[unclejed]

So EPA does not own or run this building, we lease the space. The parking garage is run by one of those outfits that leases space all over the city. But it is true, you can’t get access to the bike room inside Potomac Yard unless you have an EPA issued access card. The whole facility is on lockdown. Even though I have this badge, I never bother to go inside because it is basically a room inside a parking garage with cars roaring past. Might as well change by the roadside.

[unclejed]

The video clearly shows that the cyclist lost control of his bicycle, thankfully he is still alive. But why did he lose control? Here are some of the reasons people have suggested to me:

1. Before this incident, the cyclist cut-off the driver; driver responds by cutting off the cyclist.
2. Driver passed too close to cyclist – startled cyclist loses control of bicycle.
3. Driver uses vehicle to hit the bicycle or the cyclist – cyclist has no choice but to eat pavement.

Hate to say it but most people have expressed reason #1 adding that bicyclists run red lights and weave in and out of traffic. But Evan was being a PAL!

I wanted John to be charged with assault, believing that it would make motorists more cautious of me while cycling. But is that a realistic expectation?

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@Mark Blacknell 37401 wrote:

Side note: It’s my understanding that, in Virginia, points are not to be assessed against your driver’s license for infractions committed on a bike. I got this from a source who always knows what he’s talking about, but we’re having a hard time documenting the basis for it. It’s been added to my “to do” list. In the meantime, if you get nailed for something that could involved points in Virginia, make sure you tell the Court Clerk to note that it was committed while on a bike (apparently there’s a field in the system for exactly that).

I did mention this to the clerk and she said that DMV assigns the points so I have to take it up with them. The prosecutor also was not aware of this point even though I pointed this out to him.

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@Tim Kelley 37278 wrote:

Dear Diary: [ATTACH=CONFIG]2130[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the follow up–it’s great to hear about the process, and I’m glad they didn’t come down too hard on you!

Crossing in the crosswalk, 4 feet to the right of where you rode before, now makes you a law abiding cyclist! And you’ll be more attentive to where you are positioned when going through a red light in front of a police officer.

Tim, why do you see this as “guy runs red light in front of cop”? As I have explained before, this is a strange crossing with a 4-way red light and 4-way walk signal (see photo).

What the ticketing officer was saying is consistent with VA code section 46.2-904 which states “A person riding a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, motorized skateboard or scooter, motor-driven cycle, or an electric power-assisted bicycle on a sidewalk, shared-use path, or across a roadway on a crosswalk, shall have all the rights and duties of a pedestrian under the same circumstances.”

My only dispute was this seems like a technicality, no real safety improvement. The prosecutor and judge had no patience for my arguments, thought you might get the difference.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2132[/ATTACH]

[unclejed]

My suggestion for the future is to just filter up to the front of the waiting cars (which is legal) and wait for the light. I don’t mean that as a judgment on your previous decision to go through the red, it just seems like the best of the legal options. Transitioning from road to sidewalk to road presents its own dangers, including pedestrians and being less predictable (be a PAL!) for drivers.

The officer thought that even filtering was illegal (he said I passed two stopped vehicles). And why would I want to be sitting in front of vehicles that can accelerate from a red light faster than a CaBi? My experience is that this behavior invites conflict with cars. The officer recommended that I stick to the cross-walk, that is what I’m doing now.

[unclejed]

I went to traffic court today regarding my being ticketed for “Failure to obey traffic lights” back on October 4.

I pleaded no contest and asked the judge to replace the ticket with a warning since I am now riding in the pedestrian cross-walk as instructed by the officer. The judge told me to go see the prosecutor. The prosecutor asked for the officer’s account of the incident to which he said that I passed two stopped cars and went through the intersection on a red light. I countered that I was going through the intersection on the walk signal and that all motorized traffic was stopped at the 4-way red light and thing the officer objected to was that I was not in the pedestrian cross-walk. The prosecutor looked at the officer and said I should go see the judge, the officer said the judge told us to come see you.

The prosecutor asked if I had any other violations on my driving record, I said no. He offered me two options: 1) plead guilty and let the judge decide or 2) plead guilty to disobeying a highway sign and receive 3 points on my license. I said I was riding a bicycle, so how could I get “points” on my drivers license? He told me to go see the judge.

Back with the judge, there was a bit more back and forth about the walk sign and needing to ride in the cross-walk. The judge fined me $50 which is suspended for 6 months and will expire if I’m not cited again during that time. In VA, the violation for Code 46.2-833 is awarded 4 points on a drivers license. I paid my $61 court fee and left.

Unlike the W&OD stop sign incident, where the prosecutor challenged the officer on the legality of the stop signs, I found a very cut and dry legal system that treats bicycles as motorized vehicles.

I ride through the same intersection, crossing on the walk signal as I have done for the past 2 years, only now I ride between the pedo lines…4 feet to the right of where I rode before. Does that make me safer? Does that make me a better biker?

[unclejed]

I tapped a car in Crystal City while walking in a cross-walk with the walk sign. The driver decided that he could squeeze between me and the curb I was walking toward. As I slowed to let him pass, thought I would remind him that I was rightfully crossing the street and was close enough to tap his car. He stopped and asked if I had touched his car, I said yes and explained that I was in the cross-walk with the walk light. Instead of saying he was sorry, he offered to tear my skin off. I declined the offer and he drove off.

Guess the answer is: best not to tap cars unless you are willing to deal with the driver.

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@Tim Kelley 32906 wrote:

In the end, I don’t think we know the whole story for either side really. Maybe Jed was riding too fast. Maybe Jed was just going to get a warning but then got mouthy with the officer and ended up getting a ticket instead?

If you break the law in front of a police officer, what do you expect them to do? Just look the other way? I know that regardless of my mode of travel I always pay more attention to my speed and following of the rules if I see an officer.

Sorry Tim, but I was riding a CaBi within the limits of safety and, as I reported earlier, I stopped at the light (not for the two minutes) prior to proceeding. Mouthy? The officer was pulling out his ticket book as soon as he stopped. Personally, I think he pulled me over because I was easy to catch [CaBi]. Although, he asked me for my registration (?)

[unclejed]

“Laws work best when they are voluntarily heeded by people who regard them as reasonable. There aren’t enough cops to coerce everyone into obeying every law all the time. If cycling laws were a wise response to actual cycling rather than a clumsy misapplication of motor vehicle laws, I suspect that compliance, even by me, would rise.”

I have read John Forester and while his ideas appeal to my mind, sitting behind a car spewing exhaust offends my senses.

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@jabberwocky 32846 wrote:

The issue is that legally, if you’re in the vehicle traffic lane, you’re vehicle traffic, not a pedestrian. So you need to act like it, which means obeying traffic signals, same as if you were a car. If you want to legally cross with the walk signal, you need to be riding from the sidewalk across the crosswalk (in which case you’re legally a pedestrian).

I know all the safety considerations, and I know that most cyclists will run lights in this sort of situation (myself included), but legally I don’t think you have a leg to stand on. Sorry. I’d recommend taking a careful look around for police officers next time. :p

Oh yea, this makes sense to me: get off the road and intimidate pedestrians in the cross-walk.

[unclejed]

I approached the intersection in the vehicle lane because there is no bike lane on that portion of Clark st. I stopped at the light to make sure the intersection was clear and then proceeded. I did not blow through the intersection like they do in DC.

Thanks for reminding me about the 15th st signs.

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