Biking tickets are a frustrating situation. I understand why the cops do it, but it sucks for us who are responsible enough to roll through the neighborhood intersections if it's clear. Lately, I've been pretty much stopping at most stop signs. The part that's annoying is when none of the other bikers do and they all get pissed at me 'cause I'm blocking their path, haha!
Interesting site (below). I've heard that a foot down is not necessary, so I'd surely fight the ticket if based solely on that. BTW, I've heard that the Irvine PD will follow rides like the food park ride and freely give tix to riders who ride on/outside the bike lane or two abreast (even when there is room within the lane). So, watch your lane too. What I'd love to see is more ticketing of motorists who swerve into the bike lane. http://www.sfbike.org/?bikelaw_ticket_faq Do I have to put my foot down for it to be a legal stop? Nothing in the law says that a "complete stop" requires a cyclist to take his/her foot off the pedal and make contact with the ground. CVC 21201 does say that a bicycle must be small enough for the rider to stop, support with one foot on the ground, and restart safely, but whether or not a complete stop is made ultimately hinges on a police officer's discretion.
well thats dumb i always ride with head phones but i dont think that the police out here really care about that
Cops in Force Through San Clemente For the third week in a row the cops have been in force riding through San Clemente. Spotted two parked watching as you go through the homes or through town. Be cautious since I do know of two people getting tickets in San Clemente. If light is red. Stop. Stop Sign. Stop. Be Safe.
I got a speeding ticket on a skateboard once for going to fast. The cops that give these tickets are focusing on the wrong issues, they need to see the stay alert stay alive post where los angeles has 400 unsolved murders this year. Fricken pigs.
Sorry I know this is off subject but I couldnt help thinking about this great movie scene.. funny as hell. can some possibly embed this as I am a total lameass when it comes to this stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbWg-mozGsU Btw I used to get constantly harrased by cops when I was younger riding my bmx bike on the street and got a ticket in 1987 for wearing my walkman lol
Spotted a few cops on Como Ride this morning (big group...150+ taking up full traffic lane and bike lane on Irvine Blvd and up El Toro Rd.) with no hassles through Irvine, El Toro, Orange, Lake Forest.... Last Thursday on group ride there was a whole slew of cops @ Portola and Orchard Hills investigating an abandoned truck or something or other, and there were a few doing that loop right turning on red without stopping onto Portola right next to the police with nary a concern by either party... Of course, if they just pulled over cars driving straight with their blinkers on, it would take up all their time and maximize their revenue more so than a bicycle rolling a stop sign next to the car doing the same thing. One other thing.....nod or wave to a cop as a friendly "hello" next time you see one...building up some goodwill never hurt for the next person that might not dab for a stop sign when there's nobody else at the intersection.
"S T U P I D O!" as we rolled a light in laguna... as it was turning green from another cyclist LOL :lol:
I got a ticket for riding my unicycle in pink speedos. I'm not going to fight it. I was in the wrong.:beer:
If they take your print when ticket is given they can always in court print you and have an examiner compare the prints so they could still get you that way.
This isn't a new issue... I got a ticket for running a red light on a bicycle in 1985. I got a second infraction for riding an "unlicensed" bike. Anyone remember the bike license requirement? It was basically just a sticker with a registration number that cost a few bucks from the state. I got my bike license (under that old law it was the bike that was licensed, not the rider) and went to court and got off with a $50 fine. I didn't even have a driver's license at the time. On the other hand, I've been on a Midnight Ridazz ride through the streets of L.A. from 11 pm to 2 am or so, with about 800 flashing red blinkies stretching out for ten blocks or so, taking up whole lanes, blasting music from boom boxes on handlebars, riding cruisers and double-decker bicycles, weird and fun people in clown suits and it was great. Some of the larger intersections people stopped, but the smaller ones the bikes all just blasted through. The cops came out and "suggested" we stick to one lane, then went on and proceeded to close down intersections as we approached, and were very helpful.
Cops in general are pretty cool. Their first priority is (your) safety! I hate it when people talk crap on them. Would you rather have a world with no cops? yea, that's what i thought...
I contested a $317 bike ticket and won! I was on a beach ride in Newport and at the intersection of Main and Balboa I crossed the street when the light was red but the WALK signal was white while 4 pedestrians crossed the same direction at the same time. This is a major tourist district so at this intersection they employ a 4 way red light to facilitate the foot traffic safely. I took a pic of the red light on at the same time as white WALK signal and produced it in court. The judge ruled that although I did ride through a red light, so the ticket was valid, I did not engage in risky riding and reduced my bail...from $317 to ZERO.
I know no one is advocating this and just to make sure everyone is on the same page, giving a false name to an officer is a BAD idea! First, the cop will question you about your address, DL number, and other information to see if it matches with the information he/she has on the computer. When you fumble the information or cannot provide information that matches the name you give, you will likely be arrested for giving false information to an officer (California Vehicle Code section 31). You will then have successfully turned a simple traffic infraction (a ticket) into a misdemeanor arrest.
Man I dont even put my foot down at stop signs on my dirtbike let alone my bicycle, track stand should be suffice. Tickets for bicyclists running stop signs safely or starting off at a light early is chickenshit. Cop was probably ticketing for spandex.
I have always thought it was funny that it was illegal to drive or ride a bike with headphones on since the deaf are given driver's licenses.
Today at lunch we were sitting behind two Corona police officers. I finally went and asked them if enforcement has changed. They told me nothing has changed in Corona but chances are the beach cities might be picking up but they told me it's highly unlikely they are doing so for revenue as it costs almost as much or more to take the police out of service while they go to court.
