Bike Lanes
Posted Jun 8, 2011, 2:42 PM UTC
13334
Dedicated.
15
Whenever possible contest a ticket. There is no legal downside.
9
Good thing it doesn't take time or eliminate potential earnings to spend time in court or anything.
3
It obviously does, but there is no legal downside. The ticket can only be reduced or stay the same. It will not increase.
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I'm just saying I disagree with the "Whenever possible" part, since I can think of many times it would be possible to contest the ticket but unwise to do so or more of a hassle than it's worth.
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I see. I completely agree with accessing the financial situation, this is in fact what I meant when I said whenever possible. You can do it anytime but only you can decide when it's worth it. One more caveat, be sure to include any insurance surcharges in the calculations. I learned that one the hard way.
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The ticket won't increase, but the total amount you pay could. They just levy a surcharge fee on top.
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I don't believe this is true. I considered contesting a crossing on red ticket (pedestrian) with a base fee of $20 (+$78 "surcharge") until I spoke to a hearing officer who said that it was possible for the judge to increase the penalty if he/she felt it warranted a higher punishment. Even in NYC, according to the video, there's a $10-$130 range for these sort of petty infractions. But insofar as talking to a hearing officer is worth, you're right. Although, in Minneapolis at least, the officer cannot reduce any ticket (the "base fee" part) to zero. In my case I was looking at best case scenario a $88 ticket instead of a $98 ticket, which is not even worth the hassle IMHO.
That's how cities get you. Its just a big enough hassle to not pay the tickets that you pay them.
2
Perhaps you are right, but remember it was the officer who talked you out of contesting the ticket. Perhaps you shouldn't have let him. Usually clerks have great latitude to cut tickets down.
The ticket in this case was for $50. The officer listed the range because he didn't know how much it would be. Then we heard what the biker did wasn't illegal.
I too lived in a city that was corrupt with extra charges, kick backs and shady deals. I'm out of that city now but I could still tell you stories. Just because these things are prevalent doesn't mean that we shouldn't resist them.
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Wear a helmet dude.
8
Yeah I was really hoping that a cop was going to come out at the end and ticketing him for not wearing a helmet.
3
It may help to have a helmet on at some point, but biking is for everybody with a bike. Wearing a helmet is not a prerequisite - the U.K. minister of cycling doesn't wear a helmet, because cycling is at least a simple and good way to travel. It's better to cycle without a helmet than not to cycle.
3
A helmet saved my life. If you can have a bike, you can have a helmet. As long as cars are still on the road alongside bikers, your statement "It's better to cycle without a helmet than not to cycle," could be dangerous.
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It's dangerous to ride in a car, but people accept the risk when they do it. I'm not saying cycling is safe, I'm saying I approve of accepting the risk and doing it anyway, though you better still be smart about everything you do in life.
It's personal responsibility: people should be able to ride bikes without others getting pissy about whether or not they are well equipped. Bicycle riding should be encouraged foremost. When riding with heavy traffic I surely would recommend wearing a helmet, and I usually wear a helmet though I could have used one when no cars were around but I crashed anyway, but that has little to do with my point.
I found Mikael Colville-Andersen's talk on helmets interesting, but it's not an argument against helmets. What it is: a reason not to get hyper about helmets. Bicycling should be an every day sort of thing, easy, accepted in all forms.
People don't deserve tickets - making helmet-less riding against the law is wrong.
Everyone has the right to wear a summer dress and hop on a bike to ride along the lakefront.
People have a right to feel the wind in their hair.
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Are you serious? In some countries (like the Netherlands) kids, parents, older people, all drive bikes. Nobody is wearing a helmet.
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Upvote for being the original poster and getting shafted from being on front page, and for an awesome video.
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As a motorist, I find most cyclists to be arseholes in the city. However, you can understand it when this is what they're up against.
Fair play to this guy.
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As long as your following the rules, I'm cool with you. It's the guys who do the dangerous ass stuff like cutting through the middle of a busy 4 way stop without looking, or get waisted and go on rides hooting and hollering through town to "make a point" that really get to me. (I'm a motorist AND a cyclist...)
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In my car I'm a normal human being. Put me on my bike in traffic and I turn into an overaggressive asshole because of the shit you just mentioned. If/when I get hit by a car, there is a good possibility I'm going to be so hopped up on adrenaline I'm going to pull the asshole that hit me out of his vehicle and then proceed to rain blows upon him.
2
I'm with ya dude, I am both a biker and a motorist... Some bikers are dicks, and that pisses me off to no end!
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Yep. Some are preemptively aggressive and ride around kicking and punching cars, and shouting at motorists.
This gives the rest of the cyclists a bad rep.
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Upvote for following the "law" by staying in the bike lane despite the blockages and for paying the ticket.
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I thought this was going to about a cop getting unnecessarily mad, flipping out about being filmed, and ultimately making us shake our heads at our computer screens.
I was pleasantly surprised... Hilariously delivered succinct point
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fuck yeah, this cat deserves the attention. He has the scars to prove it (very impressive dismounts!!)
Upbote this focker!!!
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It's my opinion that bikers should do everything they can to stay in the bike lane. If that means jumping the bike on top of the car then so be it. Not sure how possible that is, but it'd make for more neat videos. I'd like to see one of him on a BMX jumping onto cop cars that are parked in the bike lane.
In Texas it's illegal to leave the crosswalk and it's perfectly legal to go over/under/through any car that stops too far forward and is obstructing it. I say treat the bike lanes the same way. Not that he isn't already.
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That's not feasible.
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... So we need to improve bike lanes.
People in my town will PUT themselves in dangerous situations by cut off cars, riding right through the center of a 4 way stop without looking, and if you honk will flick you off on a regular basis. I'm ALL for improving bike lanes and making it easier for bicyclists that follow the rules, but please guys don't be jerks out there it makes all of us bikers look bad!
**also, DON"T DRINK AND RIDE!!!! I'm looking at you Houston!
1
The third wreck was fantastic. He went down so hard in front of ten people and didn't even play it off.
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Upvote for a video of a guy on a bike crashing into things.
upvote for the cop parking in the bike lane to ticket the bicyclist not using the bike lane... *sigh*
upvote for crashing into the cop car parked in the bike lane.