Missed connection

[Hancockbs]

@ebubar 62674 wrote:

An officer on a motorcycle drove by and proceeded to block me and pull me over for not riding far enough into the right of the lane. He lectured me about VA bike laws requiring me to ride on the right of the lane in a very condescending manner.

You would think a motor officer would understand the need to protect yourself by taking the lane. I’ve experienced cars encroaching many times on my motorcycle, of course I don’t have flashing red and blue lights either.

[acc]

You! Middle-aged man, bright yellow jersey, bib shorts, an orange pannier on the left side of your bike.
Time: 0905-0910 hrs.
You blew through not one, not two, but three red lights.
Quincy and Fairfax, Fairfax and Randolph, Fairfax and Glebe.

These weren’t stop signs.

This contributes to law enforcement’s attitude towards cyclists.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Tim Kelley 62713 wrote:

I believe that Freshbikes pays quite handsomely for that kind of police coverage.

Oh I’m sure…I always assumed they did. But I would still think that it would create a little more understanding/empathy for cyclists on the part of the police.

[mstone]

@acc 62718 wrote:

This contributes to law enforcement’s attitude towards cyclists.

wow, so he killed someone when he ran those lights?

[btj]

You: Two roadies riding on the double yellow line, err, in the world’s skinniest bike lane, across the Key Bridge yesterday morning with plenty of traffic moving at speed both ways.
Me: Watching with dread, hoping I don’t see an accident. (They made it across unscathed)

Whoa.

[ebubar]

@btj 62724 wrote:

You: Two roadies riding on the double yellow line, err, in the world’s skinniest bike lane, across the Key Bridge yesterday morning with plenty of traffic moving at speed both ways.
Me: Watching with dread, hoping I don’t see an accident. (They made it across unscathed)

Whoa.

I’ve often wondered when I’m going to see something like this followed by some sort of epic bike crash coupled with someone flipping over the railings into the water below. My brain sometimes thinks like a Bruce Willis movie…

[dbb]

Discovered that when you call out a police car for making a U-turn on Pennsylvania Ave (WMATA cruiser heading west around 12th street), the officer gets testy. My request “No U-Turn Please!!!!” in my outdoor voice netted me a traffic stop by the officer a few minutes later. The officer challenged my assertion that U-turns were illegal for the police as the law allowed police to break the law to enforce it. Didn’t we use a similar argument during the war in Viet Nam (we had to destroy the village to save it)? Because I had little else to do, I took the bait and had a grand debate with the officer.

I told him I was cool with officers making U-turns but asked they use their emergency lights prior to and during the U-turn. He suggested there was no policy requiring the use of the lights and it would have been inconvenient.

The debate ended with us agreeing to disagree and then I rode off. An unmarked car (Park Police?) that was providing backup (you know what scofflaws us cyclists are) then almost doored me as I rode away.

[OneEighth]

Guess they must not have had the little “Bivens” discussion.

[ebubar]

@dbb 62747 wrote:

Discovered that when you call out a police car for making a U-turn on Pennsylvania Ave (WMATA cruiser heading west around 12th street), the officer gets testy. My request “No U-Turn Please!!!!” in my outdoor voice netted me a traffic stop by the officer a few minutes later. The officer challenged my assertion that U-turns were illegal for the police as the law allowed police to break the law to enforce it. Didn’t we use a similar argument during the war in Viet Nam (we had to destroy the village to save it)? Because I had little else to do, I took the bait and had a grand debate with the officer.

I told him I was cool with officers making U-turns but asked they use their emergency lights prior to and during the U-turn. He suggested there was no policy requiring the use of the lights and it would have been inconvenient.

The debate ended with us agreeing to disagree and then I rode off. An unmarked car (Park Police?) that was providing backup (you know what scofflaws us cyclists are) then almost doored me as I rode away.

Bad day for cyclist/police officer interactions apparently!

[rcannon100]

dbb

Next time also ask the officer if he is familiar with 42 USC 1983. It is a serious violation of the law to deprive you of your first amendment rights. Your speaking your mind – which results in a stop by the police – is an EASY 1983 violation.

And make clear to the officer that you are taking his name down for the record.

Yes they can supersede the law to enforce the law – but they have to (my understanding) have lights and sirens on. When lights and sirens are off, they must comply with normal traffic laws (which results in Arlco with the cleaver flashing on the lights for two seconds to run a red light).

[mstone]

@rcannon100 62751 wrote:

Yes they can supersede the law to enforce the law – but they have to (my understanding) have lights and sirens on. When lights and sirens are off, they must comply with normal traffic laws (which results in Arlco with the cleaver flashing on the lights for two seconds to run a red light).

I don’t think they’re legally required to run with lights, but if there’s an accident/injury as the result of them violating a traffic law and they aren’t running with lights the city will be writing someone a big check.

[ShawnoftheDread]

I would have asked him which law was he enforcing when he made the illegal turn. It couldn’t have been pulling you over because that decision came after his turn. And he couldn’t have been going after someone else because he then wouldn’t have had time to talk to you.

[DCLiz]

ME: Driving (yes, a car) home towards Capitol Hill on Maine Avenue just off Independence at midnight after picking up an emergency prescription for my cat at the 24-hour CVS on Dupont Circle. Fortunately for both of us, I was slowing down for a red light at the 14th Street underpass.

YOU: Walking your bike across the middle of the street, not only jaywalking, but jaywalking at “midblock” AT MIDNIGHT on a DARK ROAD while wearing very dark clothes. While it’s true that I think you had a light on the front of your bike, the side of the bike — the side that was facing oncoming traffic — was unlit.

You, my friend, are lucky to be alive and will be probably soon be contributing to DC’s fatality statistics.

[consularrider]

Let’s see, Saturday was the day all the drivers tried to kill me. Two attempted doorings, an attempted left cross, three cars pulling out without looking, and one buzz job. 😡

Then today I thought everything was mellow because even the very busy traffic on the MVT to the 14th St Bridge seemed to act logically and predictably. It was too good to last. I went over for a 20 km at Hains Point and all rules were off! Runners and walkers all over the place going in whatever direction they felt like with no regard for any of the other users of the road. I do give good marks to those in cars and the other cyclists, we all channeled out inner Dirt and just got along.

[jrenaut]

This is a new one for me – inbound on the W&OD, coming up on a man walking his dog, I was about to ring my bell (far enough back to deal with unpredictable dog action) when I burped. The dog jerked its head around, alerting the man, who tightened up the leash a bit and I rode past.

[Author]

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