What road rule to obey and which to say fuck off too?

[systemoverblow'd]

We all know roadies get a lot of flack for blowing stop signs and lights. But what are the "rules of the road" that we can ignore? I ask because there are a shitload of "laws" that are never enforced that I bet you may not know even exist (they may not in your state).

The reason I ask is because my buddy was riding his bike through Brookline. It is a very rich part of Boston. They are cracking down on bicycle laws. My buddy got "pulled over" by a cop on foot that was monitoring the bike lane at a red light. He got a warning for the following:

Not giving a verbal cue when overtaking another biker (this is what originally got him stopped). After he stopped and was told what was going on they also gave him a warning for not having reflectors on his pedals. Because of that he got warned for not having reflectors on his ankles (supposedly you need these if you don't have pedal reflectors). He also got a warning for not using hand signals to announce his stopping at fucking red light.

These were all written warnings and fuckhead that he is, he gave them his ID and they assured him he would get citations next time. Supposedly they are pretty much stopping every cyclist on this road and giving warnings because no one follows all of these, especially the hand signals telling people you are stopping where you have to stop.

WTF? These all seem completely ridiculous to me. For those of you who DO follow the "rules of the road", do you have these ridiculous things hiding in your bicycle laws and would you abide by them?

[Hott Butt Mud]

There are no rules for bikes in my opinion. There is common courtesy, however.

Do you have to provide ID to LEOs if you're pulled over on a bike?

[systemoverblow'd]

I don't know. I assume so? you can get drunk driving on one but you don't need a license to ride one. Good question though. He just did.

[D(C)]

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I think the media might be interested in your friend's story to inform people the of useful activities their tax dollars are funding.

IMO, you can't worry about stuff like that. Running a red or a stop sign is a clear violation that will probably get you pulled over if caught, but clampdowns on trivial shit like that are pretty rare and don't deserve attention.

[coldfeet]

In most states the vehicle code considers bikes a vehicle and the rules that apply to vehicles also apply to bikes.

For example, you have to come to a full stop, not a rolling stop. (But in most states you don't have to put a foot down because the Vehicle Code doesn't say anything about feet. There are a few controversial places where cops set up stop sign traps and cite bicyclists for foot infractions, but usually the cops are wrong on the law. Etc.)

In my neighborhood, every year at the beginning of the college semester they set up a stop sign trap on a slight downhill on a residential street that is also a bike boulevard, and write tickets to people running the stop sign. I have mixed feelings about this since many clueless undergrads blow the stop sign at full speed, which is dangerous, but they can also write you a ticket for slowing to a crawl, but not full-stopping. Most sensible cyclists can do this safely and not have to put a foot down.

Most places do have a law about CPSC-approved bike reflectors on pedals and wheels. This is extremely bogus (who rides with wheel reflectors past the age of 8?) and is generally ignored. They can cite you for riding at night without lights, which makes some sense.

I don't know if the verbal warning when overtaking is real. It would have to be in the Mass. vehicle code. It seems pretty dubious.

Overall this sounds like either they are trying to meet ticket quotas, or some local NIMBY complained about all the horrible bikers and they sent out a cop to harass them. If they get enough bad publicity through local bike blogs and a local bike lawyer gets involved, they will probably have to tone it down.

[systemoverblow'd]

After doing some google searching it looked like this was happening last year this time as well.

3 of the things he got warnings for were specifically mentioned in this article from a month later this time last year. http://brookline.patch.com/articles/brookline-police-cracking-down-on-bicycle-laws

[StopMakingSense]

It's Brookline bro ... it has Anna's and the Havard St. Express Way from Allston to JP

[systemoverblow'd]

It's Harvard AVE on my side of the block ;)

[TomCrac]

Total harassment .... He should set up a fund for donations.

[acinpdx]

do not assume the cops actually know or understand the rules as they pertain to bikes. in pdx, where we are bike friendly, the cops are still catching up with the actual rules of the road

go look them up yourself and be informed for stupid random road stings

[nickwm21]

I have gotten a ticket from "California rolling" a stop sign on a bike. Total BS. I was completly safe.

sent from the future using my mind powers

[kidwoo]

Open container

[Moose Pit]

Failure to stop

Stunting

wrong way on a one way street

Stunting

Expectorating

Failure to stop

Speeding (almost... but I was going fast where they could not. dougnut eating mother fuckers :the_finge )

But I did go through a check stop 3 sheets to the wind, the cop said if I could balance (pulled off a track stand ) I was sober enough... I fell over at the next light...

[jamal]

That is all fucking bullshit. I will go through a light or a stop sign without coming to a complete stop and putting my foot down if possible, but I will at least make an effort and yield the right of way.

I have no reflectors except for an led flashy light on the rear, and when it is dark I run a headlight. I would be so pissed off if I caught shit for it. Reflectors do you next to no good anyway- a car's headlights have to be pointed directly at you for them to work. If you're approaching an intersection in the dark with no light and only reflectors a car on a cross street doesn't see you.

[Hugh Conway]

your friend was a douchebag. ask dbs for lawyer recs

despite what the cunts on this forum think, or just bitch about with their reptilian brains, you are a car. If you don't follow the vehicle code you can get shit, just like you can in a car. Life's a bitch. don't be one.

[jamal]

Yes, the rules say that cars have to have reflectors on their ankles.

[reynolds.trailrun]

and do not forget they must have dumbass reflectors on their wheels too. Dorky as fuck and worthless unless the car is already too close.

[StopMakingSense]

It's Harvard AVE on my side of the block ;)

http://allston.tumblr.com/

that area has been the only place where i've popped a tube with gator skins

[StopMakingSense]

Anyways, my .02

I use to ride a pedicab in Boston we don't have...
- Reflector's on the pedals/ankles
- Reflector's on the wheels

We never made the motion that we're stopping at a red light because the fucking light is red

With that said though, this was Boston, where a DUI was always superseded by a stabbing down the street from some hardcore kids in Brighton. And yeah, I was always careful with red lights in Brookline, they'll get you.

[TomCrac]

As much as I think they are douchy... Would love to see a critical mass held there just for the footage.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I have never heard of signalling a stop on a bike.
I've heard about reflectors.
I've been talked to about stop signs.
Bikes seem to have free reign in Missoula, it get weird. If I'm driving and someone in front of me yields to a bike for no reason, I go around them now. Fuckers.
What's really annoying are all the people biking on the sidewalk over the Orange St. bridge. There is a bike lane for each direction, that combined with the shoulder must be at least 10 feet wide.

Sounds like cops in Boston suck.

[systemoverblow'd]

Sounds like cops in Brookline suck.

FIFY. Brookline is not annexed by Boston.

Shit, just a mile away in my neck of the woods the cops don't give a fuck about the drunk assholes hootin' and hollerin' at 10AM in the back alley falling down drunk. Cops come, tell them to move on and they stumble away. 1 mile further in Jewish Heaven (don't mean to offend, but it's true) it's like a police state.

This is how Brookline rolls...
http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0929sox_owners_home_run_10_million_brookline_ manse_nearly_complete

This is how Allston/Brighton rolls...
http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/news/police_and_fire/x996541530/Man-threatened-with-machete-in-Allston#axzz1ye9CuNS2

http://www.wickedlocal.com/allston/news/police_and_fire/x1884281729/Brighton-man-punched-after-catching-nephew-having-sex#axzz1ye9CuNS2

And people wonder why I'm moving next week.

[leroy jenkins]

There are no rules for bikes in my opinion. There is common courtesy, however.

Do you have to provide ID to LEOs if you're pulled over on a bike?

You need to carry a license to operate a car. You do not need to even carry a license to operate a bike. You do have to identify yourself to LE when asked, but this means providing a name and perhaps address, they cant as for social security # or anything.

[Shredhead]

Just ride on the right side. I hate it when people ride facing traffic. It's usually a Mexican on a little girls bike.

[TomCrac]

" It's usually a Mexican on a little stolen girls bike. "...... there, FIFY.

[creaky fossil]

I have never heard of signalling a stop on a bike.
I've heard about reflectors.
I've been talked to about stop signs.
Bikes seem to have free reign in Missoula, it get weird. If I'm driving and someone in front of me yields to a bike for no reason, I go around them now. Fuckers.
What's really annoying are all the people biking on the sidewalk over the Orange St. bridge. There is a bike lane for each direction, that combined with the shoulder must be at least 10 feet wide.

Sounds like cops in Boston suck.

how long have you pretended to live in Missoula? sheesh. I have at least 1 close call every time I pedal on roadways with cars, usually by a driver talking on a phone, texting on a phone, or being distracted by a human or animal passenger.

bikes have free rein? not if you're riding them on the same roads as motor vehicles. not for as long as I've lived here. would be cool if it were true though.

is there a software program you use to generate comments for TGR?

[stuckathuntermtn]

Yes, it's called the spell homonyms wrong 5,000

[flowtron's ghost]

. If I'm driving and someone in front of me yields to a bike for no reason, I go around them now. Fuckers.


If I was that driver or the cyclist I would go fucking ballistic on you. There might be a good reason that you can't see. How much of a hurry could you actually be in? For fucks sake man!

[smslavin]

You need to carry a license to operate a car. You do not need to even carry a license to operate a bike. You do have to identify yourself to LE when asked, but this means providing a name and perhaps address, they cant as for social security # or anything.

+1

When I was racing full time in San Diego, county sheriffs would get pretty uppity on big group rides. There were some pretty arrogant and cocky riders in some of the clubs. However, I did get stopped by a motorcycle cop once as I was doing some hill training with a small group of guys (4-5). He clocked us at just over 60 in a 25. :biggrin:

Common courtesy goes a long way though. It's the law of right of tonnage. Yea, you need to ride defensively on the road and yea, there are a lot of prick drivers but flying off the handle never accomplishes anything. In my 25 years of training and racing, I've been drilled 6 times by vehicles. It sucks and it hurts but the story was always the same, "Sorry man, I didn't see you."

[skimaxpower]

you can get drunk driving on one but you don't need a license to ride one.

For what it's worth, in Washington State, DUI laws do not apply to bicycles. Drinking and biking is not illegal in WA. (You could still get a public intoxication ticket though.) One time I swerved home drunk, and the polite officer suggested that I walk my bike. I took her advice - for a few blocks.