Should I have said something?
 

So I'm out to grab coffee when I spot a messenger on his way to a pickup. He hooks through the red light at the 4 way intersection no problem. As I walk out from the coffee place I notice he's heading back downtown. The light's red the direction he's headed and traffic is moving through the intersection so he circles and waits for a time to go. Problem was there was a cop two cars back which I thought he saw.

Apparently he either didn't see the cop or didn't think they would do anything, but as soon as he rolled through the red light they put the siren on and went after him. Metro Seattle has a helmet law too so he could be in for a hefty ticket.

If Seatlle cops bust bikers like that, he should already know it, and be watching for them. Look out for #1.

yeah, you really can't blame yourself for that. honestly i'm surprised the cop even did anything...

you are what is wrong with america photons. you and your stomach aches.

Well it was pretty blantant and the cop was not far behind.

I can't say I'm surprised. The cops have been staking out part of my commute and ticketing stop sign-blowing cyclists.

Shouting 5-o is always a good idea when you see cops.

I prefer "I smell bacon!"

Or a nice loud WHOOP WHOOP (since that *is* the sound of the beast).

"and forever holla, Hootie Hoo!!! when you see cops"

yes indeed...
its funny in france it's "vingt deux". not sure why but the cops in france are 22 not 5-0. anyone who knows why chime in.

"you need a little clarity check the similarity
overseer overseer overseer officer officer officer"....
such a great anthem...

yeah. you totally shoulda said something. brotherhood, you know? This one time, three guys & I were stopped on 6th avenue in the 50's because some boys in blue were across the intersection. Another messenger was *about* to ride through the light, but we reeled him back in, with shouts. As we went through the green, the cops laughed and said that we saved that guy a ticket. True story. I think. Can't really remember. Somebody get me another glass of whiskey.

Yesss, did you just quote Backbone from the song "slump?"


doesnt seem like the best of ideas in this situation. might just draw the attention to yourself. hmm, then he could have avoided the ticket, maybe. talk about taking one for the team.

what's your route? i've been blowing lights heading south on alaskan for months (there aren't any streets coming from the west so i figure i'm ok as far as cars are concerned).... only place i won't do it is by the last ferry dock because that's pretty much asking to get hit, and there are always cops there directing traffic.

"what out for the PO PO" usually does the trick

hahaha, you sound wasted as hell...

Ballard to Capitol Hill via Fremont (which is where the fuzz has been handing out the tickets).

Are you talking about France French or Quebecois French? If the latter, then all I could find was it's slang for le 22e régiment in Canada http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_22e_R%C3%A9giment

Yep... I've seen a motorcycle cop in front of PCC in Fremont twice (handing out tix to cyclist blowing through the stop sign there). It really sux cuz not 1 cyclist stops at the crappy stop sign. I planted myself around the corner from PCC and yelled "cooooop" so everyone would stop. Get a life cop.

yeah i'm en train de parler regular french, at least according to my french teacher (who's from lyon)

i love that we dont have to worry about cops bothering bikers in philly.
knock on wood.

Wow. I've never seen a cop in Seattle give a darn about cyclists. Probably just fallout from the CM from a few weeks ago.....the cops are probably saying in their morning meetings "if the bikers want to be pains in the neck, so can we!"

I got royally hassled for biking vehicularly in Daly City, CA (a suburb of San Francisco). I had merged left to turn left and he pulled up next to me, demanded that I "pull over to the right" even though there were cars barrelling past at 35mph. I told him, "No, I'll stop here if you'd like to talk- pulling to the right would not be safe." He yelled, "YOU KNOW BICYCLES ARE SUPPOSED TO ALWAYS KEEP RIGHT!!!", and I said, "Oh, even when we're turning left? The California DMV Driver's Guide has some pretty clear rules about how bikes can use the road, and I was following them".

Red in the face, he blared, "KEEP RIGHT, GODDAMNIT, YOU HEAR ME?! I SHOULD JUST WRITE YOU A TICKET OUT RIGHT NOW." To which I remarkably calmly replied, "Do you really feel like dealing with all of the court paperwork? I know my rights. I'd be glad to fight it via written declaration,".

One more, "KEEP RIGHT, OR ELSE!" and he sped off.

F*#@%'in A.. I wouldn't have been so incensed about it if he hadn't almost knocked me off my bike while trying to get me to pull over.. He seemed like a frustrated guy in his 50s that'd been waiting with bated breath to scream at somebody that day. Blah.