sac02

I don't think this is true - if you are still in the intersection when the light turns red you are in violation. You have to have cleared the intersection completely by the time the light goes red.

Mac

krazyderek

Remember though, light's are based around cars traveling the legal speed limit, if a bike cannot safely stop when a light turns yellow, it will take longer to get thru an intersection then if the same thing happens when driving your car because the two are going different speeds.

Around here, there's a 2 or 3 second gap between when your light turns red, and the perpendicular traffic turns green, it's to ensure any slow traffic that would have been caught in the intersection has a chance to clear out.

Personally, i don't cary my liscense, i don't know why anyone would biking, just get some dog tags or a roadID.

I would have disagreed with the officer citing that although he thinks a car would have been able to stop, a on a 2 wheels skinny tired bike, it was safer to proceed thru the yellow light then to skid thru the intersection and possibly fall.

redfooj

happened to me
went to court
cops did not show
i went home free

redfooj

it does
as explained to me by the prosecutor (pre-trial hearing)

ill take this opportunity to add that in my instance i was stopped by TWO state trooper cars (in downtown city limits) with flashing lights, with me --a polite 150lb student with helmet and full blinkies and a completely clean driving record....

yeamac 

Hmmm... this thread has got me thinking.

Hike and bike trails often have a STOP sign before crossing a city street. If no cars are coming I normally just breeze right through. I imagine I could be ticketed for not stopping.

Olebiker

I don't know the law in Oregon but, at least here in Florida, as long as the light is still yellow as you enter the intersection, you are not in violation. You might want to check the statutes.

merlinextraligh

At least by police officers who don't understand that you can come to a complete stop without putting your foot down.

Police Officers use the foot down bit as a line of demarcation, but it's not a legal requirement, at least in Florida.

The Florida statute only requires you to make a complete stop, and an honest to God Track stand would meet that definition. I doubt there's a specific legal requirement to put your foot down. But in practice it appears to be the standard used by a lot of Police Officers.

Unless, there's a specific California statute or case, I think you would have had a good basis to contest it, but as you determined, it wasn't worth your time.

sac02

I will play the part of the cop, who (though a jerk) is still legally correct:
true...

then you were travelling to fast.

That doesn't matter. If you're travelling on my road, son, then you can't be running red lights. You were in the intersection while the light was red, so you're getting a ticket
/role play

I'm not saying I don't run lights or stop signs, in fact I do almost daily on my commute. But if a cop wants to have a talk with me about running a light I'm not going to try and convince him that I got across the 'stop' line into the intersection before the light turned red. I'm gonna politely apologize, and tell him 1) that I visually checked the intersection for traffic, 2) that stopping and starting is a little more difficult for a cyclist, and 3) I promise never to do it again. Hopefully he gives me a warning. And when he sees me doing it again the next day, I won't complain about the ticket, he caught me fair and square.

Mac

rha600

has anyone ever gotten a ticket for speeding on a bike? shouldn't be too hard to do consdering how many of you have been stopped for other things. I could easily see someone breaking a 25mph speed limit. I'm just wondering if the fact that a bike doesn't have a speedometer would be a valid excuse.

sac02

A good friend of mine got a speeding ticket on single-track in a nat'l park. A ranger was waiting at the bottom of a steep hill with a radar gun, no joke, giving tickets to mtb'ers who came bombing down the hill in excess of the 15mph (if I remeber correctly) speed limit inside the park.

Can't comment on a speeding ticket on the street, though exceeding a 20mph school zone or 25mph residential zone would not be difficult.

Mac

shakeNbake

+1

DiabloScott

DMV is on line for most states, a much better resource for legal information than any forum.

For California, no violation points are ever applied to your license from a ticket while cycling or walking:

Common California Vehicle Code Violations Used In Negligent Operator Counts
Violation Point Assessment

Violation points are assigned to Vehicle Code sections and any other code section, or city or county ordinance, involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle. Any violation occurring as a pedestrian or a bicyclist has no point assigned. The department may suspend and place on probation, or revoke, the driving privilege of a negligent operator.

The State ID card from the DMV does exist, but you cannot have both a DMV ID card and a driver's license. (I carry a photocopy of my license in my bike wallet)

A police officer is allowed to require a violator to identify him/herself, but what types of identification he/she'll accept are pretty much up to the officer - a license, state or military ID, or passport are always acceptable though.

I have sat in on a California traffic court watching a friend defend his speeding ticket. It was totally a BS ticket and the officer (actually a park ranger) had no answer for my friend's testimony. The judge realized the ranger was anti-cycling (my perception) and sat on the judgement until it expired - I saw this as a way to not rule against the ranger in court but still throwing out the ticket.

The thing is, I saw a whole lot of stupid, inarticulate people with no concept of how the system works show up and try to argue with other traffic officers over their tickets. Anyone who is thinking of going to court should go sit through a half day watching what really happens, and seeing who gets their tickets dismissed or reduced; the reality is much different than what most perceive. You can win if you have real evidence and a good presentation.

TXCiclista

Must be nice. In TX, 1 point raises the insurance rates (at least, it did for me). That ticket would have cost me $600. I'll take a day off for that any day! Show up in court, get it taken care of then have 4-5 hours left in the business day to ride.

TXCiclista

Heck, if my expired vehicle registration court visit was any indication, a shirt and tie and a "Yes, your honor" could get you off. I was amazed at what I saw in the courthouse and how the people responded. I'm sure I was the first "Yes sir" he heard all day

Socalcycling

3 years ago I had to suffer through a couple days of traffic court which is were most of my facts are coming from. I guess El Diablo Rojo was day dreaming when he told his story...

devilinblack

Where is this stated? I have both, DMV knows I have both (as in, I didn't claim to have lost one and replaced it with another).

oharescrubs

in the section where they describe the vehicle and state license plate on the ticket? did they write anything about your bike or leave it blank?

on a friend of mines, it was left blank and it was thrown out... too bad when i got a $150 ticket for the same thing he wrote "yellow bike." and the light i ran was red. i couldnt do much... i spend all day in dc running red lights as a messenger, i get back into my neighborhood in va, run 1 light and get a ticket. heh

devilinblack

A little research goes a long way.

"Any violation occurring as a pedestrian or a bicyclist has no point assigned."

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/vioptct.htm

SushiJoe

I got a $104 ticket for slowing to 2 mph [in a car] and going thru a stop sign [turning right and no one around]. I asked the cop if he was serious and he asked me to get in his car while he wrote up the ticket. Apparently, unless you completely stop [not just slowing to a near stop] they WILL get you.

DiabloScott

Could be the law's been changed or clarified since this happened to EDR, could be that he's mistaken, or could be that the judge screwed up.


A DMV clerk told me that a long time ago - I see the current application form doesn't state this. Could be they changed the law, could be she screwed up, or could be that she misunderstood my question. A lot of the people who get these ID cards are giving up their license for one reason or another.

devilinblack

Somewhat off topic, but does anyone have a link to the CA law stating you have to carry some sort of legal ID and present it if asked by a cop? I think I've read this before, but can't seem to find it now.

And yes, I was giving up my driving license for a period of time when I got an ID card.

DocRay

Stop means stop. Regardless of who's around (assuming you saw everyone around you).

spdrcr5

In NY only the drinking and boating tickets count on your DMV records. Any other boating ticket is just going to cost you money. Believe me, I know this first hand having gotten many, many speeding tickets on my WaveRunner over the years. Not a single one has ever counted against my driving record. The same would hold for a bicycle, unless you were drinking and pedaling.

e78990

I am just going to leave it as you have never had a ticket on your bike, nor you think that you ever will.

If you ride your bike often enough in an urban area, you will someday confronted with a similar situation and feel that the police has unfairly ticketed you.

I have been driving for over 15 years with no history of accident or speeding. I ride with lights and an helmet to work every day. I am a safe rider, yet I feel very strong about ticketing for such a small infraction.

DocRay

He was driving a car at the time.
43,000 people died on US roads last year because of re-interpretation of road traffic laws. You don't like it, don't drive on the road.
People in the habit of running signs at slow speeds sooner or later don't see someone and hit them.