Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Philly Police to Begin Crackdown on "Rogue Cyclists" in CC?

So last month two peds were killed by cyclists (both of whom were riding against traffic, the idiots). According to this article (http://http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/70126797.html?cmpid=15585797), "In the next few weeks, officers from the Ninth Police District, which includes Rittenhouse Square and much of Center City, will flood the area to write tickets." I know we all like to take for granted the reality that we live in a city where cops have more important things to do than to ticket cyclists who don't stop at reds, so consider this a heads-up.


PS
The article above was the first I heard about Andre Steed, the paralegal killed in center city last month. The cyclist involved in the accident took off, so if you happen to know anything, do the right thing, and if you don't, spread the word about the incident.

http://blog.bicyclecoalition.org/2009/10/andre-steed-dies-reward-for-hit-and-run.html
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Hit-and-Run_Cyclist_Kills_Paralegal_Philadelphia.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/70126797.html?cmpid=15585797

read as rouge cyclists

deep in thought

brb

Good for the police. Follow the law or get a ticket? How rude!

Hundreds of people are shot and killed in this city every year and I can still buy a gun if I want to. Two people are killed by cyclists and I can't ride my bike down Walnut ST?

just like street racing cars, someone dies down there cops will flood the area for a couple weeks then they dont bother anymore.

mmm.... better watch myself on my slowwwwwwwwwwwww 29er ;0

**** da police. Smell like bacon up in here.

Yea, the cops are just wasting their time. Let the dumbass kids on brakeless fixies without foot retention get slammed by cars. A big problem in this city is carelessness. Alot of kids ride recklessly with headphones on! How can you ride with traffic if you can't hear whats going on around you! Anyway, I have been riding with traffic for 4 years and havent had any problems. You just have to anticipate everything in advance.

**** da police. Smell like bacon up in here.

Deep man, deep.

Bet you would be feeling a bit different if it was you s.o. or family member who was killed by a cyclist.

there was an interview on npr yesterday regarding this. i thought the crackdown had more to do with the push for a more cycling friendly city. we get more lanes, but with that comes more strict enforcement of traffic laws. i hadnt actually heard about the two fatalities. that is incredibly unfortunate. i really hope this crackdown won't be as bad as it could be. i ride aggressively, but responsibly and run my fair share of lights(yeah... could be a contradiction i guess). as much as it is nice to have the city progressing towards being more bike friendly, i think id rather have the lax laws that comes with the ride at your own risk environment that exists now.

those in the courier/food delivery business are gonna get hit hard when this actually takes place.

"How can you ride with traffic if you can't hear whats going on around you!"

Can deaf people ride bikes? Can people who can hear drive in traffic when they can't hear it?

I'm not condoning the use of headphones, but it's not necessary to hear traffic to ride - or drive - within it.

How the eff do you kill someone on a bicycle? Was there a u-lock ride by?

i supposed you could get knocked down really hard esp if the cyclist is going at 15 - 20 mph and crack your head on the ground.

Probably just got their first fixie before their accidents.

that's amazing... a hit and run fatality by a bicycle... how sad.

The cops will have a hell of a time chasing us on their mountain bikes lol.

you cant outrun the motorola.

maybe if that pedestrian woman was wearing a helmet...

Hundreds of people are shot and killed in this city every year and I can still buy a gun if I want to. Two people are killed by cyclists and I can't ride my bike down Walnut ST?

you can buy a gun but you can't walk with it on the streets.
for both guns and bikes there are simple rules that you have to follow or to be punished otherwise.

http://captionsearch.com/pix/thumb/govd8o0n1f-t.jpg

Hundreds of people are shot and killed in this city every year and I can still buy a gun if I want to. Two people are killed by cyclists and I can't ride my bike down Walnut ST?

wat

And unlike reckless drivers, bike scofflaws typically get off free. They often flee accidents, and though police can issue tickets for violations, they almost never do. Philadelphia police wrote just 14 tickets to bicyclists last year, compared with more than 200,000 to drivers. "Are we as diligent about it as we should be? Probably not," Philadelphia Sgt. Ray Evers said. "But we have to prioritize. We can't even stop every car violation we see."
Police are hoping to change that, at least for a few hours, when they launch an effort to inform cyclists of the laws of the road. In the next few weeks, officers from the Ninth Police District, which includes Rittenhouse Square and much of Center City, will flood the area to write tickets. Members of the Bicycle Coalition are expected to be there to hand out information about responsible biking.
"I've always received complaints," said Philadelphia Capt. Dennis Wilson of the Ninth District. "People get so fed up that I've had patrolmen get yelled at for biking on the sidewalk."
Bicyclists are bound by the same laws as drivers. They are supposed to stop at lights and stop signs and to signal before turning. On roads that don't have a bike lane, cyclists are supposed to keep to the right when possible. Drivers are supposed to treat bicycles as cars and to stay out of bike lanes, except when making a turn. And in Philadelphia, only children 12 and younger may legally ride on sidewalks.


First I find it stupidly hard to believe that only 14 tickets were written to cyclists in a whole year in all of Philly.
It is a good thing when cops have to inform cyclists of bike law, because that means they themselves must actually learn it. I seriously have had cops tell friends to ride on the sidewalk and get out of the road.
It is a good thing for people to be handing out flierson bike law to cyclists, because many of them don't know the law either.
No **** people should yell at a bike cop for riding on the sidewalk. I would hold one under citizens arrest until a citation could be issued for breaking the law. A cop riding on the sidewalk is just a slap in the face to all bikers.


Do I think there is a total over reaction about this whole thing because two people were killed, yes. But come on, almost everything in the news is just an over reaction. When they cover the story of a missing 5 year old girl for 3 months straight, how many other missing girls are there do you think that they don't cover just in those 3 months, 10, 20, 50? How many kids die in car accidents within 6 months of getting their drivers license, yet do they make the test any harder? The media picks and chooses what to blow up for a period of time based on what they think the most viewers will react to.

And right now that is cyclists breaking the law, because as more people start to cycle, more drivers get pissed off when they have to wait 10 seconds for the cyclist in front of them to make a left turn in the actual turn lane.