Scary, but they already are doing that in England. I lived there for 3 years with my fiance. There are cameras everywhere at intersections, stop/yield signs, and pedestrian xings. If you commit an infraction, the camera operator reviews the tape, copies your license number, and you get a ticket mailed to you. Granted the number of traffic infringements are proabably lower there than here (I've never heard of any such study), but that's a little too much monitoring for me. ;)

I totally agree. They are testing cameras here as well, and they've used them in Phoenix for a few years now. I am totally against them, but not much I can do about it. Yet another case of the few screwing things up for the many.

I'm not/wasn't pissed. Annoyed yeah. Like I said, had he been good natured about it I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. The weighing factor was the fact that he tried to tell me that carrying my drivers license was law in MI, when it wasn't. I found that later to be false, as I had guessed it was. I found that to be an insult to my intelligence, as though I wouldn't find out the truth. He was very short and curt with me. By his attitude, you would have thought I had blown a stop sign at a school crossing just after school was let out. I put 2 and 2 together and figured it was a hot day, the guy was bored, and decided to take out his frustrations on this insignificant cyclist who posed no threat to anyone. I'm no cop hater. I think they serve a very useful function in society - when they do it right and empathy where empathy could be warranted, as in my case. As Bigtime pointed out, how many of us haven't seen a cop speeding or rolling thru stop lights/signs, just to turn into Ram's Horn for a bite to eat? I see it on average once a month here. So since I know that it's not safe for him to do so, should I race him down on my bike and give him a warning? Behaviour like that could get me run over by him.

As for ID, I carry a photocopy of my drivers license and insurance card along with a few buck in a ziplock bag with me now. Not because of the cop, but because of the rash of cyclist getting mowed down by gas guzzlers.

I was watching an interview with Jude Law recently, and he was talking about those in England. I guess if you look hard enough there's a license plate cover that you can buy that will fuzz out the numbers on film. Apparently he has one and gives the infamous British "V" to the camera as he rolls thru a red light.:D

My only "run in" with a policeman was with an Alcorn County sherrif's deputy riding from Corinth, Mississippi to Kossuth, Mississippi on Mississippi 2. Now if you can find that on a map, you are doing pretty well. It is a sparsely traveled rural state highway with a 55 mph speed limit. He wanted me totally off of the road, on the gravel shoulder.

It spoiled my riding in Northeast, Mississippi, and was the big reason that there were very few miles on my road bike from 1991 till the present. It was sad, because, while the air can be a little warm and humid, the hills are fairly small and the roads generally are very scenic.

police officers are human too, if you treat them shabbily they will treat you the same way, i have never been treated badly by any officer even on my worse day, treat them with respect and they will treat you with the same respect that you are giving them, treat them with disdain and the next word coming out of the mouth of the officer would be hands on the hood of the cars, and don't move...

That's not always been my experience in the US. I can think of several occasions where I treated the officer with respect but I was not treated likewise.

Right, in CA you don't receive points for bicycle infractions. At least not for failure to come to a complete stop. I don't know about running red lights, 'tho.

Respect is a 2 way street. If an officer doesnt show me respect then he will not get any from me. I drive trucks for a living and have dealt with police from just about every one of the lower 48 states. Most of them do thier jobs well. But is there always going to be the unprofessional idiots out there. I have had very pleasant encounters where I deserved the ticket and took it with no problem. then I have had encounters where the officer and I stood on the side of the road yelling and cursing at each other. 2 such incidence come to mind where I wasnt breaking any law and the officer was just out to collect a fine, An easy $300.00. I havent had an encounter with the law since getting back on my bike but I will handle it as I handle any encounter with police. I always start out politeness and courtesy. then I wait to see how the officer will act. Then if he is disrespectful then I give it right back to him, and smile while I am doing it .:D

I admit that 95% of my experience with cops have been, if not nice, at least polite and courteous. However that other 5% is what can marr the image of police in many people's mind, including mine. I think a big problem is these cops get bored handing out tickets and hearing the same excuses day in and day out. It could also be attributed to the fact that sometimes the power and position can go to their head. The fact that we've all seen a cop at one time or another run lights, speed and other various things that we, as mere citizens, could not, shows that a percentage of the police force think that they are above the law. I would love a mayor of a city to give the citizens the right to police the police.

as they say respect is the key to long life....

You are absolutely correct, its the 5% that screw it up for the good ones. The only time the police make the news is when we lose one in the line of duty, corruption, or accusations of abuse. Most cops, are good people doing a thankless job. Please keep that in mind. For the record I am a police dispatcher, a runner, and a cyclist. See you on the roads.

Greg, thanks for doing your job! Police / 911 dispatch is a demanding job.

As for blowing a stop sign? I admit, i have ran a few, but i always slow down to a respectable (under 10mph) speed, and look both ways. I have only been hassled by a police officer on my bike once, and i was in the wrong. Riding down some stairs on campus, i was going to be late for class. I stopped as soon as the cop yelled at me; but decided not to wait as he walked his bike down the 100+ stairs i just went down. I couldn’t afford to be late! ;)

Let me add to this statement: the fact that former Dekalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey is going to prison for murdering his political rival, Derwin Brown (whose widow will receive a Sheriff's pension thanks to Governor Roy Barnes, even though Brown never made it to office alive) is proof that justice is still alive and well.

Good cops are not paid well enough.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MisterJ
[B]My only "run in" with a policeman was with an Alcorn County sherrif's deputy riding from Corinth, Mississippi to Kossuth, Mississippi on Mississippi 2. Now if you can find that on a map, you are doing pretty well. It is a sparsely traveled rural state highway with a 55 mph speed limit. He wanted me totally off of the road, on the gravel shoulder.

I too "lived" in Corinth for 3 years in the 90's. You're lucky if the police were the only thing that bothered you. I've never had to outrun so many dogs in my life. Worse than even South Carolina and Tennessee - no small accomplishment. In, or within a few miles of Corinth it was ok, but out in the country it was hard to go more than a few miles without a good chase. I could also go into southern pick-up truck drivers, but that's another story.

Riding more happily in WI,
Blwyn

If acop has decided to give you a ticket, there is no way you can talk him out of it, but if he hasnt made up his mind, it is only too easy to talk him into giving you one, so always admit your errors and be polite.

Speaking from a bike cops point of view I treat both motorist and cyclist the same regarding traffic laws. The way I see it if cyclist are going to demand the equal rights to the road as cars do(which they are entitled to and deserve) then they need to follow the same rules of the road. If motorist continue to see cyclist just slow down to under XX mph for a stop sign or running a red light when there is a gap in traffic they will continue to see us as a bunch of little kids in adult bodies who shouldn't be out riding in the street.


Mike

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! :thumbup:

there you go, it could not be explained in a more simple language

Couldn't have said it better myself...:D

Rich

Blwyn, ASRM?

I dunno... I loathe the popo as much as any other deviant out there... but like with all people your mileage may vary. It just seems to me that the only time they want to talk to me is when I'm doing something funny. Like riding through uppity neighborhoods after midnight. Even with my blinkies on... once on my own street no less. I think they believe anyone riding a bike at night is up to something... probably drinking, probably on two wheels because they lost their driver's license. Alas... when I had a car it was the same deal... lonely late night streets, see a cop... you are getting stopped. Never been stopped by a bike cop though... hehe, I'd like to see them catch me on those clunky machines they patrol on.

MisterJ: CSIP (since changed, but I don't know to what).

I have been given warnings for running stop signs, and speeding in school zones. The later I am most proud of since I was on an old chromo mtn bike. The weirdest thing I got pulled over for though... I was right across the street from one of my favorite lunch spots, when 2 cop cars, and 2 motorcycle cops surrounded me. It was a case of mistaken identity, and then one asked to take my bike for a test drive.

lin-kieu
I don't see your complaint. You did not get a ticket you got a butt chewing for running the sign. Take it like a man. You obviously did not see the cop on the road so you could just as easily have missed the car that would have hit you. If you did see mr policman and ran the sign anyway thats really asking for trouble.
I have found with most of the police I run into they are extremely proffessional and have only spoken to me when I have screwed up and this one did use commensense he did not ticket you he only gave you a warning. As for the drivers license thing everyone has a different interpretation of laws thats why we have courts. He probably was not BSing you he reads the law that way. Put a law book in front of 5 people you will get 5 different views.
It comes down to (and this is a mouldy oldy ) " Don't do the crime if you can't do the time"