they dont call it RepubliK of Santa Monica for nuthin'

[pantablo]

UPDATE.

I've been doing some research and I think I found something that contradicts what the officer told me...from www.dmv.ca.gov


--------------------------------
Violation Point Assessment

Violation points are assigned to Vehicle Code sections and any other code section, or city or county ordinance, involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle.  Any violation occurring as a pedestrian or a bicyclist has no point assigned. The department may suspend and place on probation, or revoke, the driving privilege of a negligent operator.

--------------------------------

It would appear from this that I COULD simply pay the fine, NOT do traffic school and it wouldn't affect my insurance. I wonder if that's what I remember happening the last time I got a ticket on my bicycle, 15 years ago-that the insurance co sees a ticket on my record, hiked my premium and I had to fight them to verify it was a bicycle ticket w/o point attached....hmm. This could get interesting.

[JLKasper]

Great news; you've just saved hundreds on your car insurance...

Not removing points on drivers' licenses for bicycle violations is a reasonable solution; justy remember to record or save links to all the code numbers so you'll have a ready defense.  

[Turkina]

I could see a cop pulling you over if you blew a stop light on your bike at a busy intersection, or riding like an idiot.  But for rolling through a stop sign?  

Does that ticket have a court date attached, or is it just a fine?  Might want to take the time to go to court and see if the damn cop showed up.  

Riding a bicycle can be a scary experience even on the best of days.  It's good for your health and for the environment.  Why in the world would a police officer chase after bicyclists?  :x

[bigdaub]

[wasabi_peas]

Pantablo,

I'm just a new guy here and am not in much of a position to criticize you.  I've read many of your posts in the course of learning about my motorcycle, and I really appreciate your contributions.

That said, you broke the law, and were forced to pay the consequences.    I'm a fellow rider (former racer, too) and now I'm a regular bike commuter....well, until the motorcycle tempts me too much.  And yeah, I sometimes do rolling stops.  But I usually don't do them unless I see zero other vehicles (cop cars or not) or kids.

Even though many cagers don't seem to recognize it, we're allowed many of the same privileges and subject to many of the same responsibilities as cars.   The more we blow stop signs, take an entire group through an intersection, ride two abreast, etc., the more fuel we give the idiots.

It's like the rants about speeding tickets.  Ultimately, we wouldn't get in trouble if we weren't breaking the rule in the first place (even by a small margin)

[pantablo]

...I sometimes do rolling stops.  But I usually don't do them unless I see zero other vehicles (cop cars or not) or kids.

Wasabi,
yeah, I'm not saying I'm above the law. I know I rolled it. I think I did so in a safe manner since I did look and there were no cars or pedestrians in the intersection. The motocop was halfway down the block, waiting...watching...

I'm more than willing to pay the fine though. I was just burnt that it would affect my DRIVING record and my CAR/MOTORCYCLE INSURANCE. That I thougth was wrong. If Someone does same thing but they dont have a license to drive their punishment is less severe than mine would be.

However, I found that info from the CA DMV that states no point recorded for pedestrian or bicycle infractions so I feel better about it. I just need to make sure it gets recorded as such or I'll be fighting my insurance about it.