acidfast7

is to stop them (during Traffic Safety Week) and inspect their bikes and issue fines if their bikes not in compliance with the law. Also, additional information was handed out as seen in the video.


I like it because it reduces the number of cyclists going to wrong direction (salmon), running without lights/reflectors (ninjas) and people running red lights (€180 fines for the arseholes.)

It keeps the cyclists safer, which is good, and in turn keeps us in the favor of the motorists, because they can see us at night and we tend to follow the rules correctly with potential heavy fines

Interestingly, the signs/small billboards with the guy on the bike say "You're riding the wrong direction." It also says that they're checking for alcohol consumption ... that's hardcore, especially in the summer.

pepox369

Checking for alcohol huh? in germany.. where beer is part of the national anthem... lol, jk.

Here is the same, no lights get a ticket. Except for the city where my university is that allows you to have a light anywhere on you and that is acceptable. the city says that there are so many old crappy bikes for the students that they make the exception.

No drinking and driving, ANYTHING.. or they will make u walk home.. which is quite stupid bc you can walk until the cops cant see you anymore and then start riding again. No texting or holding a phone while riding the bike, BUT you can have Dr dre earphones on and be virtually deaf to the outside world..

Holland is a weird place when it comes to the laws..

Worknomore

Papers Please!

acidfast7

i'm not a german (or EU) citizen, so that's really true for me

cehowardGS

Another way to keep bikers safe is to pull over cars that don't give bicycles their 3 feet clearance, the ones that right hook bicycles in turns, the ones they yell at bicycles for being on the road.

In all groups you are going to have some BAD APPLES. Sure, they are some bad apples in bicyclists, but the cars are running 10000 to 1 on bad apples. That means, we have 10,000 bad apples in cars to every bad apple on a bicycle!!

I think the ATTENTION should be put on the cars, SINCE when have you heard of a BICYCLIST running over a car and killing the occupants???

When********************????

wolfchild

I live in the suburbs. Commuter cyclists are in a small minority in my city. Around here Police have more important things to do then to ticket cyclists. I do stop at most red lights/stop signs, but not all the time.
You may not believe this, but sometimes it may actually be safer for a cyclist to go through a red or stop sign.. then to stop and wait. Everyday when I ride I see drivers breaking the law. Other then running few reds I am a safe and responsible cyclist.. and I never ever do anything to compromise Other peoples safety.

acidfast7

The point is that it's important to enforce the rules of the road (you want to share it, right?) on cyclists as well as motorists.

I like the fact that tickets are being given out to people riding the wrong way in bike lanes and through red lights. It makes it safer for everyone, especially the peds who have to deal with autos and bikes.

wolfchild

We have a law around here that says: you're not allowed to text/talk on your cell phone while driving... And everyday I see drivers doing it. A driver texting on their cell phone is more of a threat to other peoples safety then a cyclist running through a red or stop.
And don't even get me started on speeding

Mark Stone

I don't like it. Safety is safety, and we should all be responsible on the road, but I'm uncomfortable with government intervention. Do we need the federal government (whether in Germany or whereever) running our lives to be safe? Sure, there's gotta be a balance and there has to be traffic laws, but I'm uncomfortable with more and more government control. Where does it stop?

acidfast7

I said that both people (texting drivers and cyclists running light) should be given tickets.

The enforcement on the cyclists is good, including me. It also keeps the cyclists safer because they're less likely to run the bicycle stop lights or to ride without lights.

It's good for everybody.

As for people complaining the police have better things to do, I view this as an example that more serious social problems have already been solved

acidfast7

no different than a speeding ticket.

wolfchild

Is there such a thing as a speeding tickets in Germany ??..I thought all the roads overthere are autobahns with no speed limit.

acidfast7

this video discusses the Autobahn ... and illustrates safe passing of a bicycle

acidfast7

i should also point out the with my cheap (but mandatory) Winter tires, my car is limited to 210km/h, out about 130mph, which isn't so fun when I need to get somewhere

wolfchild

210 KM, holy crap!...over here if you go that fast you get charged under our " street racing law", and your drivers license gets suspended for 7 days, vehicle gets impounded for 7 days all at the owners expense plus you have to pay $ 10 000 dollars fine

acidfast7

at 200kph, I still have people flashing me from behind indicating that I'm too slow in the fast lane (flashing high beams from behind in this case is legal and taught in driving school.)

I-Like-To-Bike

You sure about that legality? It was illegal 10 years ago when I lived there.

acidfast7

it's never been illegal.

it's considered polite, as is using you're left turn signal while in the fast lane to indicate that you're going to pass a string of cars.

JanMM

They check for bike lights in the daytime?

Mark Stone

That's fine if you're comfortable with government being in control of our personal lives. Sure, we need laws and protection from harm, but fining bicyclists? I think it would be better to put effort into advocacy and training rather than punishing. The problem is that when government gets too big and starts controlling its citizens more and more, it historically does not know when to stop. I say educate cyclists, but don't control them with threats.

wolfchild

Somewhat I agree with that. One example is how our government is trying to get into our refrigerators and tell us what food we should eat to be healthy.... it's nothing but conspiricy to control every aspect of our lives...I wonder what's next ?

acidfast7

the government built 50,000 miles of official bikepaths with taxpayer money, therefore, i like to see them maintained and regulated. if not, why build them at all?

SlimRider

I absolutely detest Salmon and Ninjas whenever I'm cycling or driving!

They're all hazardous to everyone on the road. I once made a right-hand turn straight into the path of a salmoning cyclist. I was forced to hop upon the sidewalk into a bunch of pedestrians!

One dark night while on my way home, I was casually cycling at about 12 mph, with a flashing red tail light behind and a really bright headlight in front, when a Ninja streaked through his stop sign, just perpendicular to me and directly in my path. It was sheer luck that we didn't collide! I can't tell you how many times I had near misses with Ninjas while driving in San Francisco...

Mark Stone

It's a balance that's difficult to find, I agree. The thin line is between government being a servant of its people, and government being a controller of its people. The 50,000 miles of bike paths paid for with taxpayer money should indeed be maintained and regulated, but I start to get uncomfortable when that regulation looks like it may go beyond protection and into control. Freedom is priceless.

cehowardGS

In real life, you got 10,000 cars texting to 1 bicycle running a light and/or texting. That makes your point thin, almost invisible.

To prove my point, you can have a policemen on a busy street, ticket all cars on the cell phone, not giving bicyclist their 3 feet, right hooking or turning right in front of a bicycle taking away their rightaway, and count the ratio!! It wold be over 1000 to 1 easy.

In our lifestyle, a 1000 to 1 wouldn't even be noticed.

Again, you got everybody, and everybody's brother talking on the cell phone in cars, and most cities it is illegal, sheesh, you got the pedestrans walking across the street talking on the cell phones. IMO, your desire for safety would be better spent directing it toward where it do the most good and save lives. Directing it at bikers, IMO, you are way off base, not just a little but way off.

Just my opinion, and I think a lot of others share that same opinon too. People in cars have steel around them, people on bicycles are out in the open. If anything they need the protecting a 1000 tmes more than the cars.