| Re: Holy shatz! Cop stops bicycle!
In article <Pine.GSO.4.58.0406120010490.8911@alumni.engin.umi ch.edu>, Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> I was walking down Bloor St when I saw a copcycle pull over a cyclist for
> running a red light...talk about shock and awe!
Quite different from my experience. I stop and the cop runs the red.
> Now, it did my heart a lot of good to see and hear this.
The only times I've been stopped by a cop is when they insisted I
could not use the roadway but had to teeter on the couple inches
of pavement to the right on the while line and left of the gravel.
> I'd like to see a lot more of this kind of police activity, but pragmatic
> questions pretty much scotch the idea.
I'd like to see for ALL vehicles.
> There's no law requiring
> registration of bicycles or carrying an operator's license -- or, for that
> matter, any form of identification at all -- while riding one.
This doesn't prevent a ticket from being written and legally binding.
> Should be,
> but isn't. So what if the cop stops someone who hasn't got ID? What,
> exactly, can the cop do? And even if s/he succeeds in writing a ticket,
> what's to motivate the recipient to pay it? There'll be no demerit points
> on his driver's license (which s/he may not even have). There'll be no
> increase in insurance premiums (which s/he's not required to carry).
> There'll be no denial of renewed registration (also not required).
Because a warrant will be issued for his arrest. This will turn up at
a bad time like when he gets pulled over for driving 70mph on an empty
expressway at 2am.
> Be nice if cops could/would (they probably can) write tickets and impound
> bicycles until the ticket is paid.
Autos first. It would kill the speeding ticket industry. And btw, cops
are already known to do just that, cept it's with anyone riding a bike
within reach when there is some sort of protest or convention going on.
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