Missed connection

[dasgeh]

@GB 78205 wrote:

This morning pulled over while riding to work.

Please, please, please report this incident. If this officer of the law is willing to abuse his power in this way, imagine what else he is doing out there? He has a badge and a gun. Please report him.

I hope this is a simple misunderstanding on the part of one officer of the law as it pertains to cyclists. But it very well be a pattern of behavior by someone willing to abuse his power, and/or a problem with the understanding of the law on behalf of the entire department. By reporting him, ACPD and you (and the BAC, if we can help) can get to the bottom of this.

Sorry this happened to you. Thanks for sharing.

[rcannon100]

I agree with Gillian.

Please report this to
* Arlco Police Inspector General
* Arlington County Board
* Arlington BAC who is working on relationships with police. This is clearly a pattern of behavior by ArlcoPo.

There is a point where you might have an attorney review your case. There is possible that there is something more here depending on how mad you are. Isnt there the Bike Lawyer in Arlington. This is probably more an issue of civil rights and harassment.

[GB]

@bobco85 78223 wrote:

Hmm, multiple things here:

1. I also park my bike at the Ballston mall bike rack, so hi, neighbor! Mine’s a silver Zum City bike with dual rear baskets. (I come in from Carlin Springs Rd with left-turning traffic to access that bike rack).

2. As stated by others, you did not do anything illegal, …but I can imagine the cop looking at you riding in the left lane and (wrongly) thinking you’re holding up traffic.
Question: do you ride in the left lane the entire time you’re on Glebe? Or do you only do that after crossing Wilson Blvd on Glebe? Do you signal for the left turn? (These do not place any blame on you, but they can affect how a cop sees your situation)

3. Glebe Road is not very bike-friendly, but the traffic lights do help to slow traffic. Whenever I’m on that road, I take the right lane and always signal longer and earlier for turns.

4. If you’re looking for alternative routes, you could do the following: starting on Fairfax Drive, at Stuart Street do a jug-handle turn (turn right then do a U-turn and go straight), take the right crosswalk across Wilson Blvd, get on the sidewalk, take the alleyway between Macy’s/Chipotle, and follow the sidewalk around to the garage entrance. Here’s the route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/363546999 I use this route when I return to work from a lunch grocery trip at Trader Joe’s because I find it an easy way to cut through the Ballston traffic mess.

1 – lunch? Turn this missed connection into a connection?

2 – Yes I was in the left lane the entire time while I was on Glebe. (Since I turn left from Fairfax on to Glebe, I’m in the left lane to start and just stay here fore the 0.5 miles that I’m on the road) I generally signal my turns but probably signal my move from the left lane to the left turn lane less often. I didn’t do it that day b/c I hadn’t made it that point before he pulled up next to me.

3 – Agreed the lights slow traffic. There are 3 of them on Glebe after I get on it and before I get off.

4 – Thanks for the route suggestion. That looks like a good alternative.

[ebubar]

@GB 78205 wrote:

Tim pointed me to this post which sound pretty similar.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?688-Missed-connection&p=62618#post62618

Based on these two incidents I’d say Glebe is not a bike friendly street.

I reported my incident (unwritten “warning”) and they investigated the fellow with due diligence. I too was shocked at getting pulled over on my bike, so I get your feelings. He was found to not be at fault in my case (a case of his word against mine), but I didn’t raise too much of a fuss about it. My goal was to get the incident on file and this was done. I don’t believe it was the same guy, but if it was then my situation is well documented in his file.

Sorry you had a bad experience. If you speak with the police about it, i’d be curious if they advise you to ride on the sidewalk like they did me.

[mstone]

Especially since there isn’t much sidewalk in that area these days.

[slowtriguy]

You: Driver of a black sedan, going down Lincoln at Oak St. in Falls Church about 0740 today.
Me: Bicyclist you passed – pretty nicely, I should add.
The Other Guy: The driver of the car getting ready to turn left from SB Oak onto EB Lincoln.

Ummm, not a bad pass – thanks for giving me clearance – but the reason I was slowing down is because there is actually a stop sign at that intersection. You’re lucky The Other Guy anticipated that you were going to run the stop sign at 20+ mph and managed to keep it a Missed Connection.

[jrenaut]

Hey guy on Sherman NW – nice that you stopped to say hello, but next time don’t shoal me then blow the light at full speed after I passed you.

[MattAune]

To the guy on Sherman NW, don’t be a jerk and pass me then have the gall to stop at a stop light.

[rpiretti]

ummmm

[brendan]

LOL. Seriously.

[cyclingfool]

Bad: Light blue Toyota Camry with (surprise) Maryland plates in Crystal City this AM, it’s a total dick move to rev your engine as you pass and then swerve into the bike lane 20 feet ahead even though there was no pothole or debris to avoid as if to make some point or intimidate me. I get it. Your steel weighs 100 times more than mine. Penises measured. You “win”.

Good: Capital Bikeshare rebalancing van — kudos for stopping in the right lane of Crystal Dr but not blocking the bike lane. I had to slow to make sure the crew wasn’t about to pop out from around the front of the van as I rode by, but that’s a minor inconvenience. I’m glad you realize that if you’d parked in the bike lane, you’d in essence be blocking both the bike lane and the right lane anyway still. Well done. (Not that I’m surprised. If it were a UPS truck, then I’d be surprised!)

[kcb203]

You: Silver SUV going west on Lee Highway at Nash at 6 pm yesterday, completely blowing through the red light at 40+ mph and coming a few feet away from some pedestrians crossing Lee Highway with the walk signal. I know the sun was blinding you and you probably didn’t see the light, but sun in your eyes is a very good reason to slow down.

[jrenaut]

You: VW turning left from Columbia onto 19th
Me: Going straight on 19th

You might want to actually stop at the stop sign next time. Just a thought.

You: woman blabbing on the phone but crossing legally in the crosswalk just before 16th on Columbia.
Me: Cyclist stopping since you had the right of way.
You: “Wow, a biker stopped for me!”

It’s too bad that pedestrians express dismay when one of us actually yields to them when they have the clear right of way. It means we’re being jerks.

[dkel]

@jrenaut 79353 wrote:

It’s too bad that pedestrians express dismay when one of us actually yields to them when they have the clear right of way. It means we’re being jerks.

No matter how hard we try to be a PAL, apparently we’re always in a minority among our cycling peers.

[83b]

@jrenaut 79353 wrote:

It’s too bad that pedestrians express dismay when one of us actually yields to them when they have the clear right of way. It means we’re being jerks.

It was coincidence that she was crossing legally. All pedestrian exclamations of “a biker almost hit me!” are to immediately have “while I was jaywalking, texting, and listening to Blurred Lines* on repeat” appended to them. It’s the rules.

*A new aggravating pop song has yet to be designated for 2014.

[Author]

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