Originally Posted by
khutch
The law requires you to obey the speed limit. The burden is upon you to find a means to comply with the law. The law does not have to specify a particular means of compliance in order to be a valid law and the fact that most states do not require that bicycles be fitted with speedometers means that it is a rare case of the law giving citizens the freedom to choose the most suitable method of compliance for themselves rather than imposing a state mandated one size fits all solution. Why would you have a problem with that? Rather than ridicule this approach I wish that governments would adopt it more frequently.
To look at the principle another way consider that murder is outlawed virtually everywhere in the world. By your logic a law against murder has no effect unless it also outlaws ownership of every possible means of killing another human being. Do you seriously think one human being should legally be allowed to murder another simply because the law against murder forgot to outlaw private ownership of the hammer the murderer used to smash the victim's skull in? It is perfectly acceptable for laws to regulate behavior without specifying the means by which the behavior is to be produced.
It is not hard to regulate your speed on a 3000 foot descent. If it were you would have gone off the cliff on that tight curve half a mile back. If you can control your speed well enough to make the descent safely you can control it well enough to comply with the law. The fact that you do not simply means that you don't want to. And I'm ok with that, I certainly take a relaxed view of the speed limits when I drive my car as do most other drivers. As long as you do so with proper concern for the safety of others it does not bother me. It is just that if you get caught red handed take it like a man and pay the fine. Don't whine like a little baby about it. By itself speeding does not indicate a lack of good character, the varied methods proposed in this thread to avoid the consequences of speeding on a bicycle do indicate a lack of character. Be a man. I would say be a woman too but there don't seem to be any women expressing any issues with speeding tickets on bicycles so I think the women of this forum are well ahead of the men in this respect.
Ken
I think the real question is, if your not required to carry a specific manner of id, does that mean you need to produce it, unconditionally, upon demand. For example if an officer stops you on a bicycle, is he/she legally permitted to demand your drivers licence at a traffic stop. IANAL, the law is different, in different places. If the law that permits them to demand your drivers licence refers to motor vehicles, then obviously not. If your nice to the officer, and ask them kindly to not record your drivers licence number and explain politely that tickets on bicycles don't count on your driving record (you need to make sure this is the case) and that if it's recorded then it will count against your driving record, when it shouldn't, then many will in fact comply, leaving the DL# space on the ticket blank, or will write that the drivers licence was seen by the officer.
If someone is afraid of getting a ticket while on a bicycle, this is easily resolved for $20-$30 with a cheap bike computer. Most of them weigh almost nothing, and record other information as well, like distance and seat time.