Advocacy & Safety - Another Wrongful CVC 21202 (a) Citation

http://www.bikesd.org/2011/06/another-wrongful-cvc-21202-a-citation/


We had an LCI cited for 21202(a) even though exceptions from (a)(2), (a)(3) and (a)(4) applied. The lower court judge upheld the ticket.

Apparently the lower court is ignoring the appellate court decisions on two similar tickets that were overturned a couple of years ago.

We had an LCI cited for 21202(a) even though exceptions from (a)(2), (a)(3) and (a)(4) applied. The lower court judge upheld the tickets.

Surely you jest. I would have simply filed a 1503-L and been done with the whole thing right then and there.

Looks like bikesd.org is having server issues this AM...

What is a "1503-L" ? Google gives me no joy....

Taking the lane while riding beside parked cars and then being close passed by a police car...

Between a rock and a hard place. (yes, this means I am implying that the LEO in this case is "a rock..." as apparently some seem seem to have the intelligence of... )

Sadly, this is one of the problems with both FRAP as well as MBL laws. Motorists and LEO's think that we as cyclists do not "belong" on the road and that they are "Free" to "order" us off of the road and into a potentially dangerous situation.

And it get's compounded when judges uphold "bogus" tickets. And the irony as Genec and I discussed in another thread, the irony is that motorists/LEOs/the courts, expect us to ride through sections of roadway that they themselves would not drive their car through.

That and when we act in a manner that is both safe and legal that we're the one's who are doing "something" wrong. And they feel "justified in hurling insults at us, if not various projectiles. And they do not understand (or want to understand) that we have a better view of the road than they do and we can see things that they do not.

Nor do they realize that things like storm drains that have openings that run parallel to the road can be a "deathtrap" for cyclists, as well as broken/missing pavement. They also don't understand that a car door that opens in our path is a hundred times more dangerous for us than it is for them. I mean if they hit a car door, yes it's going to come off of it's hings. Doing more damage to the other car than it will do to their car. It might do a small amount of cosmetic damage to their car, but it isn't going to be a life threatening situation.

While I agree that the judge upholding the ticket is completely BS as the law seems to be made clear, I don't see the point of approaching the officer in the road. Anytime you start a vocal "confrontation" with an LEO you are asking for trouble. While the officer was in the wrong and deserves to be educated on that fact, many officers will hear none of this and simply find an excuse to hassle the person approaching them.

Filing a formal complaint against the officer would be the best possible route, but I would imagine when emotions are high it'd be tough to remain that calm. Hopefully the rider mentioned in the article is able to successfully appeal the ticket or at the least have the officer educated on bicyclists rights.

In this case, since the city attorney stepped in on a similar case a few years ago, one might think that the attorney has since briefed the LEOs in the area of the laws... apparently this has not happened, and LEOs continue to selectively enforce their beliefs.

Surely you jest. I would have simply filed a 1503-L and been done with the whole thing right then and there.What's a 1503-L? I can't find anything that makes sense of that with Google.

What's a 1503-L? I can't find anything that makes sense of that with Google.

I think someone is pulling your leg with a nonsense response to the legal mumble jumble of 21202.

I think someone is pulling your leg with a nonsense response to the legal mumble jumble of 21202.

Ya mean the mumble jumble of the OP. What da heck is that gibberish supposed to mean to anybody without a handy decoder ring?

Sadly, this is one of the problems with both FRAP as well as MBL laws. Motorists and LEO's think that we as cyclists do not "belong" on the road and that they are "Free" to "order" us off of the road and into a potentially dangerous situation.

And it get's compounded when judges uphold "bogus" tickets. And the irony as Genec and I discussed in another thread, the irony is that motorists/LEOs/the courts, expect us to ride through sections of roadway that they themselves would not drive their car through.

That and when we act in a manner that is both safe and legal that we're the one's who are doing "something" wrong. And they feel "justified in hurling insults at us, if not various projectiles. And they do not understand (or want to understand) that we have a better view of the road than they do and we can see things that they do not.

Nor do they realize that things like storm drains that have openings that run parallel to the road can be a "deathtrap" for cyclists, as well as broken/missing pavement. They also don't understand that a car door that opens in our path is a hundred times more dangerous for us than it is for them. I mean if they hit a car door, yes it's going to come off of it's hings. Doing more damage to the other car than it will do to their car. It might do a small amount of cosmetic damage to their car, but it isn't going to be a life threatening situation.

+1

Also, People talk about wanting to be less dependent on foreign oil by driving more fuel-economical vehicles. Yet when some people do use a form of transportation that is both not dependent on oil and far more economical, those that choose to continue to only drive, become hysterical when they can't step on the gas because of a cyclist.

Looks like bikesd.org is having server issues this AM...

They are up now. The officer marked 'cloudy' and 'slippery' on the citation under 'Road Conditions'. Presuming that LEO did not make a trumped up citation and those road conditions actually did exist, he was doing the motorist and the LEO a favor by slowing the motorist down thereby not letting them speed in bad weather, and the LEO did not have to stop as a result of an accident caused by the motorist's stupidity.

+1

Also, People talk about wanting to be less dependent on foreign oil by driving more fuel-economical vehicles. Yet when some people do use a form of transportation that is both not dependent on oil and far more economical, those that choose to continue to only drive, become hysterical when they can't step on the gas because of a cyclist.

How about if you wear a T shirt with big letters... SAVING GAS.

You know, just in case the motorists can't figure it out. :innocent:

Hopefully this ticket gets dismissed. Maybe Dion can show the judge a copy of Avoiding the Door Zone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TQ7aID1jHs) clip to help his case and give the reason why he was taking the lane.

Wow. 100% support for Mr. Dion. He sounds like the sort of citizen that gives a country the chance of functioning. How can the lower court be given an indication that it is out of touch?

What probably happened is the appellate courts decisions were non-published and therefore non-binding on the lower court. It's a chicken sh*t way that judges make decisions without having to make them for everyone.

I hope he fights this because if he doesn't it's bad for all cyclists in that state.