Bicycle speed limits and reckless police officers.

carlschmidt · 08-02-2006, 06:01 PM

15mph. HAHA!

I can't fathom the community that allows a bicycle speed limit. This has to be one of the most retarded things I've ever heard of.

"Police spokesman John White said a survey last year in Washington Park counted 15,004 bicycles in one day, with an average speed of 17-19 mph, with one rider clocked at 34 mph."

So, yeah, since the average is over 15mph, let's be a bunch of pricks and set the limit to 15mph, not 20mph, which seems to make more sense considering most people could easily exceed 15mph and not even know it. It's not like bikes come with speedometers, though you can buy them. This, in my opinion, is just another example of silliness running amok. It's merely another revenue generating method since the fine is a rather hefty $54 especially when you consider, at least in my state, there are a bevy of extra fees added to the fine, which seriously can be more than the fine itself when combined.

"A police spokesman said he didn't know how many tickets were written, but saw officers hand out five in about a half-hour. The speeding tickets carry a fine of $54."

That's a sign that your silly speed law is arbitrarily and stupidly low. Five tickets in a half-hour? A cop in a car can't even pull that off. It takes like ten minutes for them to pull you over, go through the motions, give you your ticket, and be on their merry way. Nevermind that they have to go back to their hideout and wait for the next person to catch doing something illegal.

As far as I reckon, this is only going to discourage people from bicycling in cities where this stupidity goes on, thereby causing further traffic congestion, as if it's not bad enough in every major city, and probably a lot of not-so-major cities. Maybe my initial reaction (as I haven't put any real thought into this idea of bicycle speed limits, this is basically a knee-jerk reaction) is a bit over-reactive. I don't know, I could be wrong about it all. Granted, that the news story relates to a park may have some bearing on the reasons for this law, but 15mph is still absurdly low for a bicycle, considering any bike you buy off the shelves of the local *-Mart probably has 18 gears or so to get you going nice and quick, relatively easily.

Supposedly -one- kid was hit by a bicyclist, but no report of the extent of the injuries. Allegedly joggers and whatnot complain that they must dodge "speeding" cyclists. Please, I have to dodge stupid pedestrians who actually think they have the right of way when they don't have the "Walk" sign in their direction. I intentionally gun it at these people because they bug the shit out of me. This is one of my pet-peeves of having to drive in a city. Too many f'ing pedestrians just casually walk into the street without looking (it's exponentially worse in a city compared to suburbia, where I live, hence the complaint about the city). We should have walking and running speed limits, and while we're at it let's install cameras covering a full 360 degrees of area at every corner to be sure we know whose fault everything is. Oh wait I'm sorry, that's already happening too. Heh.

Before you know it you're going to be watching "high-speed" bicycle chases on the evening news. "Yes Johnny, this crazed lunatic is ravaging the local streets. Our news chopper can barely keep still enough to follow him at this mind-blowing 20mph he's running. Oh wow, look at that, he just ran a red light, threatening the 3,500+/- pound cars trying to cross the intersection. Oh the humanity. God save us if this mad man doesn't get stopped!"

Oh, also, while I'm on a rant...I had a police officer damn near cause me to wreck yesterday. I was travelling up Rt-252 in Media, PA, and all of a sudden here comes Mr. Policeman burning the **** out of his tires to leave a parking lot not more than 50 feet in front of me, no sirens, no horns, no lights. Then, as the road expands to two lanes (left turns in the left lane primarily) I decide to stay to the right to not get caught behind turning folks, which means I end up going by said cop and a Mustang. Said cop then proceeded to fly around the Mustang and rode my ass for a mile up Rt-252 and then turning off just before the Springton Lake Reservoir. I decided to report said cop. They weren't too happy to hear that their cop fellow was driving in such an un-safe manner.

Okay that's all now. Heh.

aphex301 · 08-02-2006, 06:52 PM

O my god. Thats all I have to say about that.

I live in the city of Chicago where just about everyone is on bikes, especially on the northside. I would think that laws like "Going over the speed limit on a bike" should be in the same category as the wacky laws we all heard like "no fishing from a giraffes neck on tuesday" and "no peeing in buckets in your own house." I know that the law is totally revenue generating, but I cant wait to see the first lawsuit to come up after a cop chases a biker, causing him to crash resulting in a broken limb, which turns into a million dollar fiasco where the city looses all the revenue from the bike speeding tickets.

I see this law getting thrown out once a lawsuit like the example I gave comes up, or after a cop pits a chinese food delivery man for going too fast then the media finds out about it.

Stupid Laws.

-Matt

Did I mention I got a speeding ticket myself. 89 in a 65.

What are ya gonna do?

***ominous8204*** · 08-02-2006, 08:53 PM

Ha, I had a cop almost get me in a wreck when I was going through a traffic light and he waited till I was about to pull out (light turned green) and he flipped on his lights and went through the light (his was red) then turned his lights off.

bikinpunk · 08-03-2006, 12:22 PM

Haha, that's nothing compared to my town...

I live in a small town in North Alabama. I ride BMX bikes (think X-games stuff). I've been riding for over 8 years now. About 2 years ago I'm riding a spot downtown and a cop pulls in. I wave, and she drives past me to my other friends who are sitting there. About 2 minutes later she yells at me to come over there. Then proceeds to write me a ticket because apparently our city has a "bike ordinance". No joke. We can be anywhere in the downtown vicinity, or any parking lots for "our own protection". WTF. To make this shorter, she said if I take something to court with signatures from the business owners' signatures in the area I was riding, the charges would be dismissed. I go to court, charges are about to be dropped. Said cop comes up to district attorney and charges are all-of-a-sudden being pursued again. I paid said fine, which was only court costs since the judge himself laughed at the charges.

2 months ago it's 1 am and I'm riding in a spot that is legal to ride. Cop comes TEARING through the parking lot. It's the same one that gave me the ticket a while back. She tells me that someone made a call about me riding. Then goes on to say how she hates having to fool with us bikers. After about 5 minutes of her BS, I start yelling at her. I told her that I'm a junior in Aerospace Engineering and that I'm not an idiot. For her to say that bikers are breaking into coke machines is ludicrous (she blamed us for that too). I told her that what she's doing is harrassment because I KNOW noone called the cops on me. I'm riding in a parking lot that's well lit and the business had been closed for 4 hours. On top of that, I pulled out the ordinance map (which I always keep in pocket in case I need it, haha) and pointed out that I was clearly not breaking the law by riding in this area. blah blah blah...yada yada yada. After a good 20 minutes of arguing with her I thought I was going to jail, which honestly was worth getting all that frustration out. But, she wound up just letting me go.

Long story, but this post makes me pissed when I think of how much time cops waste on bicyclists. Is there truly nothing better to do?

**CameronJr9** · 08-03-2006, 12:32 PM

Carl, do you have a link or something to this story? I'd like to know where the 15 mph limit is. I'm a biker. I ride a mountain bike with trail tires, so I'm constantly on the road, trails, etc. On any given day at any given time I "cruise" at about 12-18 mph. That's just a normal speed. Without further investigation as to the area or the cause of the limit, I think it's crazy. A link would be helpful.

OhSixCivic · 08-03-2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikinpunk

Haha, that's nothing compared to my town...

I live in a small town in North Alabama. I ride BMX bikes (think X-games stuff). I've been riding for over 8 years now. About 2 years ago I'm riding a spot downtown and a cop pulls in. I wave, and she drives past me to my other friends who are sitting there. About 2 minutes later she yells at me to come over there. Then proceeds to write me a ticket because apparently our city has a "bike ordinance". No joke. We can be anywhere in the downtown vicinity, or any parking lots for "our own protection". WTF. To make this shorter, she said if I take something to court with signatures from the business owners' signatures in the area I was riding, the charges would be dismissed. I go to court, charges are about to be dropped. Said cop comes up to district attorney and charges are all-of-a-sudden being pursued again. I paid said fine, which was only court costs since the judge himself laughed at the charges.

2 months ago it's 1 am and I'm riding in a spot that is legal to ride. Cop comes TEARING through the parking lot. It's the same one that gave me the ticket a while back. She tells me that someone made a call about me riding. Then goes on to say how she hates having to fool with us bikers. After about 5 minutes of her BS, I start yelling at her. I told her that I'm a junior in Aerospace Engineering and that I'm not an idiot. For her to say that bikers are breaking into coke machines is ludicrous (she blamed us for that too). I told her that what she's doing is harrassment because I KNOW noone called the cops on me. I'm riding in a parking lot that's well lit and the business had been closed for 4 hours. On top of that, I pulled out the ordinance map (which I always keep in pocket in case I need it, haha) and pointed out that I was clearly not breaking the law by riding in this area. blah blah blah...yada yada yada. After a good 20 minutes of arguing with her I thought I was going to jail, which honestly was worth getting all that frustration out. But, she wound up just letting me go.

Long story, but this post makes me pissed when I think of how much time cops waste on bicyclists. Is there truly nothing better to do?

WOO. Way to stick it to the man. Fight dem po-po's. I used to BMX and skateboard but my neighborhood has amazing roads and there was a huge dirt area between me and my neighbors (the guy I did the stuff with) house that we built ramps on. (That was in Tucson) We never got in trouble with the law but we had neighbors complain directly to us about us being in the street. W/E... old people suck.

bikinpunk · 08-03-2006, 01:12 PM

Google'd "Washington Park Bicycle Speed Limit"

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4119472

**CameronJr9** · 08-03-2006, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikinpunk

Google'd "Washington Park Bicycle Speed Limit"

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4119472

Thanks. And with that, I've got more info. The speed limit (as odd as that sounds for bikes) is reasonable in a conjested area such as this. I find it odd that people are being ticketed so frequently, especially when they may not know how fast they were going. Perhaps a "CAUTION" sign or "CHILDREN AT PLAY" sign would work just as well and any erratic behavior would be ticketed. Either way, I do agree with this guy, Michael Hanna, 30, works out on his bike nearly every day and races on weekends.

"I don't mind the speed limit - 15 (mph) is reasonable," he said. "The park is for all kinds of people. Everyone should feel safe. But it's also important for pedestrians and kids to pay attention to the bikes while they're in the park."

bikinpunk · 08-03-2006, 01:33 PM

Truth! My biggest concern is what many people I'm sure think when they first read this article. Unless a cyclist buys a speedometer, they won't know they're speed.

I can understand the concern here, but I think a speed limit is overkill. Do the police not have anything more important to do? I'd be pissed if I were a cop and assigned to that detail...

carlschmidt · 08-05-2006, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CameronJr9

Carl, do you have a link or something to this story? I'd like to know where the 15 mph limit is. I'm a biker. I ride a mountain bike with trail tires, so I'm constantly on the road, trails, etc. On any given day at any given time I "cruise" at about 12-18 mph. That's just a normal speed. Without further investigation as to the area or the cause of the limit, I think it's crazy. A link would be helpful.

Apologies for the delay. I see someone else posted a link for you.

I agree generally, that in such a congested area, it is reasonable to have a speed limit, but it is unreasonable to me to be pumping out so many tickets. Now, if a bicyclist had a speedometer or something and they were caught, then maybe I could see something happening. Also, like you said, reckless riding would be fine for ticketing too in my opinion. The limit still seems arbitrarily low to me because I know I could routinely hit 15mph without trying as a kid when I used to ride a bike. It smells too much like a good way to make some money with ticketing rates being that high.

I do tend to over-react sometimes when I first read something.

psyshack · 08-06-2006, 02:11 PM

I got a speeding ticket on a bicycle by Westmenster Mall in SoCal back in the late 70's. He also said i ran a red light. Needless to say I lost it on him. Threw my bike at his crap Kaw. 1000 copper motorcycle and knocked it over. The fight was on, and I once again got to go to a SoCal jail.

Months later, still mad at this prick I was on my race prep'ed RD-350 one night and found him. Right by the Mall. I pulled up on him on the RD. Gave him a cussing and blew his junk Kaw. away. He never caught me. Stupid Cop.

OOO the insanity of youth.

Civic4u · 08-06-2006, 02:18 PM

Have anyone put a radar jammer on there bike ?(kidding)

carlschmidt · 08-11-2006, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psyshack

OOO the insanity of youth.

How come I never got stuck with that bug? I never had my fun as a youth. I was always too reserved, too scared, etc. I suck. I had the most boring f*cking youth you could imagine.

DirtKurt · 08-24-2006, 09:46 PM

I would have to rig up a radar detector to my bicycle if I lived there, and just cruise past them with it beeping away.

08-02-2006, 06:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
carlschmidt Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Glenolden, PA Age: 26 Posts: 59 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Bicycle speed limits and reckless police officers. 15mph. HAHA! I can't fathom the community that allows a bicycle speed limit. This has to be one of the most retarded things I've ever heard of. "Police spokesman John White said a survey last year in Washington Park counted 15,004 bicycles in one day, with an average speed of 17-19 mph, with one rider clocked at 34 mph." So, yeah, since the average is over 15mph, let's be a bunch of pricks and set the limit to 15mph, not 20mph, which seems to make more sense considering most people could easily exceed 15mph and not even know it. It's not like bikes come with speedometers, though you can buy them. This, in my opinion, is just another example of silliness running amok. It's merely another revenue generating method since the fine is a rather hefty $54 especially when you consider, at least in my state, there are a bevy of extra fees added to the fine, which seriously can be more than the fine itself when combined. "A police spokesman said he didn't know how many tickets were written, but saw officers hand out five in about a half-hour. The speeding tickets carry a fine of $54." That's a sign that your silly speed law is arbitrarily and stupidly low. Five tickets in a half-hour? A cop in a car can't even pull that off. It takes like ten minutes for them to pull you over, go through the motions, give you your ticket, and be on their merry way. Nevermind that they have to go back to their hideout and wait for the next person to catch doing something illegal. As far as I reckon, this is only going to discourage people from bicycling in cities where this stupidity goes on, thereby causing further traffic congestion, as if it's not bad enough in every major city, and probably a lot of not-so-major cities. Maybe my initial reaction (as I haven't put any real thought into this idea of bicycle speed limits, this is basically a knee-jerk reaction) is a bit over-reactive. I don't know, I could be wrong about it all. Granted, that the news story relates to a park may have some bearing on the reasons for this law, but 15mph is still absurdly low for a bicycle, considering any bike you buy off the shelves of the local -Mart probably has 18 gears or so to get you going nice and quick, relatively easily. Supposedly -one- kid was hit by a bicyclist, but no report of the extent of the injuries. Allegedly joggers and whatnot complain that they must dodge "speeding" cyclists. Please, I have to dodge stupid pedestrians who actually think they have the right of way when they don't have the "Walk" sign in their direction. I intentionally gun it at these people because they bug the shit out of me. This is one of my pet-peeves of having to drive in a city. Too many f'ing pedestrians just casually walk into the street without looking (it's exponentially worse in a city compared to suburbia, where I live, hence the complaint about the city). We should have walking and running speed limits, and while we're at it let's install cameras covering a full 360 degrees of area at every corner to be sure we know whose fault everything is. Oh wait I'm sorry, that's already happening too. Heh. Before you know it you're going to be watching "high-speed" bicycle chases on the evening news. "Yes Johnny, this crazed lunatic is ravaging the local streets. Our news chopper can barely keep still enough to follow him at this mind-blowing 20mph he's running. Oh wow, look at that, he just ran a red light, threatening the 3,500+/- pound cars trying to cross the intersection. Oh the humanity. God save us if this mad man doesn't get stopped!" Oh, also, while I'm on a rant...I had a police officer damn near cause me to wreck yesterday. I was travelling up Rt-252 in Media, PA, and all of a sudden here comes Mr. Policeman burning the *** out of his tires to leave a parking lot not more than 50 feet in front of me, no sirens, no horns, no lights. Then, as the road expands to two lanes (left turns in the left lane primarily) I decide to stay to the right to not get caught behind turning folks, which means I end up going by said cop and a Mustang. Said cop then proceeded to fly around the Mustang and rode my ass for a mile up Rt-252 and then turning off just before the Springton Lake Reservoir. I decided to report said cop. They weren't too happy to hear that their cop fellow was driving in such an un-safe manner. Okay that's all now. Heh.

08-02-2006, 08:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
*ominous8204* Non-FG*Squad_Member 37 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Mobile, AL Age: 20 Posts: 1,258 Chris - Mmmm, VTEC!!! iTrader: 5 / 100%	Ha, I had a cop almost get me in a wreck when I was going through a traffic light and he waited till I was about to pull out (light turned green) and he flipped on his lights and went through the light (his was red) then turned his lights off. __________________ Debadged / Kicker CVR 12" Sub / Total T360.2 AMP / Hooker-Brand Box / AEM SRI NOTE: tree + car = no go - Say goodbye to my Civic PICSMy CarDomain Page

08-03-2006, 12:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
CameronJr9 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Age: 28 Posts: 26,334 Back and Forth Forever iTrader: 6 / 100%	Carl, do you have a link or something to this story? I'd like to know where the 15 mph limit is. I'm a biker. I ride a mountain bike with trail tires, so I'm constantly on the road, trails, etc. On any given day at any given time I "cruise" at about 12-18 mph. That's just a normal speed. Without further investigation as to the area or the cause of the limit, I think it's crazy. A link would be helpful. __________________

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08-02-2006, 06:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
aphex301 Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Chicago,IL Age: 23 Posts: 17 iTrader: 0 / 0%	O my god. Thats all I have to say about that. I live in the city of Chicago where just about everyone is on bikes, especially on the northside. I would think that laws like "Going over the speed limit on a bike" should be in the same category as the wacky laws we all heard like "no fishing from a giraffes neck on tuesday" and "no peeing in buckets in your own house." I know that the law is totally revenue generating, but I cant wait to see the first lawsuit to come up after a cop chases a biker, causing him to crash resulting in a broken limb, which turns into a million dollar fiasco where the city looses all the revenue from the bike speeding tickets. I see this law getting thrown out once a lawsuit like the example I gave comes up, or after a cop pits a chinese food delivery man for going too fast then the media finds out about it. Stupid Laws. -Matt Did I mention I got a speeding ticket myself. 89 in a 65. What are ya gonna do?

08-03-2006, 12:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
bikinpunk Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Age: 26 Posts: 3,183 Erin iTrader: 3 / 100%	Haha, that's nothing compared to my town... I live in a small town in North Alabama. I ride BMX bikes (think X-games stuff). I've been riding for over 8 years now. About 2 years ago I'm riding a spot downtown and a cop pulls in. I wave, and she drives past me to my other friends who are sitting there. About 2 minutes later she yells at me to come over there. Then proceeds to write me a ticket because apparently our city has a "bike ordinance". No joke. We can be anywhere in the downtown vicinity, or any parking lots for "our own protection". WTF. To make this shorter, she said if I take something to court with signatures from the business owners' signatures in the area I was riding, the charges would be dismissed. I go to court, charges are about to be dropped. Said cop comes up to district attorney and charges are all-of-a-sudden being pursued again. I paid said fine, which was only court costs since the judge himself laughed at the charges. 2 months ago it's 1 am and I'm riding in a spot that is legal to ride. Cop comes TEARING through the parking lot. It's the same one that gave me the ticket a while back. She tells me that someone made a call about me riding. Then goes on to say how she hates having to fool with us bikers. After about 5 minutes of her BS, I start yelling at her. I told her that I'm a junior in Aerospace Engineering and that I'm not an idiot. For her to say that bikers are breaking into coke machines is ludicrous (she blamed us for that too). I told her that what she's doing is harrassment because I KNOW noone called the cops on me. I'm riding in a parking lot that's well lit and the business had been closed for 4 hours. On top of that, I pulled out the ordinance map (which I always keep in pocket in case I need it, haha) and pointed out that I was clearly not breaking the law by riding in this area. blah blah blah...yada yada yada. After a good 20 minutes of arguing with her I thought I was going to jail, which honestly was worth getting all that frustration out. But, she wound up just letting me go. Long story, but this post makes me pissed when I think of how much time cops waste on bicyclists. Is there truly nothing better to do?

08-03-2006, 01:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
bikinpunk Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Age: 26 Posts: 3,183 Erin iTrader: 3 / 100%	Google'd "Washington Park Bicycle Speed Limit" http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4119472

08-03-2006, 01:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
bikinpunk Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Age: 26 Posts: 3,183 Erin iTrader: 3 / 100%	Truth! My biggest concern is what many people I'm sure think when they first read this article. Unless a cyclist buys a speedometer, they won't know they're speed. I can understand the concern here, but I think a speed limit is overkill. Do the police not have anything more important to do? I'd be pissed if I were a cop and assigned to that detail...

08-06-2006, 02:11 PM	#11 (permalink)
psyshack Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Okmulgee, Oklahoma Age: 47 Posts: 705 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I got a speeding ticket on a bicycle by Westmenster Mall in SoCal back in the late 70's. He also said i ran a red light. Needless to say I lost it on him. Threw my bike at his crap Kaw. 1000 copper motorcycle and knocked it over. The fight was on, and I once again got to go to a SoCal jail. Months later, still mad at this prick I was on my race prep'ed RD-350 one night and found him. Right by the Mall. I pulled up on him on the RD. Gave him a cussing and blew his junk Kaw. away. He never caught me. Stupid Cop. OOO the insanity of youth.

08-06-2006, 02:18 PM	#12 (permalink)
Civic4u Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Humble, TX Posts: 6,667 iTrader: 7 / 100%	Have anyone put a radar jammer on there bike ?(kidding)

08-24-2006, 09:46 PM	#14 (permalink)
DirtKurt Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 81 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I would have to rig up a radar detector to my bicycle if I lived there, and just cruise past them with it beeping away.