City to step up enforcement of bike laws
Just a heads-up for everyone...
From the Tribune:
City to step up enforcement of bike laws
By Robert Mitchum, Chicago Tribune reporter, August 21, 2008
For many bicyclists on the streets of Chicago, coming upon a red light or a stop sign is not necessarily a signal to halt.
"If there's nothing around, no traffic, it doesn't faze me," said Larry Smith, 32. "It's a victimless crime. When you're riding a long distance, stopping and starting all the time just adds to your fatigue."
But this week, city officials warned that they would step up enforcement of bike laws as gasoline prices and environmental concerns lead to more bikes sharing city roads. Visiting three of Chicago's most bike-heavy neighborhoods, police officers and representatives from the city's Bicycle Ambassadors program stopped and warned cyclists who broke the law.
Some laws being highlighted—such as the requirement that cyclists use head lamps at night—might strike even seasoned cyclists as a surprise. Others—such as the observance of stoplights and the ban on adults riding on sidewalks—are commonly known and frequently flouted.
But while participants in this campaign were merely handing out informational fliers and free accessories, not tickets, the grace period for two-wheel traffic violations may be coming to an end.
"We're going to see an increase in enforcement," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. "We're going to be enforcing the same traffic laws for bikes as well as motorists, so that both respect each other and the rules of the road as far as bike safety and motor safety."
After being waved over Thursday evening on North Halsted Street by Sgt. Mark Silva near the six-way intersection with Clark Street and Barry Avenue in Lakeview, cyclist Scott Krueger, 35, was confused about what he did wrong.
Told that he did not stop at a red light before making a right turn from Clark onto Halsted, Krueger asked, "Is it against the law?"
"It is a citable offense, absolutely," Silva told him. "But we're not out here to punish people, we're out here to change habits."
Silva and bicycle patrol police Officers Lisa Taras and Kelvin Choe said they rarely write tickets for cyclists who run stop signs or go the wrong way on one-way streets. But Silva emphasized that cyclists do need to at least be warned about dangerous behavior, to prevent serious accidents. This year, four Chicago cyclists have died in bike-car collisions.
"Most people we talk to say that rolling through a stop sign or a light is not that important compared to other things going on," Silva said. "But people can die."
Proving his point, one cyclist who ran a red light narrowly missed being struck by a car as officers and ambassadors watched from a block away. In their three hours of monitoring, about 30 cyclists were pulled aside by officers, nearly one-fifth for riding through the intersection.
Many of the cyclists were given short lectures from the officers and friendlier advice from ambassadors like Charlie Short, 29, and Jason Jenkins, 34, and the cyclists responded with apologies and sheepish embarrassment. But most admitted they weren't likely to change their behavior.
"I try to do just common sense," said Geoff Keller, 36, who was stopped while riding home from running errands. "Follow 90 percent of the rules, and for the 10 percent you're breaking, know that you're breaking them and look at what the safety issue is."
Others questioned the logic of ordinances that mandate bikes follow the same laws as cars, and they bristled at the idea of putting the responsibility for avoiding wrecks on cyclists.
"Accidents are usually the motorist's fault," said bicyclist Gianna Pena, 23. "That's where the focus should be."
Todd Gee, organizer of the alternative transportation advocacy group Break the Gridlock, agreed.
"If the goal is to have fewer people going to the hospital or the morgue because of transportation collisions, the biggest win is cracking down on bad motorist behavior, not bad cyclist behavior," Gee said.
The core of Chicago and Illinois bicycling laws is that cyclists have all the rights of people driving other vehicles on city and state roads, as well as all of the responsibilities. That means following all street signs and stoplights or risking a $25 fine.
Joanne Moss, 60, who drives around Lakeview frequently as the owner of a cleaning service, said that ticketing cyclists might not be practical or effective, but pleaded with them to bike more responsibly.
"It scares me because I don't want to kill somebody, or even break somebody's leg," Moss said. "I don't want to carry that for the rest of my life, even if they were in the wrong."
From the Tribune:
City to step up enforcement of bike laws
By Robert Mitchum, Chicago Tribune reporter, August 21, 2008
For many bicyclists on the streets of Chicago, coming upon a red light or a stop sign is not necessarily a signal to halt.
"If there's nothing around, no traffic, it doesn't faze me," said Larry Smith, 32. "It's a victimless crime. When you're riding a long distance, stopping and starting all the time just adds to your fatigue."
But this week, city officials warned that they would step up enforcement of bike laws as gasoline prices and environmental concerns lead to more bikes sharing city roads. Visiting three of Chicago's most bike-heavy neighborhoods, police officers and representatives from the city's Bicycle Ambassadors program stopped and warned cyclists who broke the law.
Some laws being highlighted—such as the requirement that cyclists use head lamps at night—might strike even seasoned cyclists as a surprise. Others—such as the observance of stoplights and the ban on adults riding on sidewalks—are commonly known and frequently flouted.
But while participants in this campaign were merely handing out informational fliers and free accessories, not tickets, the grace period for two-wheel traffic violations may be coming to an end.
"We're going to see an increase in enforcement," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. "We're going to be enforcing the same traffic laws for bikes as well as motorists, so that both respect each other and the rules of the road as far as bike safety and motor safety."
After being waved over Thursday evening on North Halsted Street by Sgt. Mark Silva near the six-way intersection with Clark Street and Barry Avenue in Lakeview, cyclist Scott Krueger, 35, was confused about what he did wrong.
Told that he did not stop at a red light before making a right turn from Clark onto Halsted, Krueger asked, "Is it against the law?"
"It is a citable offense, absolutely," Silva told him. "But we're not out here to punish people, we're out here to change habits."
Silva and bicycle patrol police Officers Lisa Taras and Kelvin Choe said they rarely write tickets for cyclists who run stop signs or go the wrong way on one-way streets. But Silva emphasized that cyclists do need to at least be warned about dangerous behavior, to prevent serious accidents. This year, four Chicago cyclists have died in bike-car collisions.
"Most people we talk to say that rolling through a stop sign or a light is not that important compared to other things going on," Silva said. "But people can die."
Proving his point, one cyclist who ran a red light narrowly missed being struck by a car as officers and ambassadors watched from a block away. In their three hours of monitoring, about 30 cyclists were pulled aside by officers, nearly one-fifth for riding through the intersection.
Many of the cyclists were given short lectures from the officers and friendlier advice from ambassadors like Charlie Short, 29, and Jason Jenkins, 34, and the cyclists responded with apologies and sheepish embarrassment. But most admitted they weren't likely to change their behavior.
"I try to do just common sense," said Geoff Keller, 36, who was stopped while riding home from running errands. "Follow 90 percent of the rules, and for the 10 percent you're breaking, know that you're breaking them and look at what the safety issue is."
Others questioned the logic of ordinances that mandate bikes follow the same laws as cars, and they bristled at the idea of putting the responsibility for avoiding wrecks on cyclists.
"Accidents are usually the motorist's fault," said bicyclist Gianna Pena, 23. "That's where the focus should be."
Todd Gee, organizer of the alternative transportation advocacy group Break the Gridlock, agreed.
"If the goal is to have fewer people going to the hospital or the morgue because of transportation collisions, the biggest win is cracking down on bad motorist behavior, not bad cyclist behavior," Gee said.
The core of Chicago and Illinois bicycling laws is that cyclists have all the rights of people driving other vehicles on city and state roads, as well as all of the responsibilities. That means following all street signs and stoplights or risking a $25 fine.
Joanne Moss, 60, who drives around Lakeview frequently as the owner of a cleaning service, said that ticketing cyclists might not be practical or effective, but pleaded with them to bike more responsibly.
"It scares me because I don't want to kill somebody, or even break somebody's leg," Moss said. "I don't want to carry that for the rest of my life, even if they were in the wrong."
Views: 87
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chucko on
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Interesting, since I see cars going through red lights, turning right on red when there are signs prohibiting it, blowing stop signs etc... perhaps they should focus on all vehicular traffic and not just single out bikes.
And like people that drive cars, all this means for us is that we need to be aware of police and follow the rules when they're watching, continue to pick and chose when they're not. (Except of course for things like riding on the sidewalk, which I loathe)
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Totally agree. I've always felt that way about street cleaning. Nothing but a revenue generator so they can get $50 from everyone who either misses the sign or forgets to move their car. That's Chicago for you...
Melissa Garvey said:This is bullsh*t. I'm all for abiding by driving/riding laws, but that's not the real issue. The issue is that the city is "stepping up" efforts in EVERY department to help raise money to bring the Olympics to Chicago. Our building got nailed with citations for building permits that hadn't been close by our builder years ago (that we are now going to have to pay for) and when we called in, they told us that the city is going through all of its records and every avenue to find money. The number of parking tickets being given has gone up astronomically, and you can't drive down the street without receiving a ticket in the mail from some camera two weeks later (many of which also seem to be bull). I love Chicago.
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Permalink Reply by Leah on
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I think this decision is driven by the factors you guys mention, and it's also because being a bike-friendly city is very "in" right now, politically and from an urban planning perspective. And if you're going to be considered a bike-friendly city, it looks really bad (on the city and on the bike-friendly Mayor) if bike accidents and biker deaths go up. So yeah, I think this is politically motivated as well, for several reasons.
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Permalink Reply by Marty A. on
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DC is cracking down . . . .
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/04/dc-court-dont-drink-and-b...
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Permalink Reply by Chuck a Muck on
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Bah! They do this every year at the beginning of spring! Once the blood bath of gang killings start it disappears... Smoke and mirrors...
Chicago is short about 2000 officers if not more depending on who ya talk to...
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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on
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I was stopped last year for going down a one way street in downtown. My old bike messenger tricks are no longer tolerated. I agree that more bodies will pile up if those rookie cyclists act like the messengers and year-round nutjobbers they try to compete with.
Leah said:I think this decision is driven by the factors you guys mention, and it's also because being a bike-friendly city is very "in" right now, politically and from an urban planning perspective. And if you're going to be considered a bike-friendly city, it looks really bad (on the city and on the bike-friendly Mayor) if bike accidents and biker deaths go up. So yeah, I think this is politically motivated as well, for several reasons.
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Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on
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complaining about it having ulterior motives is a different argument than if bikes should be cited for traffic infringements the same as cars.
Juan is getting more to the point. More cyclist = more congestion which is the whole reason for needing an ordered system of rules to follow so we can all get where we're going safely and as quickly as possible.
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Mooney on
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I say if you want to reduce bicycling accidents in the city watch the asshole drivers and ticket them for riding to close to me pulling in front of me to park in the bike lane, sitting with your hazzards in the bike lane, i had a cab pull infront of me to pick some on up causing me to almost crash. I see way more bad drives then cyclists out there. We can follow the rules but will the drivers thats the real question.
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Permalink Reply by dan brown on
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"....so that both respect each other and the rules of the road as far as bike safety and motor safety....""
blah blah blah - it's about money : pure and simple. I wanna see them try to catch me .
DB
Aaron Mooney said:I say if you want to reduce bicycling accidents in the city watch the asshole drivers and ticket them for riding to close to me pulling in front of me to park in the bike lane, sitting with your hazzards in the bike lane, i had a cab pull infront of me to pick some on up causing me to almost crash. I see way more bad drives then cyclists out there. We can follow the rules but will the drivers thats the real question.
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Permalink Reply by Arrak Thumrs on
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Hahaha :) This thread must have affected me from reading it yesterday. I had a dream last night that I received a ticket on my bike. It was very detailed, too---I guess you've got my subconscious worried!
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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on
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ERCHLVRSN said:They can’t fine you if they can’t find you...and they are not going to take your bike for running a red light so even if they ticket you - don't pay it.
Let me know how that plan works out for you...
You do realize that when they write you a ticket they take your info and then come after you with collections, right?
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