News 4 at 11 Story on Scofflaw Cyclists

[Rod Smith]

I’ve been going to work on time for a change most of the last week or two. I see a lot of riders which is great. Mostly on R St. which I take across town. I’ve been in groups of up to a dozen riders. I’ve observed one rider who waited for the green lights.

[Zack]

I like how the article implies that the district is missing out on $150 per ticket when the fine for cyclists running the red light is $25. http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.aspx?RuleNumber=18-1201

Anyone ever get the wrong ticket?

[Crickey7]

So, I’m sitting at a red light waiting for it to turn, and an e-bike just blows through it. I wait, though. As the light is turning red in the other direction, I start rolling through the crosswalk. I immediately get pulled over by an MPD patrol car and reamed for running the light EVEN THOUGH THE OFFICER WATCHED THE E-BIKE BLOW THE LIGHT AND DID NOTHING.

Anyhoo, is it true that I committed a moving violation by entering the crosswalk before the light turned green?

[mello yello]

So I was heading down K St in the thru lanes this morning and made a conscious effort to stop at the lights. I witnessed 5-6 red light runners, but nothing I’d consider dangerous. Crikey7, I always start rolling and clipping in when the cross light turns yellow, otherwise I’m tooling around in front of impatient cars. Keep doing what you’re doing and just ignore the occasional hassle.

[huskerdont]

@Crickey7 145319 wrote:

So, I’m sitting at a red light waiting for it to turn, and an e-bike just blows through it. I wait, though. As the light is turning red in the other direction, I start rolling through the crosswalk. I immediately get pulled over by an MPD patrol car and reamed for running the light EVEN THOUGH THE OFFICER WATCHED THE E-BIKE BLOW THE LIGHT AND DID NOTHING.

Anyhoo, is it true that I committed a moving violation by entering the crosswalk before the light turned green?

Had the pedestrian signal started yet? It’s my understanding that in DC, you can proceed when pedestrians can.

But yeah, I think you are supposed to stay behind the crosswalk, although I almost never do. If there is room, I get across the crosswalk to be out of traffic’s way (right turning, etc.). I often behave differently if a cruiser is around though.

[Crickey7]

A couple of observations about getting pulled over by MPD on your bike (It’s happened to me more than once). First of all, you will know in the first 5 seconds if they are going to write you a ticket, or not. If they do, no talking you are going to do will change that. If they do not, the reason they pulled you over is to give you a hard time, then let you on your way.

Let them. Any talking you do will only delay going on with your life, and might actually convince them to write you a ticket. It costs you nothing to get chewed out. And, really, even though their assessment of the danger they think they are saving you from is way off, I take them at face value when they tell me they are doing it for my own safety.

Finally, be aware that they may tail you for a surprisingly long time after they let you go. Do not break any traffic laws for the entire remainder of your ride.

[huskerdont]

Stupid story made the Post. Click-bait, and an opportunity for folks to vent misguided anger.

[sethpo]

@Crickey7 145334 wrote:

A couple of observations about getting pulled over by MPD on your bike (It’s happened to me more than once). First of all, you will know in the first 5 seconds if they are going to write you a ticket, or not. If they do, no talking you are going to do will change that. If they do not, the reason they pulled you over is to give you a hard time, then let you on your way.

Let them. Any talking you do will only delay going on with your life, and might actually convince them to write you a ticket. It costs you nothing to get chewed out. And, really, even though their assessment of the danger they think they are saving you from is way off, I take them at face value when they tell me they are doing it for my own safety.

Finally, be aware that they may tail you for a surprisingly long time after they let you go. Do not break any traffic laws for the entire remainder of your ride.

I will admit to spending a considerable amount of daydream time thinking about how to avoid getting caught should I ever decide to ride away from a police attempt to “pull me over”. Especially in Georgetown.

The situation has yet to present itself so I can’t say how that would play out.

Who am I kidding. I would obviously stop and hang my head in shame like the good citizen I am….but it sure is fun to think of all the ways to evade pursuit while on a bike!

[bobco85]

Random anecdote: 3 separate times in the last few weeks while I was riding my bike at night, was stopped at a red light with a long wait and little traffic around, and seriously considered running the red, I noticed a cop car pull up behind me (obviously I did not run those reds). They can sense it sometimes, I guess.

[AlexandriaBiker]

Adam Tuss is not biker friendly. He did a rather biased piece on the King Street bike lanes in 2013:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/traffic/transit/King-Street-Bike-Lane-Battle-Heats-Up-in-Alexandria-231508731.html

[Steve O]

The Washcycle’s take on this is worth reading, too:
http://www.thewashcycle.com/2016/09/cyclists-trigger-red-light-cameras-at-the-same-rate-as-drivers.html

[jrenaut]

Tuss went on a bike ride this morning with Greg Billing (WABA) and Dave Salovesh, who many of you know from Twitter or FCC or general local bike advocacy. New story coming, he says.

[Jason]

I didn’t read the original article because I hated it.

[Vicegrip]

In the meantime the head of the District of Columbia Director of Bike & Pedestrian Safety rides a bike to work and gets hit by a car that ran a red light…………..Just sayn’:mad:

[Jason]

I counter this alarmist journalism with the following event, whose like I see frequently (like today)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/driver-of-jeep-that-killed-5-month-old-may-have-been-on-phone-court-records-say/2016/09/06/ced82f2e-7462-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_jeep-930am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

A witness told authorities that the driver of a Jeep that struck and killed a 5-month-old boy in a stroller in Loudoun County sped up before the collision and may have been looking at his phone, according to a court document…
Now, a witness quoted in an affidavit for a search warrant filed in Loudoun Circuit Court said the driver, a 45-year-old Leesburg man, “turned at the last second.”
The witness, who was “traveling directly” behind the Jeep, according to the affidavit, told police he “observed the male driver of the Jeep through the rear window holding a phone in his left hand as if he was watching or reading something” before the crash.

[Author]

Posts