bjlaw

I started commuting to work regularly about 2 months ago. It's a long commute of 22 miles each way and I love it! Because the commute is long I have found a few short cuts. One is through a business parking lot and a short hike over some railroad tracks. There is no road here and I end up in the parking lot of another business. This short cut takes about a mile off of the route.

I've done this enough now that I'm starting to see people regularly along the route. This morning I passed a police car at an intersection just before the turn off for this short cut. He didn't follow me directly but I suspected he was trying to monitor me from a hidden position to see if I would try the "local" short cut. After about six blocks and four turns later I was coming up to the the parking lot where the short cut begins and sure enough the police car was waitng for me "hidden" behind some parked trucks. He was very "clever." Seeing him, I of course continued on past the parking lot and back on to the main street to take the extra mile. When he passed me several moments later he gave me the icy stare. I think I really ruined his day.

Why would a police man waste his time picking on a commuter? I would think that he would be happy that one more car is off of the road. Am I being naive?

jramsey

That's terrible. You would think that he would have better things to do.

Jonathan

mike

If that cop has that much free time, he will eventually get you.

Learn the law and see if going through the parking lot is illegal.

Know the law and be able to recite it to him when he does get you because he will. You are the mouse and he is the cat. He will surprise you one day when you are late for work and he is eating doughnuts and drinking coffee in an unmarked vehicle.

Trust me on this one, BJlaw.

Mike

nebill

Another thing to consider, bj, is that almost all law enforcement is reactive in nature, not proactive. In other words, the local cops have probably received some complaints about bikers using the shortcut...perhaps it crosses some private property or somehow causes a nuisance.

The proactive approach would be to stop you BEFORE you are on the shortcut, explain the situation, then let you go. The problem with that is that unless you continue to violate whatever law is involved and get a summons, the cop has not generated any paperwork to justify his existence.

Like it or not, in many agencies, the number of tickets handed out is a key part of the officers performance evaluation, and determines his rate of pay and possible promotions!

Mike has a good point, better to avoid the problem than get into s hassle with the guy!

Good luck!

roadbuzz

Or... BJ, spotting the lurking cop, could stop and ask him if he knows of a problem with using the shortcut. Worst that could happen is he tells you there is. The best that could happen is you score a couple of points with the local law enforcement. Bike commuters need all the friends they can get!

Thanks for the different perspective, fujidude. It's always easy to assume the cop is a lazy nogoodnik looking for easy prey to bully.

Chris L

Personally, I would just stop using the short-cut altogether. As Mike said, one day when he needs to boost his "quota" (do your police operate with a quota system in the US?) he will get you and it simply isn't worth the trouble.

Chris

LittleBigMan

"Cold stare?" Sounds like he is responding to a complaint. That's too bad. If I were a policeman (wooo, what fun!) I would pull over all those crazy nut-nicks that endanger each other's lives by speeding and acting foolishly on the road. I doubt you are posing a threat to anyone's safety.

I would treat this as a passing experience. Like any obstacle, (railroad tracks?) just go around it! He really does have better things to do.

bjlaw

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I will be a good boy and avoid the short cut.:angel: I'm sure the problem is due to crossing the railroad tracks at an area with no official crossing. The rail road is probably afraid of being sued for any mishap.

biztyke

where i live, they actually have "railroad" police(it says on the car)...and these guys will sometimes stake out a known illegal crossing point for an entire day just waiting to nab someone and give em a $150 ticket. i used this one shorcut accross the tracks back when i was in highschool every day(it cut a 50min walk down to 15mins), and i always had to be on the lookout for any railroad cops hiding around the corner.

yeah, they have to be conscious of the liability factor, but IMO they arent doing the right thing(at least not here). originally, the land for all this railroad was straight out given to CPR by the government. and now, instead of making it easier for pedestrians and bikers by investing a small ammount to build an overpass where needed....they invest a lot of money in an actual police force dedicated to ticketting offenders. not right.

JonR

Witness the corporate mentality at work once again.

LittleBigMan

Staking out railroad crossings. Now that's the job that I'd enjoy.

JonR

They could make a TV series--call it, let's see, how about "X-Files"? There could be millions in it... Enough to finance Bike Forums jerseys for all...

Chris L

Meanwhile there are ******* and murderers and all sorts of other scum running loose in society. What a waste of resources. Isn't it reassuring to know your taxes are well spent!

Chris

mike

Oh for God's sake, where do you live that has railroad police?

Sounds like your local doughnut shops had something to do with getting that made part of the local budget.

roadbuzz

Where I live, somewhat out in the sticks, the main road into town is uncommutable. (I mean, you could try it, but you would be killed. A simple matter of probabilities...the only question is how long it would take.) Alternative routes are miles longer. But there is a very direct, well graded route, that includes bridges across the two rivers that I would have to cross. That's right, it's the Southern Railway railroad tracks. There's even a nice dirt access road that parallels the tracks everywhere except the bridges. I inquired about using that route for cycling to town and was told the tracks and the adjacent area is off-limits. No trespassing. I could easily stay clear of a train on the access road (ignoring the bridges for the purpose of discussion), but no doin'. They don't want you anywhere near it.

roadbuzz

Hmm. I wonder if the railroad policemen are related to some company bigshot?

nebill

Well, guys, all kidding aside, don't think too lightly of the railroad police! They are usually certified law enforcement officers in the areas they work, and the railroads usually hire the best officers from the public sector that they can get! They may end up doing some pretty lame jobs for thier corporate bosses, but they are real cops all the same!

In these days when a lady spills coffee in her lap and gets a $2,000,000 judgement, you can understand why the railroads are trying to avoid this exposure!

If common sense would become common, then more people would be on bikes, the railroad would make accomodations for safe access across thier rights of way with the riders taking responsibility for thier actions, and 75% of our countries attorneys would be plying some other trade!

JonR

The railroad police referred to are probably not municipal, but employees of the railroad. (The nineteenth century had a great tradition of railroad detectives, and it carries on to this day.)

They exist here in Kansas City; they carry guns; they will tell you in no uncertain terms to get off of railroad property. I assume they are deputized!

It seems extreme to me, but that's capitalism for you.

mwmw

Who would pay such a ticket? What authority does the RR have to issue such a ticket? Or to collect it? I'm afraid that, being a bit of a rebel, I would wait until I was sure the cop was watching, then take the shortcut. If he hassled me I would hold him up to ridicule and humiliation in the local media, etc. Don't be intimidated. Take the shortcut. My daddy always told me, "Don't take "no" for an answer from someone who doesn't have the authority to say "yes"."

nebill

Well, mwmw, if you screw with the RR cops, it will not be them that are ridiculed! Believe me, they have the same legal authority to issue tickets and file cases as your neighborhood cop. The railroad does not collect any fines, the cases are filed in your local court system, exactly the same way it would be if the local cop or deputy issued the ticket. Your Daddys' saying sounds about right, but in this case, the RR cops DO have the authority, and if you are trespassing on RR property, believe me, it will not be them standing in front of a judge finding how much the fine is going to be! Just be careful out there!

Chris L

But nobody has answered the question of why bother causing trouble with the cops anyway? You might need them one day. I think it's better to just avoid confrontation anyway.

Oh dear, I really am going soft!

Chris

Bikideshi

Why, indeed? It seems cops everywhere are beating up on cyclists at Critical Masses, Bike to Work days and giving them tickets for stupid things, while ignoring homicidal drivers. Here are some sites to check out. The first is the crackdown at the San Fran critical mass in '97. Check out these photos and the witness accounts, etc. There were some local politics figuring into this, but I wonder if there is also some industry pressure for this kind of repression. 200 innocent people were arrested during this.
https://www.brasscheck.com/cm
Mass arrests occured at the Critical Mass held at the Democratic National Convention in LA: https://www.criticalmassmedia.org/
At the site of the person who runs the Critical Mass Hub website ( https://www.michaelbluejay.com ), he tells of how cyclists in Austin are harassed by police quite often ( https://BicycleAustin.com/justice/ ). He has excellent advice on his site, if you have the problem of getting arrested for some minor infraction. The latest dirt on the green activism circuit, is that the FBI has declared that reclaim the streets is a terrorist group! Huh? (ref: https://www.indymedia.org ). Miles Poindexter on his site https://www.self-propelled-city.com talks of out of control cops at an NYC critical mass: https://www.self-propelled-city.com/c...10&keyword=cm.
There's an article somewhere on this site which talks about arrests at a bike to work day in Chicago. Given the amount of strange events involving mass arrests on innocent people, and the presence of agent provocateurs at other types of demonstrations ( https://www.brasscheck.com/seattle ), there is something strange going on. I have much more info on this subject. Will post it later.

Chris L

No offence intended here, but to be totally honest I think you are barking up a tree you are never going to climb. Yes, we all know that there are plenty of police out there for whom their power has gone to their head.

The real question is, what can actually be done about it? Deliberately breaking the law is not going to work, point blank. People will see you do it and just sympathise with the police. Is that what you really want?

It's the same deal with critical mass. I would love nothing more than to see cars banned outright. However, it simply isn't going to happen. It's just life. I honestly think that cycling in a law-abiding manner is going to win us more friends. Maybe people will see the police harassing us (which, incidentally has never happened to me, and I ride every day, commuting and otherwise, in excess of 10,000 miles per annum) and decide that it shouldn't happen.

P.S. I have never either owned or driven a car in my life. How many of these "activists" can say that?

Chris