ChiroVette

Not ONE bad or bashing thing about cops in the OP's post. A little sensitive are we?



I agree with the consensus about never leaving your home without ID, and not just for cycling. Mistakes and forgetfulness happen, but I ALWAYS have ID. I keep my license in my wallet with cash and credit cards, so since I always have to have money in case I need to buy anything, and since I never forget to have money/CCs on me, I never forget my ID either.

There may be grounds to beat the ticket that has false information on it, but it would require either hiring a lawyer or taking a day off to show up in court. I have had several parking tickets dismissed when I appeared before the judge simply because some personal information was not filled out correctly, such as a misspelling of my name, the wrong address, or some vehicle digits entered out of place. lol Of course, this was before the days where our beloved Brownies could simply scan your registration and have the right info automatically filled in. Be aware, though, that while the PVB will dismiss tickets automatically even for something as trivial as swapping a couple of digits in in your personal info or a misspell of your name, I wouldn't guarantee that its the same for cycling tickets.

Did you receive a DMV ticket? I don't know as I have never gotten a ticket on my bicycle. Not that I don't deserve some now and again, lol.

As for the earbud thing, I can understand the cop's position about trying the earbuds. It is a little unsanitary to stick a couple of in-ear monitors into her ear after they have been in yours, and have your sweat and cerumen all over them. For the record, if I were a cop, I wouldn't go sticking some stranger's buds in my ear either. LMAO. Another thing to consider is that technically the cop was right to ticket you for that. The reason is even if you have a mono signal going to just one ear, all ear buds have some noise-cancelling properties even without sound coming out of them. The reason you are only allowed to ride with one bud in isn't just because of the music, but because even an inactive ear bud in your ear will reduce hearing in that ear, even if only by a small amount.

This isn't to say the cop couldn't have given you a break, particularly since you did offer to let her hear the buds. I have found the NYPD to be very accommodating and generous whenever I get stopped, in my car or my bicycle. Then again, I really go out of my way to be very nice, plus I am a little older than most of the cops walking a beat who generally issue tickets, so maybe that buys me a little leeway with getting let off with a warning.