So I almost got doored by a cop on the way to work

Right in front of the police station at Monroe and Racine. Good thing I don't ride in the door zone, and was out taking the lane. I didn't stop, but gave her a dirty look. What would you guys do? I don't want to antagonize one of chicago's unpredictable cops, but geez, she should be giving tickets for that, not doing it herself.

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Permalink Reply by cutifly on July 16, 2010 at 3:26am
I always say lawsuit when I am passing by, but don't expect much from that because this truly is Door City and people generally don't give a crap and it won't matter unless you are actually prepared to go through with it anyway. I honestly figure if I get a door (and people are not gonna like this) it is my own fault for not paying attention. It is all like a video game or close combat in my thinking. It is truly a matter of survival. Most people are neither aware or enlightened. There are other factors like dirty windows, position of the sun and did I say don't care ? On the average I get 2-3 close calls every time I make a round from Foster to Fullerton. Hate to offend anyone, but if your on a bike riding along rows of parked cars on a busy street, it is only a matter of probability. At least your smart enough to reduce those odds rather than have the silly attitude like it is up to someone else to pay attention. Also, I don't think you can get a ticket unless you actually make contact with a biker, but I do not know this for a fact.
Permalink Reply by Jamie Elenbaas on July 16, 2010 at 3:28am
Dooring, pulling out of a street parking space without so much as a glance behind, roaring through red lights without a siren, lights, or even a very good look to see if there's traffic... Chicago cops are the most arrogant, worst drivers I've seen anywhere in the country. I live a couple of blocks from the cop shop, so I get to see their antics on a regular basis.

By the way, if you had hit the door or the cop as she swung her porky butt out of the car, I have no doubt you would have been charged with assault on an officer.
Permalink Reply by Davo on July 16, 2010 at 3:40am
Just keep on going. I almost got squeezed going N on Damen under the Blue line. I thought about yelling but then I noticed it was a cop car so I thought better of it. No need to make something out of nothing.
Permalink Reply by cutifly on July 16, 2010 at 3:45am
Was she cute ? I saw the two cutest lady cops at the restaurant yesterday at Broadway and Thorndale. I like attractive looking law enforcement because it is so rare. They were friendly, not all pissed off looking and almost seemed like they enjoyed the company of men. I so much wanted to show them the lock I had just cut from the tallbike from that Church and ask them if they wanted to burn a fatty and take the rest of the day off in my basement with me and watch movies. I do have the nerve, but only if I feel confident it will actually deliver.
Permalink Reply by Jan on July 16, 2010 at 3:46am
This has happened to me numerous times. I always give cop cars a wide berth. I just say "Hey, be more careful" and keep going.
Permalink Reply by Jason W on July 16, 2010 at 5:07am
I usually yell "Watch your door!" at people who near door me. I thought twice about it this time. You just don't know what is going to cause the police to go off.

Cutifly, I could care less about the physical attractiveness of the person who gets me seriously injured or killed.

Quetzalli Castro said:
Besides getting doored, I fell like another big problem is pedestrian jaywalkers (sp?) that decide to weave through cars in traffic and into the bike lane unbeknownst to cyclists that are passing by and cause near collisions.

I know what you mean. Be careful during rush hour near Ogilve and Union stations. On 3 separate occasions I have had people jump into the road so close that I had to come to a screeching halt and missed them by inches. It's all the suburbanites with their heads up their rears rushing off to work. They just don't get the traffic flow in the city, and are even less attentive when traveling in herds.
Permalink Reply by cutifly on July 16, 2010 at 5:14am
I was talking about 2 other cops who have nothing to do with dooring in this instance (so your aware) and to keep this post less redundant. I don't suggest swearing or being aggressive until after being actually hit. Last time I got doored I left a decent gash in this womans panel from my basket and honestly all I could do was laugh and ride away cause I was not hurt and to me it was funny as hell seeing the look on her face.

Jason W said:
I usually yell "Watch your door!" at people who near door me. I thought twice about it this time. You just don't know what is going to cause the police to go off.
Cutifly, I could care less about the physical attractiveness of the person who gets me seriously injured or killed.
Quetzalli Castro said:
Besides getting doored, I fell like another big problem is pedestrian jaywalkers (sp?) that decide to weave through cars in traffic and into the bike lane unbeknownst to cyclists that are passing by and cause near collisions.

I know what you mean. Be careful during rush hour near Ogilve and Union stations. On 3 separate occasions I have had people jump into the road so close that I had to come to a screeching halt and missed them by inches. It's all the suburbanites with their heads up their rears rushing off to work. They just don't get the traffic flow in the city, and are even less attentive when traveling in herds.
Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on July 16, 2010 at 5:33am
Once you start digging you'll find so much brutal shit the cops get away with that'll make you want to cry. At least Burge will be going to jail and you didn't actually get hit. You lucked out man.
Permalink Reply by thang van ung on July 16, 2010 at 6:49am
this is one pessimistic thread. yelling the like of "DOOR [please]" at a cop will not get you brutalize, arrested, or ticketed. cops needs to be made aware like everyone else when opening their door. in one incident a cop was getting out of his vehicle when i called "DOOR!" that may shocked him, he got back into his suv and followed me and stopped me after i'd ran a red light. i keep my language sanitized when speaking to the cop and he really can't do much about it. also, it is easy enough to "antagonize" any crazies out there, but you can choose your words carefully or as last resort, RUN/RIDE AWAAAAY.
Permalink Reply by heather s on July 16, 2010 at 8:06am
This feels related and it was really annoying, so I'll share it.

The other day I was stopped at the Fullerton/Elston/Damen intersection, heading north on Damen. There was that lapse, maybe 30 seconds, where only southbound has a green light and north, east, and west bound all have a red. And there was a cop car stopped, heading west on Fullerton. A couple of cyclists passed me by, going through the red light, and I just felt like, I would totally be that one sad person who gets a ticket for going through the light after five other people have done it. So I waited. And then the COP went through the red light. No siren, not even going fast. Just casually rolled through and continuing along. I don't know why it irked me so much. Cops go through red lights all the time. They seriously don't care. I go through red lights all the time! I just felt... cheated, somehow.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on July 16, 2010 at 12:31pm
Heather,

R.H.I.P. (Rank Hath Its Privileges.)

heather stratton said:
This feels related and it was really annoying, so I'll share it.

The other day I was stopped at the Fullerton/Elston/Damen intersection, heading north on Damen. There was that lapse, maybe 30 seconds, where only southbound has a green light and north, east, and west bound all have a red. And there was a cop car stopped, heading west on Fullerton. A couple of cyclists passed me by, going through the red light, and I just felt like, I would totally be that one sad person who gets a ticket for going through the light after five other people have done it. So I waited. And then the COP went through the red light. No siren, not even going fast. Just casually rolled through and continuing along. I don't know why it irked me so much. Cops go through red lights all the time. They seriously don't care. I go through red lights all the time! I just felt... cheated, somehow.
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on July 20, 2010 at 4:51pm
It looks like someone didn't watch the bicycles and traffic enforcement video that CDOT and the Chicago Police Department created for the officers to better learn about bicycling-related laws and behaviors.

Email the CAPS officer at that station, describe the situation, and remind them about the training video.

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