Please move off the street sir

So the cop in his cruiser said to me as I was riding my Schwinn Deluxe
Cruiser.I was on a one way road going east. I was in the middle lane.
The two northern lanes go straight and the south lane turns right into
a four lane,two direction highway. But north of the intersection the
highway is only a one way. So the lane that is southern most has an
eternal green turn arrow. And no walk light. Besides it is a blind turn
to the cars as there is a building right up almost to the road. So a
driver cannot see a pedestrian until they hit them,as the view of the
start of the crosswalk is blocked. So that is why I take the center
lane. So I guess what I am getting at is the sidewalk leads to Dead
Meat intersection. On the northern most lane the drivers turn left no
stop cutting you off. No bike lanes exist anywhere. In Illinois cars
rule the road by law. And bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks in
my city by ordinance. Besides in that area they are all broken up,big
chunks of loose concrete and lots of broken glass. So I ride through 5
miles of this mess to get to the recreational path to get to the side
streets. But I have no car so this is how I get around now. I don't
know what I will do this winter. Take the bus I guess. Is it like this
in other cities?
littledog

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:19:44 -0700, littledog wrote:

So the cop in his cruiser said to me as I was riding my Schwinn Deluxe
Cruiser.

A lot of cops don't know **** about bicyclist's rights and that does not
give them the right to make up laws on the spot.

Find out what the law is, get it printed out, and carry it in your back
pocket. When the cop hassles you next time, be as courteous as possible,
and hand him the paper.

littledog wrote:
So the cop in his cruiser said to me as I was riding my Schwinn Deluxe
Cruiser.I was on a one way road going east. I was in the middle lane.
The two northern lanes go straight and the south lane turns right into
a four lane,two direction highway. But north of the intersection the
highway is only a one way. So the lane that is southern most has an
eternal green turn arrow. And no walk light. Besides it is a blind turn
to the cars as there is a building right up almost to the road. So a
driver cannot see a pedestrian until they hit them,as the view of the
start of the crosswalk is blocked. So that is why I take the center
lane. So I guess what I am getting at is the sidewalk leads to Dead
Meat intersection. On the northern most lane the drivers turn left no
stop cutting you off. No bike lanes exist anywhere. In Illinois cars
rule the road by law. And bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks in
my city by ordinance. Besides in that area they are all broken up,big
chunks of loose concrete and lots of broken glass. So I ride through 5
miles of this mess to get to the recreational path to get to the side
streets. But I have no car so this is how I get around now. I don't
know what I will do this winter. Take the bus I guess. Is it like this
in other cities?
littledog

First, Bob Hunt really needs to chime in. He's the most knowledgeable
about your situation. But as I understand it, you have a legal right
to the road. The Illinois debacle said cyclists are not _intended_
users; but they are permitted to use the road.

Sad to say, cops frequently know nothing about cycling; and sad to say,
they don't know how little they know. So ignore them. Ride.

If you think it will become an issue, get a photocopy of your state's
laws regarding bicycles and carry them with you. Highlight the
sentence that goes something like "Cyclists have all the rights and
duties of vehicle operators." Also carry a copy of the anti-sidewalk
ordinance, highlighted. If you're stopped, respectfully pull this out
and say that it seems you're allowed to operate as a vehicle. I
imagine if you're calm and polite, this will be accepted.

And if you hear anything more cop complaints about legal riding, I'd
suggest getting the numbers from the cruiser and writing at least one
letter, to the police chief. I'd probably make it two letters, the
other being to the local paper.

- Frank Krygowski

littledog wrote:
So the cop in his cruiser said to me as I was riding my Schwinn Deluxe
Cruiser.I was on a one way road going east. I was in the middle lane.
The two northern lanes go straight and the south lane turns right into
a four lane,two direction highway. But north of the intersection the
highway is only a one way. So the lane that is southern most has an
eternal green turn arrow. And no walk light. Besides it is a blind turn
to the cars as there is a building right up almost to the road. So a
driver cannot see a pedestrian until they hit them,as the view of the
start of the crosswalk is blocked. So that is why I take the center
lane. So I guess what I am getting at is the sidewalk leads to Dead
Meat intersection. On the northern most lane the drivers turn left no
stop cutting you off. No bike lanes exist anywhere. In Illinois cars
rule the road by law. And bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks in
my city by ordinance. Besides in that area they are all broken up,big
chunks of loose concrete and lots of broken glass. So I ride through 5
miles of this mess to get to the recreational path to get to the side
streets. But I have no car so this is how I get around now. I don't
know what I will do this winter. Take the bus I guess. Is it like this
in other cities?
littledog

I'm having a very difficult time picturing the intersection you
describe but it really doesn't matter. As far as the roadway is
concerned only a few things matter.
It's a one way eastbound road with two thru lanes and one right turn
only lane as it approaches an intersection. Assuming that as fact:
1- you were eastbound,
2- didn't intend to make a right hand turn, and
3- you had a legal right to be cycling on that road (in Illinois,
municipalities have the legal power to ban bicycles from roads that the
municipality builds and maintains) then:
You are not only legally entitled to take the center lane, the law says
you *must* ride there.
If you need to take this route on a daily basis or if you are even just
simply concerned that the cop in question doesn't understand Illinois
traffic law as it relates to operating a bicycle I'd suggest that you
make the effort to call the local PD and ask to talk to the commander
of the traffic division. Tell him what you experienced and ask him to
clarify the law for you as it relates to that specific road. If you do
that please remember what you are trying to accomplish, i.e., resolve a
question you have. Questions are sometimes misconstrued as complaints
about a particular officer and if you come across as complaining about
an officer's polite request to, "Please move off the street, sir", you
could very well be brushed off. Cops- even commanders- are only human
after all. g
Just out of curiousity, exactly where is this road you describe?

Regards,
Bob Hunt

wrote:

littledog wrote:

So the cop in his cruiser said to me as I was riding my Schwinn Deluxe
Cruiser.I was on a one way road going east. I was in the middle lane.
The two northern lanes go straight and the south lane turns right into
a four lane,two direction highway. But north of the intersection the
highway is only a one way. So the lane that is southern most has an
eternal green turn arrow. And no walk light. Besides it is a blind turn
to the cars as there is a building right up almost to the road. So a
driver cannot see a pedestrian until they hit them,as the view of the
start of the crosswalk is blocked. So that is why I take the center
lane. So I guess what I am getting at is the sidewalk leads to Dead
Meat intersection. On the northern most lane the drivers turn left no
stop cutting you off. No bike lanes exist anywhere. In Illinois cars
rule the road by law. And bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks in
my city by ordinance. Besides in that area they are all broken up,big
chunks of loose concrete and lots of broken glass. So I ride through 5
miles of this mess to get to the recreational path to get to the side
streets. But I have no car so this is how I get around now. I don't
know what I will do this winter. Take the bus I guess. Is it like this
in other cities?
littledog


First, Bob Hunt really needs to chime in. He's the most knowledgeable
about your situation. But as I understand it, you have a legal right
to the road. The Illinois debacle said cyclists are not _intended_
users; but they are permitted to use the road.

Sad to say, cops frequently know nothing about cycling; and sad to say,
they don't know how little they know. So ignore them. Ride.

If you think it will become an issue, get a photocopy of your state's
laws regarding bicycles and carry them with you. Highlight the
sentence that goes something like "Cyclists have all the rights and
duties of vehicle operators." Also carry a copy of the anti-sidewalk
ordinance, highlighted. If you're stopped, respectfully pull this out
and say that it seems you're allowed to operate as a vehicle. I
imagine if you're calm and polite, this will be accepted.

And if you hear anything more cop complaints about legal riding, I'd
suggest getting the numbers from the cruiser and writing at least one
letter, to the police chief. I'd probably make it two letters, the
other being to the local paper.


You really want the officers badge number, something that he must give
you, by law, in most North American jurisdictions.

I would send a letter to the chief of police, copy to the head of the
local police board. Include the officers badge number, in your letter,
and be very polite. Forget the media, your complaint will be taken more
seriously by the police department if you leave the media out of it.

W

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 12:28:49 GMT, Bonehenge
wrote:


It's amazing how everyone will start jumping up and down about
cyclist's rights, etc...

Gee, do you think that might be because this a bicyclist newsgroup?


Life is Good!
Jeff

Well it is not that police do not know the bicycle laws, some actually
ride themselves, however it is my opinion that most will cater to the
majority, the motor vehicles. And most will assume that you will just
blindly do what you are told even if it is against the law.

Ken

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 17:56:06 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Bonehenge
wrote:

Many of the same folks who get all militant at the drop of a hat think
nothing of going the wrong way on a one-way, riding at night without
lights, or cruising a stop sign at 15 MPH.

and many more of them don't, so stop stereotyping based on your
limited personal knowledge.

On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 12:28:49 +0000, Bonehenge wrote:


On Sat, 02 Jul 2005 02:54:12 GMT, maxo wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:19:44 -0700, littledog wrote:

So the cop in his cruiser said to me as I was riding my Schwinn Deluxe
Cruiser.

A lot of cops don't know **** about bicyclist's rights and that does not
give them the right to make up laws on the spot.

This whole thing sounds like a troll.

It's amazing how everyone will start jumping up and down about cyclist's
rights, etc...

I wasn't defending the guy, but if the OP actually did what several of us
suggested, which is to read up on Illinois bicycle laws, he might very
well find out that he was in the wrong--it works both ways.

I'm cynical about cyclist's rants too, the great majority of folks I see
around here on racing bikes wearing team jerseys do the stupidest stuff,
just yesterday I saw a small peloton of fellahs riding the wrong way on a
one way street and got flipped off when I asked them if they knew that it
was one way. LOL

I'd say take it to court, point out the dangers of this intersection,
and while you'e at it, drop the hint that citites can be sued big time
for ignoring things of this sort.

You'ld be amazed what you can accomplish by muttering the magic word:
"lawyer"!

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner