a ridiculous comment. Apples and oranges.

True. A cyclist riding no hands who loses control of his vehicle (for those of you who think bikes are 'vehicles') prob ends up in a nice crash, with a bonk on the head, a few contusions and bruises, and a bruised ego. A motorist who loses control of his vehicle (for those of you who think cars are vehicles) prob ends up in a nice crash, with airbag deployment to assure your safety, and onstar to automatically call the coppers!

Best to keep those hands on the steering wheel/handlebars! Which was my simple point, all along. <sigh>

roughstuff

critical mass is worthless.

everyone else not in the 'mass', and non-cyclists, just looks at them
with disdain.


nothing is ever gained, only lost.

We actually get a Police Escort up here.:D
It keeps the Mass moving (less tail-end charlie shenanigans); and deters Carnosaurs from getting aggressive.

We actually get a Police Escort up here.:D
It keeps the Mass moving (less tail-end charlie shenanigans); and deters Carnosaurs from getting aggressive.

Carnosaurs is a good one, never heard it before. I like it much more than cagers (which just sounds stupid, imo)

Sounds like a bull**** ticket, but like Little Darwin mentioned, you have to kinda expect that to happen if you're going to be partaking in some kind of disobedience. Especially in NYC, I'm under the impression a lot of the cops there are dicks and have a particular love of busting up CM.

I'm not sure what law you actually broke, but if everyone was getting tickets that night I'd say get in touch with other people that were getting tickets and contest it all together. Is Times Up involved with CM much? Try talking to someone there or at another bike group in NYC that might be able to give you tips and, if needed, a good lawyer. Power in numbers, brotha!

CM threads in A&S are always good fun, brings out the best in everyone =D

Also, I ride without hands all the time, that backpack gets heavy and sitting right up feels good, man.

Sounds like you CMers rode into the middle of a CCM (Critical Cop Mass).

What would happen if a CM'er rode into a CCM with a CCM?

http://www.geocities.com/randyjawa/CCMHeadBadge.jpg

-Kurt

the universe would implode

Power in numbers, brotha!

Sista, actually.

Yeh, I guess we were asking for it, but it really was excessive. Incidentally, the tickets haven't been processed yet so I can't plead at all either way. Damned annoying. I wanted to get the whole mess dealt with when I go home for Christmas.

I guess Philly is better for cycling, the cops are always busy being shot at in doughnut stores (really, that happened last year) and wouldn't turn an eyebrow if I rode the wrong way along a sidewalk no hands, talking on my cellphone dead drunk.

And Philly critical mass is great.

Hey thanks for the OT. It's Christmas and I want a new bike. Please plead not guilty. Win or loose the cop still gets paid. Get an attorney they can always use the money too. CM ...what an embarrassment .

everyone else not in the 'mass', and non-cyclists, just looks at them with disdain.That's actually not true. At least in Austin, it seems that at least half of the people who react to the mass seem to be doing so positively -- cheering, high-fives, etc. (And no, I'm not talking about `honk if you love bikes!') (But maybe they're cheering with disdain.) Granted, most of the people cheering are not motorists, but even some motorists cheer too. (Though I say `at least half' -- if you're grumbling in your car with the windows down, I'm probably not aware of that and so I can't really count it.)

nothing is ever gained, only lost.It's fun, so something is gained. Other things may be gained as well, but they're often harder to quantify, so I'll stop there.

To be fair, Austin's CM is pretty well behaved lately. Yes, some traffic laws are broken (and somebody even got a ticket last month for running a red light!), but anybody who goes out of their way to antagonize the motorists is generally dissuaded by the mass, so nobody does it too badly. A few months ago there was a big stink (on the Interwebs anyways) when the mass went on the raised deck of IH-35 for a few miles and a video was made of that, but it was all extremely tame -- the mass stuck to a lane, cars went by just fine in the other lane, etc.

That's actually not true. At least in Austin, it seems that at least half of the people who react to the mass seem to be doing so positively -- cheering, high-fives, etc. (And no, I'm not talking about `honk if you love bikes!') (But maybe they're cheering with disdain.) Granted, most of the people cheering are not motorists, but even some motorists cheer too. (Though I say `at least half' -- if you're grumbling in your car with the windows down, I'm probably not aware of that and so I can't really count it.)


Yeah, I've told people that my plans for a night included riding with CM and after I've explained what it is they've said "Oh, we saw that once! That was awesome!". Even for the cars stopped there's usually only a few that get pissed an lay on the horn at us, most that I've seen haven't looked too upset, some cheer us on, and some just want to hear "thanks for waiting, there's only a few more of us coming down the line". This is coming from Boston, though, where are CM is usually 2-300 by rough guess so we're not overly huge and clear an intersection in about 5 or 6 minutes. From what I hear, NYC is ****ing huge.

I guarantee that the "no hands" cyclist is vastly more aware of what he is doing and his environment than the cell phone chatting motorist will ever be. :rolleyes:

I don't know about NYC, but around here, it is actually a law that you have to have at least one hand on the handlebars when riding, so whether or not they are capable of it is kind of moot.

Last night at Critical Mass I got pulled over for crossing the street- right to left, on the crosswalk, with the light. Fifty dollar ticket (which I will contest). The cops were out in force, picking off bikers left and right for completely bogus things- riding no hands, for example. By the time they pulled me out there were more cops than cyclists. They were clearly there to give tickets and break up the mass- there was no illegal anything going on.
I'm wondering if anyone was there, got nailed, and what you're doing about it.
Thanks!
-Still fuming Duellist
You might try this . NY State law prohibits any law enforcement agent from issuing a summons to a person under the age of 16 (in most cases). The summons must be issued to the parent or legal guardian. Since most of CM acts like 5 year olds you might want to consider the age defense.

What would happen if a CM'er rode into a CCM with a CCM?

http://www.geocities.com/randyjawa/CCMHeadBadge.jpg

-Kurt
http://www.exitmundi.nl/black-hole-lab2.gif

Remember, helmet cams are your friend.

Yes, i also made a thread about it (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=424216). I was ticketed for not riding in a bike lane, plead not guilty, showed up, made my case, and lost. Ticket was reduced to $30 for showing up.

Critical Mass in Manhattan has not gone well ever since it fell on the same day as the 2004 RNC. (http://www.democracynow.org/2004/8/30/critical_mass_over_260_arrested_in)

Go to Brooklyn Critical Mass (2nd friday of every month). Cops follow the ride, but not only do they not give tickets, they're assigned to block traffic for the ride. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either when I saw this after going to the manhattan ride.

One thing I wish I knew when I was pulled over with a group of riders is that, by law, I am not required to provide them with ID when asked (because I am on a bicycle). The riders who told the cops they didn't have IDs on them asked if they were being detained. The cop who pulled us over told them to use the bike lane in the future and sent them on their merry way, without a ticket. Me and the riders who procured ID were all given a merry $40 fine. I was the only rider who showed up to the hearing.

Yeah, I've told people that my plans for a night included riding with CM and after I've explained what it is they've said "Oh, we saw that once! That was awesome!". Even for the cars stopped there's usually only a few that get pissed an lay on the horn at us, most that I've seen haven't looked too upset, some cheer us on, and some just want to hear "thanks for waiting, there's only a few more of us coming down the line". This is coming from Boston, though, where are CM is usually 2-300 by rough guess so we're not overly huge and clear an intersection in about 5 or 6 minutes. From what I hear, NYC is ****ing huge.
Ours in Vancouver tends toward 1-300 in the cooler months; and peaks at about 3,000 during our Bike-Month celebrations in June.
I have also heard Portland's is pretty good. Especially during Pedalpalooza in June (there).

I have also heard Portland's is pretty good. Especially during Pedalpalooza in June (there).

You heard wrong. Critical Mass has actually been defunct in Portland for the past two years, thanks to years of heavy handed suppression by the police.

critical mass seems to cause more problems then it solves. I think it gives bicyclists a black eye.

BULL****. The cops are *******s. Murder is up in the city and they have NOTHING better to do than to pick on BICYCLISTS??? Go after the drug sellers/users you friggin' tools.

Quote me on that to a cop near you.

NYPD, your tax dollars at work!

Maybe if the cops didn't have to tend to a bunch of 5 year olds playing "look at me look at me" they could use that same manpower somewhere else.