mmac

I parked my bock on campus today, near the central mall. Because I get to school pretty early I always get a "Good" spot. Some guy locked through my bike to get onto the bike rack.

I didn't know what to do! I didn't know how long this guy was going to leave his bike lock running through the front triangle of my bike.

Luckily I work on campus so I went to the maintenance area, grabbed a pair of wire cutters and snipped the lock. After that I was still pissed but didn't feel like vandalizing his bike too bad so I dropped his seat all the way down and leaned his bike back up against the rack.

Do you guys think I over reacted? what is the "proper" thing to do? I feel it should have been obvious that he was doing something wrong. It should be important to know that this spot of bikes was probably full, but less than 100 yards away there is a HUGE set of racks that is never completely full.

BTW: the rack is a metal pole with a top and bottom metal loop to secure your lock to. They are only designed for a maximum of 2 bikes.

bhop

I would've cut the cable too if someone did that to my bike. But I might've taken the bike to security with a note left taped to the pole, (or sticky note), which probably would've sent the same message (don't lock your bike to other bikes) without risking someone's bike being stolen. Unless you were secretly hoping his/her bike would get stolen after unlocking it? Is it possible it was accidental?

Timber_8

probably did it by accident

iluvfreebeer

I doubt it was on purpose. Chill out.

BA Commuter

Nice move! I would have put the lock back in place like it was still locked. If I had some time, maybe left a note to explain that more schooling in common sense is required...

delman

I would say that is a bit far, I just would of had the campus police remove it.

exile

I can understand how frustration sets in when you are ready to go home after a long day and someone has locked thier bike to yours. In hindsight having campus police or whomever remove the lock would have been the way to go. That way when he returns for his bike and it's not there he would file a report and find out why it was removed.

TheRealNicola

This is one of my fears haha. I wouldn't know what to do.

Also we did this to a buddy of mine at work we waited untill he was about to get off and then just put an extra lock on his bike, it was pretty funny he just kept walking around angry. We eventually went and unlocked it, it was hilarious.

cyclefreaksix

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive to people jacking with my bike, but I don't find that funny.

OP, I wouldn't have messed with his seat but I definitely would have cut the lock off too. And I would have left a nice little note. Don't see how this could have been done "accidentally". He was probably just in a rush and took the easy way out.

sakonnetclip

I think you're well within your rights to have cut his lock...

That being said, the better thing to do would have been to have campus security take his bike...if they would. Not sure what they can do.

-spence

Grim

I would have locked it back with a U lock. Let him walk home tonight.

lil brown bat

I can easily see how you could thread a cable lock around someone else's bike by accident at a crowded rack. As for doing it deliberately...why would someone do that? What good would it do them? It makes no sense.

starla

I thought the OP was saying that the guy deliberately locked his bike to his because there was no more room on the rack. But I could be wrong.

Matt1972

Lowered his seat... of course you know this means war!

amandaCO

At least you didn't go to the dollar store and buy bike locks like this guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhStU8V9xaE

***Warning for language*** in that video

Cyclaholic

Cut his lock to get your bike is fair enough, messing with his bike by dropping the seat was unnecessary.... but once you cut his lock you assumed responsibility for the security of his bike, leaving it there to be potentially stolen instead of leaving it at the security office was a dog act.

thompsonpost

Troll.

Seamless

How dim could the person be to not realize that locking it to somebody else's bike would cause a problem that mmac had the right to rectify? Locking somebody else's bike--whether intentionally or by mistake--is a wrongful assumption of control, depriving the rightful owner of its use without permission or compensation. What right did the other person have to assume that it would not work severe hardship on mmac such as causing an appointment, class, lab, or exam to be missed, or inability to get to work (or a long walk home, since s/he can't reasonably assume that the owner would have access to alternative transportation--at least 1 round trip, including to retrieve the bike when mmac could correctly predict it might be found unlocked)?

The person who locked the bikes together assumed the responsibility for his or her actions, as well as the reasonably foreseeable corrective measures that would be required. mmac had no duty to correct the resulting problems the person who locked the bikes together caused him or herself. I can't imagine a way the cut cable could be fixed or replaced afterward.

And one reason why somebody might intentionally lock somebody else's bike is to come back later and steal it.

If mmac had the ability and time to do more to make the extra effort to help the person who locked the bikes under the belief that it was an innocent human mistake, then that would be a charitable thing to do, not a responsibility.

mmac

In all defense this is a low crime area and a roadmaster is not a high demand bike.

I didn't think about tying the lock back on, that was a good idea. :-(

banerjek

I had someone do this to me once. I was plenty far from home and was pissed even though I was sure it was just a boneheaded mistake. I called security, and they cut the lock and impounded the bike.

aley

A friend had this happen to his bike when we were in college - we left class and found that his bike was locked to the rack with a cable from someone else's bike on the other side. I flagged down a campus police officer, who got a pair of bolt cutters out of his car and removed the offending bike lock, and confiscated the bike that had been locked with it.

He also commented that it was a recurring mode of bike thefts. A thief would lock an old bike to the other side of a rack from a nice one, so that the cable went through both. The victim would figure that it had been done by accident, and since both the campus and the town were small, would frequently just walk home, intending to return for the bike later after the other bike had been moved by its owner. After dark, the thief would return, cut the lock off the nice bike, unlock his cable, and load both his beater and the victim's nice bike into his car.

unterhausen

I had this happen to me once. The person looped their cable lock through my front brake cable. I was nice and walked to work, got a cable clipper, went back and cut my brake cable. Cost me about an hour. I didn't think of going to the campus cops, they are right across the street from where I was parked. I've pretty much decided that the next person that does this will get a broken lock out of the deal.

mustang1

When I read the title, I thought your bike was gonna get stolen. I heard bike thieves ften lock other people's bikes up so they can come back later at a time convenient to them to continue with the theft.

In this case, nah, dont think you over reacted and it's good you had access to clippers.

labelcd6

I think you responded appropriately.

mdk

Similar thing happened to me a few months ago...but at a remote commuter rail station with no working pay phones, no cell service, police station 2 miles away. The guys lock was a keyed Masterlock and I had a few different masterlock keys on my keyring...third key opened his lock. Let his lock open and left him a note about attention to details....next week he had switched to a U-lock.