The Chainlink

Cyclists win in Ohio Court

The below from: http://mobikefed.org/2009/12/significant-ruling-in-ohio-about.php

A significant court ruling about the rights of bicyclists to ride on the road has been handed down by an Ohio court.

The case involved two bicyclists who were riding abreast on a two-lane road.

A policeman was driving behind them, passed them, and observed that the bicyclists didn't single up even though there were two more cars behind them. The policeman stopped ahead and directed the bicyclists to stop, but they did not. The policeman then followed the bicyclists, turned on his lights and sirens. When the bicyclists still refused to pull over the policeman finally used his taser to stop the bicyclists.

The bicyclists were then charged with:
- Resisting arrest
- Disorderly conduct
- "Operating a bike in the roadway"
- Failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer

The judge ruled:
The bicyclists may have been rude for riding two abreast but were breaking no law in Ohio--not the law requiring bicyclists to ride as far right as practicable (the lane was of non-sharable width), nor the law against impeding traffic, nor the law about riding abreast (which, in Ohio, does not require bicyclists to single up when impeding traffic)
There is no law at all that bans "operating a bike in the roadway"
Because the bicyclists were not breaking any law, the police officer had no basis to stop, detain, or arrest them and therefore all other charges were dismissed

The ruling is made more significant because (unlike most minor court rulings) this ruling has been published and so can be cited as a precedent in other cases.

===================

I think it quite funny that the cop made up laws to charge them with "Operating a bike in the roadway". Is that common at all?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anne on December 4, 2009 at 9:44am
When cops get cranky, they make up all kinds of sht.
Fred Hampton comes to mind on this anniversary day of his assasination....
Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on December 4, 2009 at 9:51am
I didn't know about that. Now, thanks to wikipedia, I do

Anne said:
When cops get cranky, they make up all kinds of sht.
Fred Hampton comes to mind on this anniversary day of his assasination....
Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on December 4, 2009 at 9:55am
Yay!
Permalink Reply by mike w. on December 4, 2009 at 1:02pm
Thank you for remembering Fred and Mark.

Anne said:
When cops get cranky, they make up all kinds of sht.
Fred Hampton comes to mind on this anniversary day of his assasination....
Permalink Reply by rik on December 4, 2009 at 1:52pm
What is the law in Chicago?
Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 4, 2009 at 2:05pm
Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on December 4, 2009 at 2:45pm
To state what I hope is obvious, this decision has no bearing on bicyclists in Illinois. In Chicago, local ordinance requires cyclists to ride single file. 9-52-050. In the rest of Illinois, absent a local ordinance to the contrary, bicyclists shall not ride more than 2 abreast. However, "persons riding 2 abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." 625 ILCS 5/11-1505.1.

I'm glad to hear that the bicyclist in Ohio achieved some measure of justice, but the court's ruling isn't important for Illinois bicyclists.
Permalink Reply by Ian on December 4, 2009 at 8:19pm
this is a great outcome, but in Illinois, it is illegal to resist even an improper arrest. If you are a 4 ft. tall woman and the cop arrests you because Officer Fife believes you match the warrant for a 7 ft. tall man, any attempt you make to pull away or not follow commands can and probably will result in a resisting charge which will not be dismissed no matter how ridiculous the cop's beliefs or actions were.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 5, 2009 at 9:24am
True. But I've rarely heard about traffic stops for this in the city. The cops in most districts have too many other things to occupy them. In the 'burbs, on the other hand, I've heard about some traffic stops for this. Park Ridge is the first that comes to mind, and I know that Wilmette P.D. is a bit crankier about this now that Sheridan Road is finally rideable there.

Chicago Bicycle Advocate said:
To state what I hope is obvious, this decision has no bearing on bicyclists in Illinois. In Chicago, local ordinance requires cyclists to ride single file. 9-52-050. In the rest of Illinois, absent a local ordinance to the contrary, bicyclists shall not ride more than 2 abreast. However, "persons riding 2 abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." 625 ILCS 5/11-1505.1.

I'm glad to hear that the bicyclist in Ohio achieved some measure of justice, but the court's ruling isn't important for Illinois bicyclists.
Permalink Reply by Ryan L on December 5, 2009 at 4:54pm
I was harassed by a cop once after stopping at a 4-way intersection then going through it alongside the car next to me which was also going straight. Right as we both went trough the cop car started to also go through, we were there first, and almost hit me on purpose. He then followed me, pulled up along side me and started yelling at me at the top of his lungs, threatening to arrest me for going through the intersection (which made no sense). He yelled and yelled basically forcing me to apologize. All I could say was "yes sir, you are right sir, I'll never do it again sir, whatever I could say to get him off my back and go about my business. Probably the rudest ass-hat backwoods cop I ever met and soon after the incident happened I called his superior officer, who I know from CAPS meetings, to report the incident. I never did find out if he got in trouble but my guess is nothing happened at all.

Some cops risk their lives and actually want to help the public and others are just grown up bullies with basic intelligence; they scare the crap out of me. Not much worse than an ignorant a-hole with a license to f-up your life. Tazing a guy on a bicycle? What an ass!
Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on December 5, 2009 at 5:55pm
Does the ordinance define what "traffic" is? Are we not traffic? If we are pedaling along and not just "dogging it", how can we be impeding the normal and reasonable movement of ourselves (traffic)?

Chicago Bicycle Advocate said:
To state what I hope is obvious, this decision has no bearing on bicyclists in Illinois. In Chicago, local ordinance requires cyclists to ride single file. 9-52-050. In the rest of Illinois, absent a local ordinance to the contrary, bicyclists shall not ride more than 2 abreast. However, "persons riding 2 abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." 625 ILCS 5/11-1505.1.

I'm glad to hear that the bicyclist in Ohio achieved some measure of justice, but the court's ruling isn't important for Illinois bicyclists.
Permalink Reply by Brian Ellison on December 5, 2009 at 9:39pm
I was stopped the other night going down western in Park Forest (south suburb like 220th) They were more mad about my friend on a skateboard hanging onto the chain around my waste but they just took our names down and left.

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