Traffic ticket on W&OD
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Last Tuesday I was commuting on the W&OD trail section of Van Buren St and 19th St N. There is a stop sign at this intersection, I proceeded to yield, looked at both sides and since there were no cars, I kept going. Just after doing this, a cop stopped me. He was very apologetic for stopping me, asked for my ID, went to his car and came back with a traffic ticket.
A little bit of background. This past February, I decided to buy a road bike in order to commute from Merrifield to Georgetown and avoid the craziness that is Metro. I have experienced a lot of things in the trails. Skateboarders jumping in my way when I am passing, people being on my lane on blind spots, teens playing basketball on the trail and jumping in front of me just when passing, cars flying by way too close when I am in the road or cutting in front of me if there is traffic and I ride with the flow of cars. You know, standard stuff. I have decided to ride very defensively. I only pass people when there is a clear path, even stop behind joggers and pedestrians if there someone in the other lane, slow down and never pass anyone on blind spots, wait for traffic signals. Just a couple weeks ago, a cyclist that was drafting behind me in the Custis Trail complimented my safe riding. I am fairly fast, but only hammer it when there is a clear path.
I have been reading about bike laws since then, and the code says that you are actually a vehicle when riding, which is very contradictory, given that they discourage you from taking the full lane. So I broke the law and I am okay with paying the ticket. I was wondering if this has ever happened to someone in VA and if there were points deducted from their driver’s license from this (I only have had one ticket since I started driving 10 years ago). I also want to educate myself in what you are supposed to do on those Stop signs on intersections of the trail (when you are not on the road). I usually only come to a full stop if I see a car on the road, but yield if I don’t see anything. I see all cyclists do the same.
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