Holy shatz! Cop stops bicycle! - Page 11 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

06-12-2004, 03:02 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] ich.edu>,
"Daniel J. Stern" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> On Sat, 12 Jun 2004, Tom Keats wrote:
>
>> > They can ram through busy intersections against the light, causing
>> > multiple collisions as drivers attempt to avoid hitting them.
>> > Different venue, same effect.
>
>> I've heard this point raised in the course of discussion before, but
>> I've never seen nor heard of actual incidents where this has occurred.
>
> 'cause the cyclist, having caused mayhem, simply decides he's a
> pedestrian, makes a 90-degree turn and cruises away from the scene. Did
> anyone get his license plate? Oh that's right...he DOESN'T HAVE TO HAVE
> ONE!

There'd still be a bunch of drivers both directly involved and
simply looking on, in these alleged, cyclist-caused, multi-car
pile-ups.

So, where are they? Let's hear from these drivers (if they
exist.) Or better yet -- their insurance reps.

Incidentally, I've never seen a cyclist "ram" through a /busy/
intersection against the light. But then, I've never seen anyone
jump through between boxcars of a fast moving train, either.

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06-12-2004, 03:21 PM

It is not overzealous. It has been taken to court. That is the way the law
reads.

--
Bob

"John David Galt" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].us> wrote in message
news:caerhf$l2e$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Bob Newman wrote:
> > Too many to read every reply, I hope this wasn't touched on. We here in
> > Florida have had police crack downs in the past giving cyclists tickets
for
> > not stopping, as you say "cyclists are subject to the same traffic laws
as
> > anyone else". That is not quite true in this case, cyclists are
required to
> > do more! Simply stopping at a stop sign can still get you a ticket IF
you
> > fail to put one foot fully on the ground. Comments?
>
> Sounds like the usual over-enforcement directed at auto drivers, where the
> cop says you "didn't stop" if you didn't wait 5 seconds before proceeding.
> The law needs to recognize that when your car rocks back on its springs,
> you've stopped.
>

06-12-2004, 03:21 PM

It is not overzealous. It has been taken to court. That is the way the law
reads.

--
Bob

"John David Galt" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].us> wrote in message
news:caerhf$l2e$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Bob Newman wrote:
> > Too many to read every reply, I hope this wasn't touched on. We here in
> > Florida have had police crack downs in the past giving cyclists tickets
for
> > not stopping, as you say "cyclists are subject to the same traffic laws
as
> > anyone else". That is not quite true in this case, cyclists are
required to
> > do more! Simply stopping at a stop sign can still get you a ticket IF
you
> > fail to put one foot fully on the ground. Comments?
>
> Sounds like the usual over-enforcement directed at auto drivers, where the
> cop says you "didn't stop" if you didn't wait 5 seconds before proceeding.
> The law needs to recognize that when your car rocks back on its springs,
> you've stopped.
>

06-12-2004, 03:21 PM

It is not overzealous. It has been taken to court. That is the way the law
reads.

--
Bob

"John David Galt" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].us> wrote in message
news:caerhf$l2e$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Bob Newman wrote:
> > Too many to read every reply, I hope this wasn't touched on. We here in
> > Florida have had police crack downs in the past giving cyclists tickets
for
> > not stopping, as you say "cyclists are subject to the same traffic laws
as
> > anyone else". That is not quite true in this case, cyclists are
required to
> > do more! Simply stopping at a stop sign can still get you a ticket IF
you
> > fail to put one foot fully on the ground. Comments?
>
> Sounds like the usual over-enforcement directed at auto drivers, where the
> cop says you "didn't stop" if you didn't wait 5 seconds before proceeding.
> The law needs to recognize that when your car rocks back on its springs,
> you've stopped.
>

06-12-2004, 03:21 PM

It is not overzealous. It has been taken to court. That is the way the law
reads.

--
Bob

"John David Galt" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].us> wrote in message
news:caerhf$l2e$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Bob Newman wrote:
> > Too many to read every reply, I hope this wasn't touched on. We here in
> > Florida have had police crack downs in the past giving cyclists tickets
for
> > not stopping, as you say "cyclists are subject to the same traffic laws
as
> > anyone else". That is not quite true in this case, cyclists are
required to
> > do more! Simply stopping at a stop sign can still get you a ticket IF
you
> > fail to put one foot fully on the ground. Comments?
>
> Sounds like the usual over-enforcement directed at auto drivers, where the
> cop says you "didn't stop" if you didn't wait 5 seconds before proceeding.
> The law needs to recognize that when your car rocks back on its springs,
> you've stopped.
>

06-12-2004, 03:21 PM

It is not overzealous. It has been taken to court. That is the way the law
reads.

--
Bob

"John David Galt" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].us> wrote in message
news:caerhf$l2e$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Bob Newman wrote:
> > Too many to read every reply, I hope this wasn't touched on. We here in
> > Florida have had police crack downs in the past giving cyclists tickets
for
> > not stopping, as you say "cyclists are subject to the same traffic laws
as
> > anyone else". That is not quite true in this case, cyclists are
required to
> > do more! Simply stopping at a stop sign can still get you a ticket IF
you
> > fail to put one foot fully on the ground. Comments?
>
> Sounds like the usual over-enforcement directed at auto drivers, where the
> cop says you "didn't stop" if you didn't wait 5 seconds before proceeding.
> The law needs to recognize that when your car rocks back on its springs,
> you've stopped.
>

06-12-2004, 03:27 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].earthlink.net>,
"Daniel T." <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I saw something close. I was making a left turn (with the green light)
> when a bicyclist ran the light just as I was turning. Needless to say
> the bicyclist was going too fast for anyone to really react to his
> presence. He ended up hitting an SUV (note the bicyclist hit the
> vehicle, not the other way around.) The bike was totaled and the rider
> found himself flat on his back. Amazingly, the bicyclist wasn't hurt, of
> course the driver of the SUV wasn't hurt either, how could he be? Hell,
> I didn't even see any scratches on the side of his vehicle...

Those things do happen, but that's nothing like the scenario
Mr. Stern describes, of drivers bashing their cars into each
other in a valiant effort to avoid hitting a red light-running
cyclist. I expect in the incident you describe, the SUV driver
didn't do much by way of collision avoidance manoeuvers; maybe
the driver didn't even know the cyclist was there until he hit
his SUV. But that's admittedly all speculation on my part.

I think a more plausible hypothetical situation would be where a
startled driver panics, hits the binders and gets rear-ended.
But that would be the fault of the driver behind him, doing the
rear-ending.

> I'm not going to claim that what Mr. Stern says never happens, but I
> expect that when something like that happens but its a car rather than a
> bike that is "ramming" through a busy intersection against the light, a
> hell of a lot more damage occurs.

True. I have seen some sickening aftermath of where (car driving)
street racers, and subjects in police pursuits, have tried
unsuccessfuly to run red lights. With stuff like that going on,
the authorities have far more important things to deal with than
going after law-flouting cyclists.

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06-12-2004, 03:27 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].earthlink.net>,
"Daniel T." <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I saw something close. I was making a left turn (with the green light)
> when a bicyclist ran the light just as I was turning. Needless to say
> the bicyclist was going too fast for anyone to really react to his
> presence. He ended up hitting an SUV (note the bicyclist hit the
> vehicle, not the other way around.) The bike was totaled and the rider
> found himself flat on his back. Amazingly, the bicyclist wasn't hurt, of
> course the driver of the SUV wasn't hurt either, how could he be? Hell,
> I didn't even see any scratches on the side of his vehicle...

Those things do happen, but that's nothing like the scenario
Mr. Stern describes, of drivers bashing their cars into each
other in a valiant effort to avoid hitting a red light-running
cyclist. I expect in the incident you describe, the SUV driver
didn't do much by way of collision avoidance manoeuvers; maybe
the driver didn't even know the cyclist was there until he hit
his SUV. But that's admittedly all speculation on my part.

I think a more plausible hypothetical situation would be where a
startled driver panics, hits the binders and gets rear-ended.
But that would be the fault of the driver behind him, doing the
rear-ending.

> I'm not going to claim that what Mr. Stern says never happens, but I
> expect that when something like that happens but its a car rather than a
> bike that is "ramming" through a busy intersection against the light, a
> hell of a lot more damage occurs.

True. I have seen some sickening aftermath of where (car driving)
street racers, and subjects in police pursuits, have tried
unsuccessfuly to run red lights. With stuff like that going on,
the authorities have far more important things to deal with than
going after law-flouting cyclists.

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Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

06-12-2004, 03:27 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].earthlink.net>,
"Daniel T." <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I saw something close. I was making a left turn (with the green light)
> when a bicyclist ran the light just as I was turning. Needless to say
> the bicyclist was going too fast for anyone to really react to his
> presence. He ended up hitting an SUV (note the bicyclist hit the
> vehicle, not the other way around.) The bike was totaled and the rider
> found himself flat on his back. Amazingly, the bicyclist wasn't hurt, of
> course the driver of the SUV wasn't hurt either, how could he be? Hell,
> I didn't even see any scratches on the side of his vehicle...

Those things do happen, but that's nothing like the scenario
Mr. Stern describes, of drivers bashing their cars into each
other in a valiant effort to avoid hitting a red light-running
cyclist. I expect in the incident you describe, the SUV driver
didn't do much by way of collision avoidance manoeuvers; maybe
the driver didn't even know the cyclist was there until he hit
his SUV. But that's admittedly all speculation on my part.

I think a more plausible hypothetical situation would be where a
startled driver panics, hits the binders and gets rear-ended.
But that would be the fault of the driver behind him, doing the
rear-ending.

> I'm not going to claim that what Mr. Stern says never happens, but I
> expect that when something like that happens but its a car rather than a
> bike that is "ramming" through a busy intersection against the light, a
> hell of a lot more damage occurs.

True. I have seen some sickening aftermath of where (car driving)
street racers, and subjects in police pursuits, have tried
unsuccessfuly to run red lights. With stuff like that going on,
the authorities have far more important things to deal with than
going after law-flouting cyclists.

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-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

06-12-2004, 03:27 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].earthlink.net>,
"Daniel T." <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I saw something close. I was making a left turn (with the green light)
> when a bicyclist ran the light just as I was turning. Needless to say
> the bicyclist was going too fast for anyone to really react to his
> presence. He ended up hitting an SUV (note the bicyclist hit the
> vehicle, not the other way around.) The bike was totaled and the rider
> found himself flat on his back. Amazingly, the bicyclist wasn't hurt, of
> course the driver of the SUV wasn't hurt either, how could he be? Hell,
> I didn't even see any scratches on the side of his vehicle...

Those things do happen, but that's nothing like the scenario
Mr. Stern describes, of drivers bashing their cars into each
other in a valiant effort to avoid hitting a red light-running
cyclist. I expect in the incident you describe, the SUV driver
didn't do much by way of collision avoidance manoeuvers; maybe
the driver didn't even know the cyclist was there until he hit
his SUV. But that's admittedly all speculation on my part.

I think a more plausible hypothetical situation would be where a
startled driver panics, hits the binders and gets rear-ended.
But that would be the fault of the driver behind him, doing the
rear-ending.

> I'm not going to claim that what Mr. Stern says never happens, but I
> expect that when something like that happens but its a car rather than a
> bike that is "ramming" through a busy intersection against the light, a
> hell of a lot more damage occurs.

True. I have seen some sickening aftermath of where (car driving)
street racers, and subjects in police pursuits, have tried
unsuccessfuly to run red lights. With stuff like that going on,
the authorities have far more important things to deal with than
going after law-flouting cyclists.

--
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Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca