JoeyBike

I had been hearing rumors that the new cop boss Downtown/French Quarter hates cyclists and was going to crack down on bike riders breaking laws in the more congested pedestrian areas of the city. Finally, word is getting to me via individual cyclists who have actually been busted for wrong-way cycling, biking on the sidewalks, running stop signs, and biking on streets when closed to auto traffic (temporary pedestrian malls).

You would think this would crimp my riding style quite a bit (if you watch my videos) but not at all. I actually dig it. Since I too am affected by those contraflow jerks - I won't miss them. I avoid the more populated Zombie Zones anyway. Seems the folks getting busted are the "mindless" crowd of cyclists that make even my life miserable.

The only real effect on me - I purchased a bell for every bike. By law we need one on the bars at all times.

Otherwise, it is business as usual for me. Still splitting lanes and running lights. I have tested the waters several times by "safely" running red lights with cops in patrol cars near by and no problem. Most of my lawlessness would require a helicopter to be in the air at the time of the infraction to nab me anyway.

So there seems to be a very narrow scope of rigorous enforcement. Since most cyclists are local, tickets will generally be paid. If cops wrote tickets to all of the idiot Zombie Jaywalkers from parts unknown, no one would pay the tickets. Ditto for all of the idiot Zombie Motorists from wherever they come from. So cyclist are the least common denominator to bust. Hooray! I feel so much safer now.

mmac

Sounds like they're ticketing people who are only putting their own, and others safety in harm's way.

Can't say I disagree with any of that. That said, I will never unclip at and put a foot down at a stop sign cop or no.

mikeybikes

Good, sounds like they're enforcing laws that make complete sense. I dunno about the bell thing though...

exile

Maybe the cop boss wasn't after you anyways JoeyBike. Though by looking at your videos sometimes I keep picturing Boss Hog in his Caddy and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane in his cruiser, chasing you and your General Lee commuter down the streets in the french quarter. So is this what you got for your bike : https://www.autobarn.net/dukes-of-haz...-car-horn.html .

chephy

We have enforcement blitzes like this sometimes. They usually last about a week, and then it's back to normal (i.e., police ignoring cyclists, including both their misdoings and violations of their rightrs)

Chilled

I thought the New Orleans cops just shook people down and sent them on their way??

njkayaker

The first rumblings of the apocalypse!

JoeyBike

I purchased a bell for every bike. -JoeyBike

Awesome!

mr geeker

cars are required to have a horn, so a bell on a bike law makes sense.

Doohickie

My observation based on my own, much, much tamer examples of stretching the limits of the laws here in Texas are: If you bend the rules of traffic control devices, but you don't violate anyone else's right of way, it's cool.

DataJunkie

Can you install a bell on the underside of your seat? lol

aley

Joey, I'm shocked and appalled that you've been riding all this time without a bell. Where's your focus on safety?

dipy911

A bell is completely useless next to the power of the Force!, or an AirZound, or even my friggen voice. A bell is mostly ignored anyway.

dipy911, no bell ever on my new bike. thinking of an AirZound for the bike path so I can watch the stupid children fall over when they are on the wrong side of the path.

nelson249

Except they're pretty useless in traffic. Police have a tendency to use that regulation to arbitrarily target people who aggravate them.

lil brown bat

Heh. I had this dumb cop who was "directing" traffic step out ten feet in front of me, from behind a parked truck, and throw up his hand...looking right through me at the truck 50 feet behind. "Whoa dude," I said, "That was risky." He did a double-take...clearly hadn't even noticed I was there...and what did he say? "Why didn't you ring your bell?" I wanted to say, "Instead of braking and not hitting you? What good would that have done?" But I didn't.

JoeyBike

My road bike presented the only challenge for bell positioning. If I have to have a bell, it might as well be in a position where I can actually USE it.

The city has added several new bike/MUP paths in the past few years. I use them as cool-down places keeping my speed down to 10-12 mph. Still, Zombies are spread out all over the place of course. I find the bell to be a more polite way to say "WAKE UP IDIOT - MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO USE THE PATH TOO." And yelling "On your left" here is completely useless because peds will always move to the left. The "ding-ding" of my little brass bell seems to be universally understood and it is less effort for me than yelling words that no one hears or understands.

While on the brake hoods, my middle finger can reach the bell without even altering my hand position. I have grown to like the thing.

Cops have also been writing tickets for no headlight - even in the daytime! So you see my little black "newt" on the bars all the way left in the photo. Adaptability is a virtue.

Chris_W

Bells are good on multi-use trails (a cute 'ding' is much more polite than shouting at people), but are almost worthless on the road: your voice is a far more effective way of getting attention. Ideally, the bell laws should only apply to people who are riding on such trails, and should not apply to cyclists on the road. However, as mentioned above, cops like to give out fines for not having a bell to riders who they see doing something dangerous, but is not entirely illegal, or to tag an additional fine onto whatever other infringement of the law that they observe.

BTW, is there a legal definition of what constitutes a bell? If I flick my top-tube with my fingernail, I can make a pretty effective 'ding' noise. Does my top tube therefore count as a bell? I've seen items that are designed to be bells that make more puny and less effective noises than that. The next time someone gets a ticket for not having a bell, maybe they should challenge it with this defense.

Chris_W

When a cop on a bicycle was trying to give me a ticket for running a red light (I went across a pedestrian crosswalk with no pedestrians in sight), I tried to get out of it by pointing out the fact that his bike wasn't street-legal due to a lack of reflectors or lights. He informed me that they were only needed at night-time around here, and continued to give me the ticket.

JoeyBike

On the road, things happen so fast, I put all of my energy into avoiding being crushed. I don't yell, ring bells, use Zounds, 'cause there is usually just enough time to carve or stop.

In New Orleans, anything other than "Yes Sir" said to a cop is risking having your skull rung with a baton.

Bell - $15. Keeping my teeth - priceless!

RogerB

If the police enforce the laws, perhaps "pick-up guy" will feel less inclined to go vigalante on you.

unterhausen

I've never heard of a state that required you to have lights during the day. I'm not currently in compliance with that on my commuter.

Schwinnsta

It is true for Louisiana. Your bike has to have a front light and rear reflector by law. .

It has been rare to see any bike laws enforced here but I do know of a running light violation. Most cycleists here run lights, myself included if there is no traffic.

njkayaker

If somebody says there is such a state and doesn't provide a reference to the actual law, it seems more likely that they just aren't correct (see following). The state laws happen to be fairly uniform.

This doesn't appear to be true. You need a light at night time. (Note that there could be city laws that are different).

https://brgov.com/Dept/planning/bike/lalaw.htm

It doesn't appear to be true for New Orleans either.

https://bike.tulane.edu/laws.htm

I'm calling BS on this statement. What real evidence is there that tickets are being written for no headlights in daytime?

scorpio516

Wonderful placement! lol

AltheCyclist

Yeah, car horns are pretty useful safety devices.

Fortunately, a bell isn't needed, as cyclists can just yell! Unless they are voice-handicapped, in which case they should get a bell.

And, in New Orleans, can't you just bribe the cops and keep on your way?