labrat_62

I just got a $100 dollar ticket for riding up a road in Valley Forge park that had a closed sign on it. I was half curious 1) what was going on since you could not see anything out of the ordinary and 2) if i could still get through, it is my usual route. Is this a bit excessive? Did I actually do something wrong. And if it was construction as the cop claimed, why is an unmarked cop car sitting over the crest of the hill?

keisatsu

Waiting for people like you to give tickets to...

Unfortunately since the road was closed, you were in the wrong...

TNoodles

Set it for trial. See if the cop shows up.

Bike enthusiast

It seems you violated a simple rule and ignored a warning sign.... and got caught. Not much you can do, except that you really learned that lesson the hard way...

AEO

you're wrong.

af2nr

It's BS. I guess that cop doesn't realize that most cyclists don't get the same respect on the roads as cars, nor follow the same rules. At least around here anyway... We have cops "patrolling" areas of group rides due to riders not following the "rules of the road".

mattm

perhaps they were loading aliens into black helicopters just around the bend? we may never know unless you go back (in stealth mode) and find out!

sorry to hear about the fine tho, you should show up in court and hope the pig doesn't.

Halfast

I wonder if the cop would have given a jogger a ticket?

EventServices

First, let me zing you...

Does it need your approval? How out of the ordinary does it need to be before you comply?

It's a lot of people's usual route.

To catch you and others like you.

Now, let me admit that I'd probably do the same thing you did only because I'm too lazy to take the long way, but I'd realize that I'm crossing the line and have no defense if caught.

You can go to court and hope that he/she doesn't show up, but he'll likely show up to face you and the other 20 non-compliants he cited that day.

DM4

You saw the sign. You were able to comprehend the message on the sign. You chose to ignore the message. You were issued a ticket for failure to abide by the message. I fail to see a problem with this line of logic.

The only thing left to do is pay the fine and STFU.

Richard_Rides

Did he *see* you disregard the sign? If so, pay the ticket. If he simply observed you in the construction zone, you can claim that you entered the area from a trail and saw no sign. I always ride my MTB in areas where no trespassing signs are posted, been cited a couple of times and got the cases dismissed when I stated that I saw no sign along the goat path I followed into the area. They can't post signs everywhere.

I jumped a fence a couple of days ago and was questioned by a cop, I told him "I've been riding up the dry creek bed and saw no signs and am just trying to get home". No worries.

But if he saw you, you can't create the reasonable doubt required to wiggle out of the ticket.

PS: Here in California the cop that wrote the ticket doesn't have to be the one that appears in court, they can be briefed by the other officer and give legal testimony as if they were there witnessing events. It's a total scam.

Bontrager

What if you walked your bike instead?

spry

Now your really getting yelled at.

EventServices

for not using an apostrophe?

Yelling only happens on Tuesdays.

heckler

the "what if he was walking thinking doesn't hold, he uses the road and claims have the rights and responsibilities that entails, thus he can be ticketed. If you walked the bike not on the road then you would be fine, since i assume it was a "road" closed sign. If it was a "Park closed" sign then you would be lucky to have a ticket as you are trespassing and should have been arrested.

sunburst

That's frickin' ridiculous! Bikes should get special consideration. I know they don't, but nevertheless ...

operator

This thread is a complete waste of space, especially some some of the replies.

Moochers_Dad

How ironic.

rog

F that. That goes completely against the community service aspect of being a police officer. And, it's either a blatant money grab by the town, or it's a malingering cop, who doesn't want to be bothered, and oh, here comes a cyclist who might catch him, catching a nap.

If that town has the resources to station a police officer where he can catch people going through the road closure (and, other than a cyclist or two, who's going to do that?), then they could just as easily put him AT the head of the road closure, so his presence could dissuade people from going through it. And - crazy thought though this is - the people that don't know how to get around the road closure? They can ask a cop.

Heaven forbid that it's done like that. That would actually benefit the community. Nah, can't be bothered. And this way, the town makes oh, so much money in tickets...minus the cost of posting that cop there, plus any court costs that the person who fights a ticket isn't paying.

It's bullsh1t, them going about things that way.

heckler

would you rather pay the money in taxes? i would prefer the people that can't follow simple instructions help by contributing money to the local government.

since they closed a park i assume they had a good reason, if the cop was near something potentially dangerous he/she may have doing a much better job by being near the reason for the closure rather than being stationed at the entrance.

unbelievably

Why did you show the cop your ID?
What would the consequences been if you said you didn't have any?
Why did you show the cop your ID?
Do you all believe that "road closed" is the same as "no trespassing?"
Why did you show the cop your ID?

heckler

i just stated my opinion of what i would think would happen in both cases i think the OP made it unclear as to which it actually was. you bring up a good point in not showing ID. my tickets always have my drivers licence number on them so i assume you need it. i only bring a biz card with ICE info when riding.

rog

I would rather towns manage their finances properly, so they could put a police officer in a position where he might actually do some good, rather than just being a ticket writing machine. I think a "lets wait until we catch them in the act, and write them a ticket" attitude, vs one that both helps people out who need it, and dissuades people who want to poke around a little, is BS.


Well, until you manage to come up with something better than "i assume", "if the cop was near" "he/she may" I'm going to stick with my opinion.

fly:yes/land:no

most of the time roads are closed because cars cannot traverse them due to construction, not because there is some danger to a pedestrian walking the route. assuming that was the case here, this sounds like bs. the reason you are different from a car in this situation is because, like the pedestrian walking the dog, you can navigate around obstacles which cars could otherwise not. you get off the bike, voila, you are a person walking a bike! obstacle cleared! you are on your way home.

i have crossed a road closed sign continuously for several days on my road because it was safer to go that way then ride on the highway detour. after a few days, the guys working the construction started asking me to sneak them some beer from my house. i guess i knew that it was construction each time i did it, and felt very within my rights to ride my bike on the road even though it was closed.

if it was one of the few times when a liquid mercury truck overturns killing off the landscape, then wouldn't it behoove the officer to stay at the place where the road closed sign is instead of waiting for people to make it half way to the dangerous contamination and then writing a ticket?

so in my opinion, i don't think it so much harsh so much as either completely unjustified (if it is construction) or a total lack of responsibility (if it is to prevent you from seeing harm) for the reasons above. he should have just said: "hey fella, road is closed" or stopped you from going up in the first place. done and done.

i hope all of the people on here that are telling you otherwise get pinched for going 56 in a 55 mile per hour construction zone. you guys saw the speed limit sign, right? lol.

Edonis13

really? you sure about that?