mtusz

I've been pulled over for speeding once on my bike and twice on my longboards. The guy was more amazed that I was going as fast as I was on the longboard.

artesc

Ok, so I have a question for you all. Today I was coming over a bridge to class, the intersection is really busy and I have my class on the left hand side of the street, i'm not sure if you understand what i mean, i'll put it like this, I i were to go straight through the intersection with all the other cars, then turn left onto the stree that my class building is on i would immediately have to cross back over the street again, so instead of doing this, i just stay on the sidewalk coming over the bridge and turn left on the sidewalk to get where i need to go. well, today a bike-cop pulled me over and said that beginning next week they were going to be enforcing bike laws in boston. if i was caught riding on the sidewalk i would get a 50 dollar ticket, same for riding without helmet. ok so here come the questions.

1) can they give you a ticket for not wearing a helmet? is it a law?
2) i'm pretty sure i could have out-biked the cop (he was on a one of those heavy ass treks with all his crap, helmet and everything probably weighing 25 lbs extra). would anyone recommend this? has anyone done it? how exactly could they stop you if they couldn't catch you? shoot you? call other bike cops?
3) since i'm sure as hell not going to make my life 3 times as more difficult and 4 time as more dangerous by following the laws and crossing with traffic, i'm going to be staying on the sidewalk. would i have reasonable grounds for arguing that it is safer for me to stay on the sidewalk for that particular intersection? (for anyone interested in which intersection i am talking about, here it is. The yellow arrows are the direction traffic comes from, the pink is the route i take and the green is the route the cop wants me to take. needless to say, during rush hour, the intersection is a dead zone for bikes.

i r yo

Fixed.

And:

frankiedee

in boston you are not legally required to wear a helmet if you are over 16,

you should just try to outbike him, if he catches up stop and pull the "i didn't hear you" deal,

obviously they can't shoot you, they probably wouldn't do anything if you just blasted past and lost them.

JoshG

my mother said the same thing hahah

Jabba Degrassi

Then maybe they should **** off back to the station until somebody needs them instead of going around giving people tickets for jerking off with the wrong hand or farting on a Tuesday.

Dion Rides

I don't know. I ride with a brake and helmet for safety, but most of all, I like to ENJOY my ride without being hassled, whether I'm sessioning flatland, riding the fixed or chopper cruiser. So, I do my best to stay within the limits of the law. I ride motorcycles too (SuperMoto and Off-road), and I take the same approach.

Seems the OP got blatantly hassled, and it was a bit out of line, but many of us who think we're being hassled and ticketed is because, actually, we are breaking the law. One time I was riding opposite direction in Downtown Santa Cruz, Ca. on my Redline Monocog - I swear I was going slower than people were walking (chillin'), but myself and a chick (who I wasn't even riding with) got fat tickets. Yeah, I was pissed and really thought I should've just got a warning, but I did actually break the law and the ticket was warranted.

The other day there was a moto-cop pegging people for incomplete stops. Did I blow through the stop sign? NO. I stopped, unclipped and put my foot down, looked both ways, and proceeded. That 3 seconds that I spent doing that kept me from getting hassled.

Depending on where you live, there are a lot of laws (i.e. riding without a brake) that you may be unknowingly, or knowingly, breaking which may result in a ticket. These tickets, as much as we hate them, are valid. They really suck, but they are valid. Are there BS tickets? Sure, but I bet there are more valid tickets than BS tickets. Not stopping, riding without a brake, no lights, no helmet... these ALL may may result in a ticket depnding on where you live, whether you agree with the law or not.

If you want to minimize the risk of being "hassled", don't break the law. It's the same reason why I wear a seatbelt, drive within the speed limit, and come to complete stops when I drive.

Just because we ride bicycles doesn't make us somehow transparent to local and state laws. If you want to minimize getting hassled, follow the rules. If you don't follow the rules, don't be suprised if you get tagged for something. It's simple. BTW, trying to out run the police is stupid. Evading a police officer is MUCH worse than a dumb $50 ticket.

I hate getting tickets. They are expensive and just all around suck. I'm going to do everything I can to not get them and enjoy my ride.

~Stuart~

[Edit] /\ *highfive* +99x10^999999 finally someone that thinks


ok.

1) Dunno about helmets in your area.
2) Yes. Out run the cop. Most of the time you will get away (depending on why they want you)... But sometimes they will use this thing called a "Radio" to get one of their buddies in a car to rip you a new one. Also, thats why i'm slow because my helmet weighs me down...[Edited]
3) Really? lets work this out slowly.

You can't ride on the sidewalk.
You need to use the sidewalk to get to school (which if i am reading right is standing next to the intersection)
You don't want a $50 ticket.
I am going to make an assumption here... You can walk.

My answer would be "walk your bike from the intersection past the problem area" as they can't bust you for walking your bike on the sidewalk.

Or suck it up, break the law, and when you get fined deal with it. At least the cop told you in the future you could get in trouble and a ticket.



ps. flimflam if i was a cop i would pull you over if i saw you riding... you look like one of those "shady guys"... i might even plant my gun on you if i didnt get you for anything else...

Jabba Degrassi

Tell that to the victim of a fatal dooring in Toronto, the perpetrator of which got off with a $110 fine. Sounds like we're pretty goddamn transparent to me.

GattMood

This is how cops earned the nickname of pigs.

darksiderising

My friend used to have a T-shirt that said:
"Kill Cops Because Cops Kill"

I used to think it was obscene and unnecessary, but then I had my first interaction with the cops. It involved me sitting on the sidewalk and their hand was on their gun the whole time.

dayvan cowboy

i'm surprised no one has linked to that like bike cop show whose name is escaping me.

schnee

The way authorities control society is to make so many laws that all people are breaking them all the time, so you can detain anyone whenever you want.

I would like to see laws taken off the books sometime, rather than being continually added. Pipe dream, I know.

Gurgus

Ask and ye shall recieve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2brDsO-PBU

Doing drops on Spinergies? Thats just crazy, man.

As to the whole cop thing, when my garage got broken into in the summer of '07 and my mtn bike and first fixed conversion got stolen, it took the cops twelve hours to show up.

ebr898

Huh? Lets think about this running from the cops. The discription you all have of cops is: slow witted, athoriarian thugs with nothing better to do but harrass you. While you have done nothing wrong. THey were waiting out side of Sunday School and pulled over the first alter boy that was walking home. Well why would you want to pump the adrinaline in such mean & cruel COPS and give them reason to think you are a criminal. You know that nice youth pastor RODNEY KING gave that one a try. (its too late for this ####, I am going to bed)

artesc

well I never said that cops are slow and dull witted, just said that that particular cop I could very probably out-biked. anyways, i realize it's a pretty stupid idea, but sometimes you just can't take how people treat you. case in point, last year during the world series (red sox) i was walking back to my dorm late at night. little did i know that they had blocked off the entire street that runs in front of fenway park, and that is the only street that i can cross for about a mile either way. so, i'm walking up the street and there is no one out because of the game, all of a sudden i see a police barricade, literally a wall of cops blocking the entire street. i keep walking forward and then all of a sudden some tough guy in riot gear calls me out (a lone guy walking down the street, clearly causing no trouble), "where the **** do you think you're going?" "i'm just trying to get to my dorm" "you can't go this way" "obviously" i answer "but i need to be back by 9 pm for work" "you're gonna have to go another way" "but i don't know how else to get there (because i really didn't" "Don't give me that ****. you're telling me you live here and you don't know the area?" "it's true, i just need to get back, i'm not doing anything!" Now, I very clearly wasn't on anything but the cop was like "you don't want to argue with me do you? turn your ass around" so I went and asked another guy about two cops down the line, he just ignored me. So, with nothing else left to do, I turned around and spent the next hour trying to find the other way back to my dorm and missed work. What was I going to do...argue with a 100 cops in riot gear?

In my opinion, cops are just corrupt with their power. They have no one to regulate them, so they do what they please. That is why I never, ever want to acquiesce and play nice with cops. I mean seriously, what was letting me by going to do?

Dion Rides

You absolutely didn't understand what I was saying: Just because we ride bicycles doesn't mean we don't have to follow the laws.

Listen, I don't like all the laws we have to follow, but they are the laws and if you break them, you get a ticket. If you don't want a ticket, don't break the law. If you are breaking the law, don't be suprised when you get one - and don't ***** about it. I'm don't know why that is so difficult.

If I'm flatlanding BMX in a tennis or basketball court and there's a sign that says "NO BICYCLES" and I get a citation for it, I can't complain. I may not like it, but I would be rightfully cited under that circumstance.

If minimizing the chances of being hassled means having to get off your bike and walk it on a sidwalk (which I do where I got my last ticket) or God forbid, installing a brake or wearing a helmet, then I think it's worth not being hassled. But if you want to ride brakeless and not wear a helmet, or not install lights at night, and that's against the law where you live - be accountable and pay your fine. You broke the law - you pay.

With the exception of the OP, everybody complains about their ticket or being hassled instead of owning up to it. I own up to my tickets, even if hate the law I may have broken.

If you all think riding a bicycle is a ticket magnet, try motorcycle riding.

ebr898

No one is watching the cops? Really I can see that at least a few of you are, as are the rest of the population. Everybody watches the watchers so to say. Do you think even honest, hardworking cops like the fellow officer who is fool? Several posters have written about family members and friends that are Cops. If you ask them do they think every Cop is bad, they will say no because they know that thier loved one is not out to beat some cyclist down etc.
As to out biking the Cops, Bicycling magazine had an article several years ago, about the LEO training for cycling. THey sent a writer to go through the training. The author was a die hard roadie , if I remember correctly. He was supprized that the class was not miles of speed training, but low speed handling, moving takedowns and using the bike as a defensive/barrier. The wild thing is the Cops on the bicycle is a officer doing his job with a bike as transportation, not a cyclist. Now that same officer may be a cyclist in his off duty time and have all the skills of Floyd Landis at his disposal on duty and off but he is not out to race somebody for smiles and gigles.
I read your original post again and gave it a brief amount of thought. If I understand the situation correctly the officer might have seen somthing like this:
A young man riding his bike somewhere in the middle of three lanes of traffic on the on ramp to a major Highway. It is dark and it is strange to see some one riding down this dangerous road between the to overpasses. I assume that if the officer lit you up with the spot light, you did not have enough light on your bike to make it apparant that you were a cyclist. When the officer stops to talk to you, you get nervous and put your hands in your pocket. Officers asks or orders you to keep your hands out of your pockets. You react by taking off your hoodie. Now the officer is dealing with a nervous acting guy who is riding his bike in the middle of the road at night with out enough lighting, who is now disrobing. Officer is wondering is this kid stripping down to get rid of evidence, fight or run. He checks you with some field test and you for what ever reason are suspect for bieng under the influance of somthing. What is the officer supposed to do? Well can he let you go? Well not really what if you are hurt or killed on the way home, or may heven forbid that some one else was hurt or killed because you were on the road. Could he write you a citation and drop you off @ your house? Well how does he know you will not be back out on the road as soon as he leaves? I have met a guy who got two DUIs in one night by the same trooper. He went back to get his car, after bonding out and was still drunk. That leaves him with really one option haul your but to the County jail and ask them to hold you for six hours or untill you are sober. You are not going to hurt your self or others for that short time. I guess the question is do you have a court date and did you have to pay a bond to get out of jail. If the answer was no to the above, the officer may have been a lot nicer to you than you know.

ebr898

Here is the summation to the above post: Who's life was the officer willing to bet that you were safe and sober? Not even yours.

Jabba Degrassi

Actually, I understood perfectly well what you intended to say, but words sometimes have multiple meanings, and I chose to use an alternate interpretation of the word "transparent" to make a point about law enforcement: they see us when they want to, but not when we want to be seen.

I'm not just talking about bikes either. Police are too busy writing speeding tickets and giving homeless people citations for not having homes to be able to pro-active in the community. Whenever a cop is giving some stupid yuppie the third degree for half an hour for doing 10 miles over, that's half an hour of NOT doing anything about real crime in the city.

Everybody hates cops, especially when they need them but they're too busy writing bull**** tickets to help.

Dion Rides

Well, I don't agree with the inefficiency with the police force, too. Like I said, I ride motorcycles and it's a million times worse than riding a bicycle. I have to say that being stupid on a motorcycle and getting cited for it probably saved my life in more than one instance. Difference between myself and others is I'm mature enough to recognize and appreciate it.

However, my point is 1) Own up to your citation, especially is it was a valid stop. And 2) Cops give BS tickets, but they also arrest pedofiles, women abusers, crooks, theives, and an array of other criminals.

A lot of cops abuse their power (I know one who's in jail because of it), but a lot also sincerely want to help the community. It's unfair to lump them all as bad as you've done in your posts.

Jabba Degrassi

I'm not saying they're bad, I'm jsut saying I don't count on them when the chips are down.

ebr898

"Everybody hates cops"- cannot be a true statement. I for one do not therefore the statement is not true. Now you could say that " In my peer group, we hate cops." That could be true and if it is , you may want to evaluate who you are running with.
The system is cubersom and slow, but that is a by product of the Bill of Rights. I know I like my Constitutinal Rights, I hope you do too. I think foricsics is going to speed up the Judicial system as defense will become tougher, if DNA is present. Which is may be good or bad, because all accused are inocent untill proven guilty.

Jabba Degrassi

We didn't have a constitution until 1982, but I like it just fine.

ebr898

?, Oh I see you are Canadian. Did you follow British Common Law before 1982? Is you court system as slow as the USA's?