they dont call it RepubliK of Santa Monica for nuthin'

[pantablo]

asshat. asshat. asshat.


I decided something wasnt right this morning, had a bad feeling about going for a Angeles Crest ride this morning as planned. Instead, I went for a bicycle ride. I havent ridden in quite a few months.

Got 5 blocks from home, to a flashing red light (usually this is a regular traffic light) on a small intersection of a small part of town, slowed, looked both ways for cars (no cross traffic) and rolled through.

1/2 block up the side street was a moto cop on his fancy new bimmer...stopped me. Gave me ticket for running a red. Goes on my auto driving record. he tried to console me, " I had to give you a ticket to save face, hey, I'm a rider too". WTFFFF? If he were a rider he'd stop me and give me a warning. No, he was being a d!ck. "I see you guys all the time, 'training'". Like, what the F does that mean?

Now I have to go to traffic school for this...

[mwdbruno]

That sucks!!  Is was Santa Monica PD, not CHP??
Has there been any increase on accidents at that particular intersection?  Or was he enforcing strictly for some unknown reason?

[pantablo]

Santa Monica PD. its such a small intersection...I dont think I've ever seen an accident there in the 8 years I've lived there...asshats.

[Rema1000]

Never carry a D/L when you ride bicycle.  They're too busy to haul you downtown.  Or just tell them you don't drive due to poor vision, motion sickness, etc.   I find it really funny that you don't need a D/L to ride a bicycle or drive a boat, but if you're cited while doing either, then it goes against your driving record and changes the cost of car insurance (but not boat insurance, hm).  Around here, we have some crazy laws that you just can't obey and ride safely (*).

That said, if there are children watching, I always do a foot-down stop.  And any kids wearing helmets get a "Wow, cool helmet!" and a wave when I pass.

(*)if there is a bicycle or multi-use path parallel to a roadway, you must ride on the bike path.  But the bike paths are bumpy, rutty, clogged with rollerbladers and joggers with strollers, and  have speed limits ranging from 10mph to 14mph.  I used to have a bicycle commute that paralleled some park land.  It took 70 minutes each way doing balls-out riding (you know, where you beat your previous best time, but arrive at work a little tipsy  )  I can't imagine how long it would have taken me at 12mph.

[ollie357]

:guns: Man, what an Ass Clown.  :guns:

[cozy]

Geez, you got screwed.  I can't imagine if traffic laws were applied to bicycles here.....
You have my sympathy.  That's a lame way to get a moving vio.  :dunno:

[BadBatzMaru]

that sucks!! It always amazed me when I lived a while in LA LA land the things they give tickets for.. me being a new yorker, I always just walked through intersections and my friends would be super paranoid about getting j-walking tickets... never happend to me but I saw it happen to them. I mean c'mon, j-walking??? yeah its illegal in NY too but never cited...  never heard of a bicycle ticket being given there but it doesnt suprise me given the nature of the SMPD.  Rode two nights ago a few loops around central park, must have run at least one if not two dozen red lights... in front of cops no less.... can't imagine dismounting at all the lights I hit, just would make cycling less enjoyable....   damn SMPD though... they were pretty annoying during my time at ucla. can't they find something more worthy of their time??

[gobstopper]

It is getting towards the end of the month.  What a chickenshit bastard.  You should have told him "You're not a cop, you are a revenue generator."

That sucks donkey chicken, man.  Sorry to hear it.

[Blueknyt]

yeah, i dont think i have ever gotten away from a motocop ticketless, unless i was walking.  had one stroken me a ticket while back, didnt belive my speedo didnt work right(bouncing needle), told him if he didnt belive me, he could take it down the road, "No thanks, i dont ride rice processors" was his reply.   i followed that up with "yeah, i know what you mean. If i had a job putting a harley under me for the cost of handing out tickets, i wouldnt be inclined to warn anyone either."

[JLKasper]

As a former bicycle commuter, I feel that those who choose to promote their own health, conserving resources and contributing to minimizing traffic congestion should be allowed a subjective interpretation from traffic cops.  It's far less dangerous to ride through a stop light than to allow cars to pile up behind you.  I never carried my drivers license when I rode, opting for a DMV photo ID card.  I figured it might just save me from a ticket.  I always interpreted a stoplight as a stop sign; yield and go.  I never got a ticket during city riding over six years and over 15,000 miles.

OTOH, I also know how "training rides" can cause traffic problems--  riders who won't obey the "2 abreast" rule and disobeying signals in traffic just so they won't get dropped.  Members of the bike club I was a member of would do the craziest shaZam! to get over on their riding buddies.  Complaints from responsible riders would be registered at club meetings, and a hammerhead arbitrator would find a way to talk their way out of it.  Then, I estranged myself from them at a rest stop during a century ride when I cought up to the hammerheads who complained they were ticketed in a small town for being a traffic hazard and not riding two abreast.  I told them they had it coming, and left the club shortly thereafter.  

[pantablo]

I dont like the idea of not carrying my DL because then you have to lie about your name and address. But carrying a ID card, if its not tied to your DL makes sense. shaZam!.

I agree with the dynamics of the 'training rides' and I am usually pretty vocal (and I unofficially police the group) about it. However, I wasnt on a training ride, I was alone. I just happened to be wearing my racing kit [from 2 years ago]. Its the local club so he'd recognize it. Discriminatory in my mind.

I think its absurd that a bike is treated with the same regulations and fines as a car. I wish police would drill that thinking into car drivers so they'd stop trying to run me off the road...

[chimivee]

Cops are just pricks.  Blanket statement, yeah - but I'm the last guy a cop would need to be harassing, but they still insist on being a-holes to me...  Thumb-dicked jerks on power trips (at least around here).

Speaking of bicycles and cops... I was riding recently w/ 2 friends along a city street at a decent pace.  We all had taillights and headlights.  Cop in some brand new honkin' SUV (my taxes are paying for that??!!!) pulls us over,  (doesn't get out of the car), and tells us, angrily (as if we were riding on his own lawn or something) to get off the street.  "Ride on the sidewalk or in the gutter," he says.  Law enforcement officers should be required to know the law they're enforcing.

I think its absurd that a bike is treated with the same regulations and fines as a car.

Well, I don't think it's necessarily absurd that a bike on public streets is treated w/ the same regulations as car...  But it's absolutely RIDICULOUS that cops waste time/money/resources on something as silly and harmless as rolling a stop sign on a bicycle.

I wish police would drill that thinking into car drivers so they'd stop trying to run me off the road...

I know, huh.

[bignuts45]

I'm not sure of all bike laws, but I do remember about ten years ago when I was in my undergrad and I got pulled over for a BUI (Biking Under the Influence)  I had beers in all pockets of my overalls, which he made me poor out!  I guess I figured that if I am drunk on my bike the only person that is going to get hurt is myself.  This was in Fort Collins, CO, but I don't remember it affecting my driving record and I didn't have to go to jail.  I had to pay some fines and do some community service.  All I could think was next time I'll prolly get pulled over for walking under the influence.  I haven't got one yet, but you never know what they will pull out of their ass next.

[JLKasper]

...Well, I don't think it's necessarily absurd that a bike on public streets is treated w/ the same regulations as car...  But it's absolutely RIDICULOUS that cops waste time/money/resources on something as silly and harmless as rolling a stop sign on a bicycle.
...

There's something of a double standard there, but I agree.  It's also BS that if you don't have a drivers license and get stopped by a cop for what Pablo did, you get a citation and pay it; much lesser consequences than points taken from a drivers license and jacking up insurance rates.  Challenging that would be an interesting lawsuit to take to court.

[john]

That's shaZam!.  Plain and simple.

I'm sure the insurance companies love getting the revenue for a bicycle infraction :lol:  Wait, that's not funny :x

[RC]

Pantablo,

Same thing happened to me back in college. I thought it was funny
until I found out how much it was going to cost me.

I ended up taking DD course. I did call my car insurance
company and they told me the ticket would probably
have not effected my rates b/c it was not on a motor
vehicle even though it was a moving violation. With
the DD course the ticket went away of course.

Some of the group rides here in Houston make it easy
to understand why drivers hate bicylist. A couple of months
ago some bicyclists running  a red caused a wreck due to
having to emergancy brake.

I've commuted to work a lot on the bicycle and have luckily
never been stopped for yielding at a stop sign/light.

I always carry ID & my insurance card in case something
happens. Too many people have been hit by mirrors, etc
here.

R

[Blueknyt]

Ride on the sidewalk

if im not mistaken, 99.9% of the U.S. ,  state (as part of the "Uniform traffic code") that sidewalks are for pedestrian use, Bicycles though powered by foot,are riden on streets and are subject to obey traffic laws, right of way,traffic lights,stopsigns,lights, AND yeilding to pedestrians at crosswalks at redlight.  Come to think of it, as to Rollerbladers, there isnt a provision in Florida that says its leagel for them on sidewalk or street, its one of those unmentioned things. i dont even carry DL when riding bicycle or walking around.  i carry my employee ID that has a pic of me.

[pantablo]

I agree that bicycles should be held to the same regulations as cars since they share the road (no sidewalk riding allowed). What really irks me is his attitude toward me and the fact that it affects my license (points) and my insurance. THAT parts infuriates me. The bicycle, while subject to road regulations is not subject to licensing or insurance requirments.

So I have to take a traffic school to keep this ticket off my record. That blows.

My citation is just another example of where the laws contradict common sense (safe riding vs complete stop).

oh, and I confirmed with my insurance (hypothetically, of course) that any point on my record, be it from a car, motorcycle or bicycle affects my rates the same. bugger.

[glenn9171]

That's what you get for living in Socialist Land...I mean California.  I have never heard of needing a driver's license for riding a bicycle.  Does that mean you over on the west coast need to be 17 to ride a bicycle like driving a car?  If not, what happens to a person too young to have a driver's license that commits the same infraction of the law as you did?

Next time tell him you don't have a driver's license...that's why you ride the bike everywhere.

[JohNLA]

That sucks but it does not suprise me.
Do the online schools. They are cheap and can be done in an hour while wearing only your underwear.