RJM

It's certainly a dick move...like giving someone a jay walking ticket without a warning.

TobinH

Well I think cars should stop. Visibility isn't really very good in modern autos, and I've been hit a few times by drivers rolling through stop signs. Bikes don't have the same visibility challenges are going much slower to begin with, so it's a bit different.

sbxx1985 

Article says he did give warnings. The ones that got tickets went through more than one, and then some of them got off with a warning.

series1811

I ride mostly in the country and through small towns (population under 5k). I will slow down at any intersection. If there are cars, I stop. Otherwise, I yell clear and move through with my group. In the city I stop regardless. I do not trust other drivers. Slowing down/stopping will only cause me to lose a few seconds on my Strava segment. I am seriously not too worried about it.

If we ever expect the cyclist hating motorists (not all hate us), we need to quit doing crap like blowing stop signs and riding like a reckless prick in traffic.

stockae92

I sort of agree. But I blame the driver for those mistake. If they can't see clearly, they should do whatever it takes (including stopping completely) to have a clear look of the intersection.

There are certainly situation when I can take a clear look of an interaction at least twice when my car is crawling slow (before making a complete stop). If I can't be 100% certain its safe to cross, then I should stop completely. And by the letters of the law, I should be making a complete stop even enough there is clearly nothing going on in the intersection.

I agree that people should not just scan the intersection quickly and roll through the stop sign. That's just dangerous.

I think the spirit of the stop sign law should be to enforce a safe road use for everyone, instead of simply having to make a complete stop regardless of surrounding and driving condition.

But in the real world, we do have to account for bad drivers, bad riders, people texting while crossing the road without looking, money making for the city ...

MagicHour

While I think there are better ways to allocate police dept. hours for the betterment of society, than cyclist crackdowns, if there have been complaints or injuries in a certain area, then fine. The thing I have a bigger problem with, is the amount of the penalty for cyclists oftentimes outstrips the infraction as compared to a similar infraction with a multi-ton motor vehicle. Here in NYC, for example, you can pretty much drive your car up onto the sidewalk plow through a bunch of pedestrians and into the front of a restaurant, and as long as you're sober and your license is in good standing, in all likliehood, you may not even get a ticket. It's considered an oopsie, "Your foot slipped", "you didn't see them" etc. No penalties for the epidemic of really s****y driving, that is killing and maiming people on a daily basis.

So you want to ticket blitz cyclists? Fair enough, make the fines $50 or something and no desk appearances, you can mail it in.

PS and food delivery guys, corporate sponsored bike share riders and tourists are all liable, not just recs and commuters!!!

RPK79

These cyclists forgot the golden rule to rolling through stop signs: No Cop No Stop.

gsa103

That's largely because cyclists everywhere roll through stop signs. The only difference is that its legal in Idaho. The only correlation I would expect is a decrease in cyclists cited for running stop signs in Idaho.

dtrain

I know Idaho quite well. No idea how the state became a leader in cyclist 'rights'.

tjkoko

THANK YOU. And even some cyclists are pigs who need to get over themselves.

rms13

They've been out targeting cyclists all summer here. Ticket amount for cyclist is same as motorist

curbtender

Yep, and if you didn't see him did you really look before rolling the stop?

SlowerGuy

So when do cops enforce the 3 feet rule?
Or "using a handheld device while driving"?

I guess it's up to the cop which laws to enforce...

69chevy

Police launch safe biking initiative to improve cycling in Chattanooga | Local News | Times Free Press

69chevy

Cycling Cop Creates Space for Cyclists on Tennessee Roads | Bicycling

RJM

Bolded and oversized? Really?

Seattle Forrest

Last summer my car got totaled. Traffic was stopped for half a mile, I was stopped with it, the guy behind me had some important texts. Hit me hard enough to push my car into the one ahead of me. Police never even showed up, no one was hurt, insurance sent a tow truck and wrote a check.

If it was a bike instead of a car that hit me, there would be minimal damage; less mass, less velocity, less force. But if the guy was on a bike, he'd probably be paying attention because bikes don't have airbags and people like keeping their teeth. That's why it's ridiculous to pretend bikes are the same as cars, the capacity and likelihood for damage is day and night.

79pmooney

One thing that gets lost here: if I come to a complete stop, I have to put my foot down. (Yes, I chose to not learn to trackstand.) To start up again, find the pedal, clip in (and pull the strap tight if I am riding toeclips) means making a slow start-up without the option of stepping on the gas to clear the intersection of another vehicle doesn't see/notice me and pulls out while I am still in it. (So it is more dangerous for me. Yes the law is on my side. But I am willing tell a judge that I put my bodily safety above the letter of the law any day.) And, while putting my foot down doesn't legally change my place in line at 4 way stops and the like, it does delay every vehicle after me as they wait for me to do a slow start-up. Time-wise, it is like coming to a stop in a car with a manual transmission and turning the engine off. Even if you have the routine down perfect, starting up isn't fast. And if today I happened to be a klutz, everybody waiting for me pays.

So, in many, many cases every city ride, staying in the pedals and not putting my foot down is doing everybody after me a favor. Whether they get it or not.

Ben

fietsbob

It's Fall College Freshman education time in University towns across the Nation. lesson 1 dont blow through stopsigns.

JohnDThompson 

This maybe?

This Is What Happened When Bicyclists Obeyed Traffic Laws Along The Wiggle Yesterday | The Snitch | San Francisco | San Francisco News and Events | SF Weekly

stockae92

I don't see cop being the "problem". They are indeed doing their job. But I am sure we all have a situation or two seeing some a-hole driver or people like park like an a-hole, and wished cops were "doing their job". ;-)

Any how, its the system and law that are broken. Laws that are old and not up to date with the current situation. System that aims for "ticket quota", generating income for the city and giving out tickets according to the letters or the law instead of the spirit of the law.

And I always have a question of police assigned job priority. Would they choose "sitting at a stop sign or under freeway sign to try to write more tickets" over "patrolling the area and detaining a drunken homeless person for his own and public safety"? One has quota to fill and money rolling into the city, the other is write report and the city has the spend money ...

dtrain

Bikelivesmatter...? Don't taco my frame bro...?

Maybe we could lighten up on the "terrorist hate group" and "idiot" talk, eh?

69chevy

That was it.

Thanks.

rms13

I was talking to a cop one morning and he was warning me about some them targeting group rides that weekend. I asked him about 3 foot law and he flat out said they don't enforce it unless it involves an accident because it's too subjective

69chevy

Trademark that and start selling the jersey now.

#bikelivesmatter