when pigs ride
#1
one less car
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when pigs ride
so the other day i was making my way into boston from cambridge at around 10 in the morning. I was riding down mass ave near the central stop when i came to a red light, I slowed and made sure i wouldn't be obliterated by some bro in an suv and upon seeing that it was quite safe i rode on through. After getting back up to speed i let go of the bars and sat up to let my back relax a little, when all of a sudden i see this guy step out into the middle of the road. After a quick second of rationalizing the situation i realized he was a cop and that it was in my best intrest not to roll him. So i jammed on my one brake and came hopping to a rather pathetic stop while trying not to loose my head completely. Officer Brooks was quick to inform me that i was "OUT OF CONTROL" with only one brake and my hands off of the handle bars, i didn't fill him in on the fact that the only reason i was out of control was due to his well executed stone wall impression. Only after unbukeling my helmet and moving to the side of the road did i realize what had just happened to me...I had been pulled over ON MY BIKE and was being given a ticket for going through a red light! The fine was 20 dollars and i think that it is worth the story. But honestly i feel that this is rediculus, i don't need the police to protect me, part of the reason i ride is to get away from that scared feeling i have while driving that a cop may just be waiting to bust my balls.
AHHHHH anway thought i would share and was actual wondering what the laws really are in mass concering bikes.
AHHHHH anway thought i would share and was actual wondering what the laws really are in mass concering bikes.
#2
pluralis majestatis
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you slowed towards a 'section, and continued rolling on through, and got slapped with 20$
i stopped completely at a light, went through after it was clear, and had 2 cop cars pull me over (with full lights flashing), and got the same red light ticket but it cost 250$
i stopped completely at a light, went through after it was clear, and had 2 cop cars pull me over (with full lights flashing), and got the same red light ticket but it cost 250$
#3
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https://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/
See Chapter 85 Section 11B as well as a few sections of Chapter 90.
Your mistake was blowing the light as well as the no-hands routine (at least by the letter of the law). Boston won't bust you for the light but Cambridge will.
He's flat out wrong about the brake thing though. You just have to be able to stop your ride from 15mph in 30 feet on a clean, dry surface. By my reading of the law (a judge or jury's read may differ), that would even include a brakeless rider who could comply with the aferomentioned standard.
See Chapter 85 Section 11B as well as a few sections of Chapter 90.
Your mistake was blowing the light as well as the no-hands routine (at least by the letter of the law). Boston won't bust you for the light but Cambridge will.
He's flat out wrong about the brake thing though. You just have to be able to stop your ride from 15mph in 30 feet on a clean, dry surface. By my reading of the law (a judge or jury's read may differ), that would even include a brakeless rider who could comply with the aferomentioned standard.
#4
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I used to work for City of Cambridge (up until about 3 or 4 months ago)... word in City Hall was that they're really starting to buckle down on bicycle infractions. So be warned in Cambridge... especially in Central Square near City Hall.
#5
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Originally Posted by robertsdvd
... word in City Hall was that they're really starting to buckle down on bicycle infractions. So be warned in Cambridge...
I nearly "ran" into the same wrong way guy (fast, bald, no helmet), at an intersection twice. Gave him a mouthfull both times. The last time I saw him he was riding with traffic...finally.
#6
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yeah you got lucky dude. You ran a red an only got a $20 fine....if you were in a car here in Toronto, you would have gotten over $100 fine and 3 demerit points off your license.
Cops here go through blitzes on bikes...but aren't very consistent (not consistent about anything on the road really). Personally I wish they were more strict in general, on cars and bikes..There are so many cars downtown who break the laws and make life scary for the bikes. I would consider it a worthwhile tradeoff if they just got more strict with everyone.
Cops here go through blitzes on bikes...but aren't very consistent (not consistent about anything on the road really). Personally I wish they were more strict in general, on cars and bikes..There are so many cars downtown who break the laws and make life scary for the bikes. I would consider it a worthwhile tradeoff if they just got more strict with everyone.
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i was riding home from the bar late one friday nite. typical ride, done it a dozen times. got to the street where i needed to turn left. it was a stop sign. so i slowed down, and looked right to see if any cars were comming. saw a line of cars comming and that the car in front of the line (one way/one lane street) was a cop. still, i decided he was far enough away for me to get across the street and turn left. i did and he honked at me. i don't take kindly to honking, so he got a finger. being the middle of the nite, i didn't think he'd see my big middle finger, but apparently he did. got pulled over, lites and all, for "failing to obey a traffic signal." $80. until then, i had no idea that bikes are considered vehicles in CO. in AZ, bikes are considered peds. who knew?
#8
Shiftless bum
Originally Posted by Bikeophile
yeah you got lucky dude. You ran a red an only got a $20 fine....if you were in a car here in Toronto, you would have gotten over $100 fine and 3 demerit points off your license.
The saving grace of Toronto drivers is that they really are so incredibly stupid. In any given scenario, pick the least intelligent option and that's what they'll do. So they're fairly predictable. Unlike Winnipeg drivers. There must have been some cold war testing of something in the water out there... very scary...
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Originally Posted by operator
truneo that tuned park internal nipple wrench work ??
#9
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Originally Posted by cavit8
Not on a bike, though. It's $10 ($8.02 USD). At least that's what the cop yelled at me from his car as he cruised alongside after I last blew a light. I don't do it often because, hey, $10 is $10. I can buy three Hobgoblin or Bishop's finger at the beer store for that!
https://www.city.toronto.on.ca/cycling/pdf/hta.pdf
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ting+expensive
#10
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thats funny that you mention winnipeg drivers! Winnipeg and Edmonton drivers are the most courteous (to the point of silliness) I have ever seen! Picture this. I am in Edmonton and a pedestrian. The light turns green, and I get the "WALK" signal.
There are waiting to turn through the intersection but they give me the right of way...ok no big surprise...but they continue to wait...until all of the pedestrians are completely through the intersection and onto the sidewalk on the other side!!
If I was in Toronto, Montreal, New York or really most places, I would be lucky to get across the road with my life in tact...funny stuff!
There are waiting to turn through the intersection but they give me the right of way...ok no big surprise...but they continue to wait...until all of the pedestrians are completely through the intersection and onto the sidewalk on the other side!!
If I was in Toronto, Montreal, New York or really most places, I would be lucky to get across the road with my life in tact...funny stuff!
#12
Shiftless bum
Originally Posted by ofofhy
Actually, you should read the fines in Ontario. Your lawmakers are hardcore up there.
Bikeophile. Maybe things have changed in Winnipeg. My experiences were people stopping for green lights (and sitting there for the whole duration -- obviously the wrong shade of green) and someone who braked to a stop in the passing lane on the highway without pulling to the shoulder. I also nearly got clipped inumerable times in Osbourne village, though there is a neat bike theft story that goes with that town...
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Originally Posted by operator
truneo that tuned park internal nipple wrench work ??
#13
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once i was working, riding with about 30 lbs of legal docs in my bag, from harvard square, up mass ave toward central. i don't run the reds in cambridge around there when i'm working, so i made a point to stop at all of them. just after crossing prospect st a foot cop stepped off the curb and tried to get me to stop. mind you, he stepped out about 10 feet in front of me. i went to swing around him, just so i didn't smash into him, but i guess he thought i was trying to flee or something, so he stepped back into my path. down goes the cop, with me on top of him.
about 3 more foot cops come running over, and all of them start yelling at me about assaulting an officer or something. around this time the bike cop that had apparently been "chasing" me since harvard finally catches up, and starts talking into her radio "was it a white bike?" (i was riding a white bike), to which she gets the reply: "no. it was a green tricycle." they lectured me on "paying closer attention", but let me go only with a written warning for "recklessly operating a vehicle", obviously a bit embarassed they had hassled me whatsoever based solely on the fact i was riding something with less wheels than 4.
about 3 more foot cops come running over, and all of them start yelling at me about assaulting an officer or something. around this time the bike cop that had apparently been "chasing" me since harvard finally catches up, and starts talking into her radio "was it a white bike?" (i was riding a white bike), to which she gets the reply: "no. it was a green tricycle." they lectured me on "paying closer attention", but let me go only with a written warning for "recklessly operating a vehicle", obviously a bit embarassed they had hassled me whatsoever based solely on the fact i was riding something with less wheels than 4.
#14
Shiftless bum
Originally Posted by BostonFixed
Uhh, isn't Toronto in Ontario?
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Originally Posted by operator
truneo that tuned park internal nipple wrench work ??
#15
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Originally Posted by Bikeophile
yeah you got lucky dude. You ran a red an only got a $20 fine....if you were in a car here in Toronto, you would have gotten over $100 fine and 3 demerit points off your license.
Cops here go through blitzes on bikes...but aren't very consistent (not consistent about anything on the road really). Personally I wish they were more strict in general, on cars and bikes..There are so many cars downtown who break the laws and make life scary for the bikes. I would consider it a worthwhile tradeoff if they just got more strict with everyone.
Cops here go through blitzes on bikes...but aren't very consistent (not consistent about anything on the road really). Personally I wish they were more strict in general, on cars and bikes..There are so many cars downtown who break the laws and make life scary for the bikes. I would consider it a worthwhile tradeoff if they just got more strict with everyone.
#16
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I dont recommend any of you go to Santa Barbara California if you ride a bike and like money in your pocket. One time I was half a block from where I needed to be, so I figured that if I was on the side of the road I needed to be on, no point in crossing over then crossing back half a block later. So I rode the half block in the bike lane at a cruising speed. As I reach my destination and am dismounting I hear "Hey! Get off that bike!", I said to myself "what the f**k?" It was the Po. He proceeded to lecture me about how driving on the wrong side of the road with a bike, was no less of a crime then the same act with a car...amazing. He also told me that he could charge me the full penalty of $250 dollars for running a stop sign (it gets better) and 5, yes, $500 for going through a red light! 500. He continued his lecture on how dangerous the streets were for me because of all the "crazy mexican drivers" down there and how I should know because I'm from San Francisco and "It's the same thing with the Asians up there." Thats right..."the Asians." Police are such shady bombastiquas.
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Originally Posted by gokiburi
yeah, totally right with the cop-blitzing in toronto. a buddy of mine got a $120cdn ticket for not having a bell on his bike. i didn't believe it until he showed me the ticket. i should've photocopied that thing. i told him to contest it and sure enough, the cop didn't show up on the court date. go figure.
#18
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i know someone who got pulled for having a flashing light on the back of his bike, theres a law here stating you have to have a constant light (even though flashing ones are more noticable).
aparently the cops collegue payed the cyclists fine because he was so disgusted with the other cops decision to ticket this guy.
mental
aparently the cops collegue payed the cyclists fine because he was so disgusted with the other cops decision to ticket this guy.
mental
#19
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Originally Posted by BostonFixed
Uhh, isn't Toronto in Ontario?
#20
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$294 including court costs...even though it didn't go to court....go figure....anyway, that is what a friend of mine had to pay 2 months ago for blowing through a red light in downtown oakland, busted by one of oaklands' finest just blocks away from one of the many high crime areas'...guess you can sell all the crack you want....but don't run that red light
i'd still blow through them to if the fine was only $20....after her ticket though, unless i'm late for work i stop at most red lights now....
i'd still blow through them to if the fine was only $20....after her ticket though, unless i'm late for work i stop at most red lights now....
#21
In-fighting
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When I lived in Somerville, I took it as a trade off that in Cambridge, there'd be way more bike lanes than in Boston but also a bike cop outside that bookstore or 10,000 villages on Mass Ave, waiting for someone to blow through the light at Inman. And to get you to stop, they'll step out in front of you. And they'll step out in front of you even if you walk your bike through the intersection with the pedestrian light.
I always wondered what would happen if someone assumed the cop was just some weirdo in a blue windbreaker and shorts that had jumped into the street. Definitely could happen in Central Sq.
Now I live in DC and run red lights in front of all different kinds of cops. Such an assortment of cops in DC. I don't know why they don't stop bikes here (as far as I know). Maybe they do it in Bethesda, where they have less to care about?
I always wondered what would happen if someone assumed the cop was just some weirdo in a blue windbreaker and shorts that had jumped into the street. Definitely could happen in Central Sq.
Now I live in DC and run red lights in front of all different kinds of cops. Such an assortment of cops in DC. I don't know why they don't stop bikes here (as far as I know). Maybe they do it in Bethesda, where they have less to care about?
#22
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Originally Posted by Wambat
Now I live in DC and run red lights in front of all different kinds of cops. Such an assortment of cops in DC. I don't know why they don't stop bikes here (as far as I know). Maybe they do it in Bethesda, where they have less to care about?
I called in a car once that was driving in the bike lane and harassing me. when i called, it was on mass ave. i gave the 911 dispatcher the play-by-play of where the care was. then we hit lincoln sq, and the minute i said that, the dispatcher transferred me to park police. why? because it's NCPP not MPD's job to enforce the laws on the streets adjacent to the park. but naturally park police didn't answer, and the car got away.
they really don't stop bikes here at all. and the bike cops have these 40 lb smith and wesson behemoths that couldn't catch up to me if they tried.
#23
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'Technically, the cops do own the streets, but in reality - WE own the streets.'
'I'm flying down 6th avenue, these two cops - on bicycles - they got them little bull**** foolzy bikes - with the nobby wheels, all fat and all that.
I'm flowin' - I'm flowin' - I got litespeed titanium frame -y'know what I'm sayin', white industry hubs - y'know - my bike is like maybe...maybe 20, 21 pounds? Flyin!
So, I stopped at a light, and they pull up on me and say, 'Yo, pull over.' I said, 'For what?' They said, 'You ate like 6 lights'. I was like, 'Alright where do you want me to pull over?' So when they looked to tell me where to pull over...I just jetted!
So they started chasing me. So I'm like this - just ridin' - and I would look back - and I see them *ehhhh ehhh ehhh* - they tryin' to catch up to me - and I'm just ridin' hard - lookin' at them. And I would ride to every corner and stop - and wait till they catch up - I would wait til they were like two car lengths, and then I'd take off again and make them keep doing it for a couple of blocks. And then when I'm far away - the fat cop was already like he done gave up - all the cookies and pork chops done fell out of his pockets. And the other cop was sort of determined - so I'd make fun of him the whole way, 'You're not gunna catch me, you're not gunna catch me'
'I'm flying down 6th avenue, these two cops - on bicycles - they got them little bull**** foolzy bikes - with the nobby wheels, all fat and all that.
I'm flowin' - I'm flowin' - I got litespeed titanium frame -y'know what I'm sayin', white industry hubs - y'know - my bike is like maybe...maybe 20, 21 pounds? Flyin!
So, I stopped at a light, and they pull up on me and say, 'Yo, pull over.' I said, 'For what?' They said, 'You ate like 6 lights'. I was like, 'Alright where do you want me to pull over?' So when they looked to tell me where to pull over...I just jetted!
So they started chasing me. So I'm like this - just ridin' - and I would look back - and I see them *ehhhh ehhh ehhh* - they tryin' to catch up to me - and I'm just ridin' hard - lookin' at them. And I would ride to every corner and stop - and wait till they catch up - I would wait til they were like two car lengths, and then I'd take off again and make them keep doing it for a couple of blocks. And then when I'm far away - the fat cop was already like he done gave up - all the cookies and pork chops done fell out of his pockets. And the other cop was sort of determined - so I'd make fun of him the whole way, 'You're not gunna catch me, you're not gunna catch me'
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#24
Get the stick.
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20 bucks is a deal man! I just got $410 in fines from a disgruntled cop. I ran a red-yellow really-on my bike, then lied to him about my identity when he pulled me over. He was pissed. 45 minutes of standing around waiting for the fat mofo to write me up, the guy hits me with $190 for the red, $120 for failing to identify myself, and $90 for no bell. He was going to bust me for no back brake, but I told him it was a coaster brake-and he was dumb enough to buy it. He also thought that my slick tires were "bald".
I hate cops. Like high school jocks that never grew up.
I hate cops. Like high school jocks that never grew up.
#25
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>Good. I wish all the cities+towns would.
>
>I nearly "ran" into the same wrong way guy (fast, bald, no helmet), at an intersection twice. Gave him a >mouthfull both times. The last time I saw him he was riding with traffic...finally.
You should threaten him with citizen's arrest next time. I know that's what keeps me from commiting grievous crimes like that.
>
>I nearly "ran" into the same wrong way guy (fast, bald, no helmet), at an intersection twice. Gave him a >mouthfull both times. The last time I saw him he was riding with traffic...finally.
You should threaten him with citizen's arrest next time. I know that's what keeps me from commiting grievous crimes like that.