http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-biker_fatal_26feb26,0,533633.story
free will and best judgment, eh.
free will and best judgment, eh.
Cambridge Commoner wrote:
Not all traffic laws should apply to bikes.
Then run for office and get the law changed.
chuck d wrote:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-biker_fatal_26feb26,0,533633.storyfree will and best judgment, eh.
Glad you posted that - especially considering 1. I wasn't racing, 2. wasn't going through an intersection, and 3. made sure that no one was in my way as I proceeded.
"Tour De Chicago" seems like a terribly dangerous idea.
dude - if you run a red light on your bike and your dumb melon comes through my windshield and getting blood all over my interior - you've done damage to my vehicle - have you ever seen the damage done by hitting a deer? how are you going to cover my expenses?
as for the license - why not? everyone else on the road needs a license - unless of course you are from mexico - but that is a different story. obviously, you didn't know the "rules of the road" thinking that you could just go through a red light ... just because you can balance your bike and pedal, does not imply that you know anything about the existing traffic - why should "cyclists" get a free pass?
abacus wrote:
Did anyone else open this thread thinking a cop pulled this guy over on charges of impersonating an emergency vehicle with a blinking red light on his bike? Huge disappointment here...
Actually...no, we didn't.
Cambridge Commoner wrote:
Not all traffic laws should apply to bikes.
My neighbor doesn't think homicide laws should apply to him. Can he kill me? In any event, I disagree with you that the red light rules shouldn't apply to bikes.
Look, you have three choices. 1. Obey the laws. 2. Don't obey the laws and pay the consequences. 3. Change the laws. You have chosen no. 2. I think the issue here is that you are surprised it is illegal to run a red light on a bike and you are mad you got caught. Quit worrying about it and pay the $20.
10.48.020 License - Required
No person who resides within the city shall ride or propel a bicycle on any street or upon
any public path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles unless such bicycle has been licensed.
my dog only goes after freaks wrote:
10.48.020 License - Required
No person who resides within the city shall ride or propel a bicycle on any street or upon
any public path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles unless such bicycle has been licensed.
Glad I don't live in Montana.
what you say is irrelevant. what you or i or anyone else thinks is good judgment or a bad idea is also irrelevant. you made a choice, based upon your notion of cost/benefit, to violate the law. we all do this. the vast majority of the time nothing happens. the other times we end up getting caught, either by the cops or the front end of an SUV. at least have the decency to accept the consequences of your actions. your whining is unseemly.
It's never a good situation to have a law or rule on the books that is only occasionally enforced. Bike laws are enforced in a very arbitrary fashion in most places. While I think people should follow the law, when the people responsible for enforcing the law choose to ignore a certain violation 99% of the time, it sends the signal that that law is not important. The law should either be enforced all the time, or taken off the books.
Obviously, this guy has no legal standing to appeal the ticket, he did break the law, but I can definitely understand why he feels that it's unfair. I imagine that most people have some law or rule at work that they violate fairly regularly with the understanding that the person responsible for enforcing the rule doesn't see your minor violation as a problem and will let it go. Runners jaywalk all the time, for example.
For another example, at the restaurant at which I used to be an assistant manager, the rule was that all employees paid half price for everything that they ate or drank at work. This is a fair rule, but for probably 10 years before I started working at the place, employees had been free to drink coffee without paying. This practice went against the written rule, but no manager had ever enforced it. I could have come in one day and picked a random employee and fired them for not putting their coffee on their break check. That would have been within the rules, but it also would have been quite unfair. If I wished to start enforcing that rule, a warning would have been much more appropriate.
In the same way, laws shouldn't be ignored by cops most of the time, and then randomly applied at the officers discretion one time in a thousand. Application of laws and rules should be consistent.
I love the fact that nearly every person who has responded has told you to pay the ticket and that you are an idiot, yet, you still find yourself to be correct.
Hmmmm....
The same laws apply to cyclist that apply to automoblies. Just pay up and learn the rules of the road.
I am a cyclist and i hate these dumb ass know it all cyclist(not all cyclists, just guys like you) riding on the roads paying no attention to stop lights or stop signs.
Good idea about that bicycle license. We should probably have one for runners too, and old people crossing the street.
When was the last time you rode a bike through a city street? If you ride every day, you realize how impractical and unsafe it is to follow the some of motor vehicle laws when riding a bike.
99.9% of the people who decided that cyclists should have to follow the same laws as motorists probably haven't pedaled a bike since they were 15 years old. But 99% of cyclists over the age of 16 probably drive a car. Somehow, and i don't know how, a group of cyclists who also drive should be able to convene and create a practical set of laws for cyclists.
The other thing that should happen is that every politician and law enforcement officer should have to spend the first month getting to their jobe either on a bike or walking or using public transportation. It would give them perspective on what people face who can't afford a car.
Cyclists who run red lights create hostility to cyclists in general. I always stop at lights on bike, just as I would in a car. And that includes when I'm on training rides.
Obviously you didn't look well enough to see the cop - you dumb fvcker! Stop being a baby and pay your $20. You should have received a bigger fine, if an automobile had done the same thing, the driver would have likely received a larger fine.
I too dislike "cyclists" who think that they are above the law or that it does not apply to them. Also, I hate to call you a "cyclist" you are likely just some guy on a bike disregarding the law because you think that it does not apply to you.
Kele wrote:
Good idea about that bicycle license. We should probably have one for runners too, and old people crossing the street.
What about people that walk places?
A ticket is a mere accusation. You are presummed innocent. Make them prove their case against you!
Fight on!
where I live there are lots of red lights at T intersections (so coming from one direction, you can either go straight, or take a left) and one happens to be in front of a police station. I've never stopped, and I've gone by cops waiting at the light. I think it's pretty obvious that for the most part, unless a cop is just trying to meet a quota or be a jerk they _don't_ enforce laws equally among cars and bikes.
Have you ever passed someone on a bike in a no-passing zone? You seriously can't expect people to always treat cars and bike the same.
2/10