Speed Trap Alert! Where there are Chicago Bike Ambassadors there are Cops Ticketing You - The Chainlink2024-03-29T12:50:30Zhttps://thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A111747&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThe most basic sensable answe…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-25:2211490:Comment:1131052009-08-25T01:31:29.719Zcutiflyhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/cutifly
The most basic sensable answers are usually the right ones. How about you just take the entire job of Congress, the President and his admin. You have my vote for supreme leader. I would like to know you in person. Marty<br />
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<cite>mattbikes1 said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=7&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A113100&x=1#2211490Comment113100"><div>Best way to avoid these tickets is to follow the rules. Why are many of us…</div>
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The most basic sensable answers are usually the right ones. How about you just take the entire job of Congress, the President and his admin. You have my vote for supreme leader. I would like to know you in person. Marty<br />
<br />
<cite>mattbikes1 said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=7&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A113100&x=1#2211490Comment113100"><div>Best way to avoid these tickets is to follow the rules. Why are many of us always complaining about the lawless drivers but then when we are cited for not obeying the rules we've suddenly got good excuses for why we should be exempt. We can't have it both ways. If you break the law and get caught doing it, be an adult and be accountable. Don't like the fines? Don't break the law or don't get caught. Anyways, for how lazy and apathetic the CPD is, I doubt any kind of crackdown. Sounds like you got caught in a one in a million promotional moment.</div>
</blockquote> jen said:He got all pissy and…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-25:2211490:Comment:1131032009-08-25T01:31:07.030ZMadopal (16.5 mi)https://thechainlink.org/profile/madopal
<cite>jen said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=5#2211490Comment112024"><div>He got all pissy and wanted to see a d.l or state I.d. I told him this was all i had and as per law a valid goverment issued document will do.</div>
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Wait, is there some state law that says you have to carry an ID while biking?
<cite>jen said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=5#2211490Comment112024"><div>He got all pissy and wanted to see a d.l or state I.d. I told him this was all i had and as per law a valid goverment issued document will do.</div>
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Wait, is there some state law that says you have to carry an ID while biking? Best way to avoid these ticke…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-25:2211490:Comment:1131002009-08-25T01:23:17.549Zmattbikes1https://thechainlink.org/profile/mattbikes1
Best way to avoid these tickets is to follow the rules. Why are many of us always complaining about the lawless drivers but then when we are cited for not obeying the rules we've suddenly got good excuses for why we should be exempt. We can't have it both ways. If you break the law and get caught doing it, be an adult and be accountable. Don't like the fines? Don't break the law or don't get caught. Anyways, for how lazy and apathetic the CPD is, I doubt any kind of crackdown. Sounds like you…
Best way to avoid these tickets is to follow the rules. Why are many of us always complaining about the lawless drivers but then when we are cited for not obeying the rules we've suddenly got good excuses for why we should be exempt. We can't have it both ways. If you break the law and get caught doing it, be an adult and be accountable. Don't like the fines? Don't break the law or don't get caught. Anyways, for how lazy and apathetic the CPD is, I doubt any kind of crackdown. Sounds like you got caught in a one in a million promotional moment. And less optimistically, lots…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-24:2211490:Comment:1129622009-08-24T19:02:47.716ZTony Adamshttps://thechainlink.org/profile/TonyAdams
And less optimistically, lots of violators will still get stopped and ticketed (or whatever) because in general, I'm guessing, the kind of people who don't respect cross-walks, drive drunk and engage in other dangerous driving behaviors don't read the news - or don't read much of it anyway.<br />
<br />
The news spectacle will work somewhat to raise awareness among some, and sting itself will still yield plenty of results.<br />
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<cite>h3 said:…</cite>
And less optimistically, lots of violators will still get stopped and ticketed (or whatever) because in general, I'm guessing, the kind of people who don't respect cross-walks, drive drunk and engage in other dangerous driving behaviors don't read the news - or don't read much of it anyway.<br />
<br />
The news spectacle will work somewhat to raise awareness among some, and sting itself will still yield plenty of results.<br />
<br />
<cite>h3 said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=6&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A112945&x=1#2211490Comment112941"><div>It's an attempt to get more bang for the buck-- suggestive of an awareness that these little checkpoints are a drop in the ocean, and using them as a "media focusing event" to generate some media buzz and get more drivers to think about their behavior.<br/> <br/>
(optimistically speaking)<br/>
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<cite>heather stratton said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=6&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A112934&x=1#2211490Comment112914"><div>What is the rationale behind alerting drivers to the exact intersection where they will be?<br/><br/><cite>Active Transportation Alliance said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=6#2211490Comment112856"><div>If you're out driving or biking tonight, here's some advance warning about yielding to pedestrians:<br/><br/><a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-evening-crosswalk-stings.html">http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-even...</a><br/><br/>I'm sure this is mainly targeted to motorists, but the law says bikes should also yield to pedestrians at mid-block crosswalks.<br/><br/>Ethan, with Active Trans</div>
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</blockquote> Well Heather,
Remember Howar…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-24:2211490:Comment:1129342009-08-24T17:16:59.382Zcutiflyhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/cutifly
Well Heather,<br />
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Remember Howards Party last year and how everyone was all wasted by the time everyone left. This year it would come in handy to know what to avoid because I would rather try to make it home intact rather than end up getting a ticket or going to jail from riding and drinking.<br />
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<cite>heather stratton said:…</cite>
Well Heather,<br />
<br />
Remember Howards Party last year and how everyone was all wasted by the time everyone left. This year it would come in handy to know what to avoid because I would rather try to make it home intact rather than end up getting a ticket or going to jail from riding and drinking.<br />
<br />
<cite>heather stratton said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=6&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A112916&x=1#2211490Comment112914"><div>What is the rationale behind alerting drivers to the exact intersection where they will be?<br/> <cite>Active Transportation Alliance said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=6#2211490Comment112856"><div>If you're out driving or biking tonight, here's some advance warning about yielding to pedestrians:<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-evening-crosswalk-stings.html">http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-even...</a>
I'm sure this is mainly targeted to motorists, but the law says bikes should also yield to pedestrians at mid-block crosswalks.<br />
<br />
Ethan, with Active Trans</div>
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</blockquote> What is the rationale behind…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-24:2211490:Comment:1129142009-08-24T16:16:25.321Zheather shttps://thechainlink.org/profile/heatherstratton
What is the rationale behind alerting drivers to the exact intersection where they will be?<br />
<br />
<cite>Active Transportation Alliance said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=6#2211490Comment112856"><div>If you're out driving or biking tonight, here's some advance warning about yielding to pedestrians:…<br></br> <br></br></div>
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What is the rationale behind alerting drivers to the exact intersection where they will be?<br />
<br />
<cite>Active Transportation Alliance said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=6#2211490Comment112856"><div>If you're out driving or biking tonight, here's some advance warning about yielding to pedestrians:<br/> <br/>
<a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-evening-crosswalk-stings.html">http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-even...</a><br/>
<br/>
I'm sure this is mainly targeted to motorists, but the law says bikes should also yield to pedestrians at mid-block crosswalks.<br/>
<br/>
Ethan, with Active Trans</div>
</blockquote> Jason,
I agree completely tha…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-24:2211490:Comment:1128602009-08-24T13:27:32.754ZTony Adamshttps://thechainlink.org/profile/TonyAdams
Jason,<br />
I agree completely that when we are responsible for the results of our decisions to break traffic laws. I might not have made it clear in my last post, but I only advocate running red lights and stops signs when no other road user(s) have a contrary right of way. If my light is red and there are vehicles approaching the intersection who have the green I stop and wait until they pass. I hugely err on the side of caution as sometimes it can be hard to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle…
Jason,<br />
I agree completely that when we are responsible for the results of our decisions to break traffic laws. I might not have made it clear in my last post, but I only advocate running red lights and stops signs when no other road user(s) have a contrary right of way. If my light is red and there are vehicles approaching the intersection who have the green I stop and wait until they pass. I hugely err on the side of caution as sometimes it can be hard to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle and we've all seen cars accelerate to make it through a green or yellow or recently yellow light.<br />
<br />
I also agree that we need to change the laws. But in the meantime, when the laws of common sense contradict the laws of the land, I'll follow the former rather than the later.<br />
<br />
<cite>Jason Ward said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=6&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A112856&x=1#2211490Comment112539"><div>Tony,<br/> Poorly enforced though they may be, we have our own HOV lanes called "bike lanes." They are special lanes that are reserved for us and our "morally superior behavior" and I'd say most of the time (about 98%), they are clear and unobstructed lanes just for us to use.
<br />
I break traffic laws here and there (a lot more than I should), but I certainly think that any dumb shit that happens because I'm doing that would be MY fault and if I got a ticket, I'd think to myself "nice move dumbass!" If we lived in a society where everyone got to decide if the moral value of their behavior required them to obey laws or not, we'd be in, oh wait, I guess we kind of are in that sort of world, and I know when I see some asshole in a car driving down the shoulder on the Kennedy in stopped traffic I don't assume it's because they are giving an underprivileged grandma a ride to the clinic, I think it's just because they are some kind of typical jerk who thinks they are more important than everyone else.<br />
<br />
I ride about 6-ish days a week and drive my car about once a week for a consolidated grocery/errand running day and it's irritating as hell to sit in an endless line of cars because I'm used to whipping by them all day long and I'm instantly jealous of anyone I see on a bike while I'm stewing in traffic, so I can certainly empathize with drivers who find it a bit maddening to see bikers blasting through lights and stop signs. I think many of them should give it a try and maybe they'll find that it improves a lot of things in their daily lives, but I don't think we'll get anywhere by each deciding which traffic laws we should be following while expecting the endless sea of cars to follow all of them.<br />
<br />
You have to change laws first, like the great statute in Iowa (Idaho), that was mentioned before, then do what the new law says. Alternately, you can break laws like many of us do each day and just take your medicine should it every come along and be administered.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<cite>Tony Adams said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=5#2211490Comment111971"><div>No. I don't insist on different treatment because we are better or morally superior citizens, but because we are engaged in better or morally superior behavior. There is a huge difference.<br/> <br/> As Dan M notes it will be tough sell. But it is not a ground breaking concept. What is the HOV lane? A special lane on a freeway reserved for those who are engaging in the morally superior act of car-pooling or riding a motorcycle. Do some drivers stuck in the regular schlub lanes resent it when a car-pool whizzes by in the HOV lane? Sure. This is the same resentment that lots of drivers feel when a bike sails through a red light that Dan M also mentions.
What about tax incentives for green home improvements or motor vehicles? Or the contrary, excise taxes loaded upon cigarettes? All of these are versions of the same concept.<br />
<br />
<cite>Duppie said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=5&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A111960&x=1#2211490Comment111958"><div>So you demand different laws mainly on the fact that cyclists are somehow better, morally superior citizens? That's funny.<br/></div>
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</blockquote> If you're out driving or biki…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-24:2211490:Comment:1128562009-08-24T12:26:39.220ZActive Transportation Alliancehttps://thechainlink.org/profile/ActiveTransportationAlliance
If you're out driving or biking tonight, here's some advance warning about yielding to pedestrians:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-evening-crosswalk-stings.html">http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-even...</a><br />
<br />
I'm sure this is mainly targeted to motorists, but the law says bikes should also yield to pedestrians at mid-block crosswalks.<br />
<br />
Ethan, with Active Trans
If you're out driving or biking tonight, here's some advance warning about yielding to pedestrians:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-evening-crosswalk-stings.html">http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-even...</a><br />
<br />
I'm sure this is mainly targeted to motorists, but the law says bikes should also yield to pedestrians at mid-block crosswalks.<br />
<br />
Ethan, with Active Trans Tony,
Poorly enforced though…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-22:2211490:Comment:1125392009-08-22T17:01:06.234ZJason Wardhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/JasonWard
Tony,<br />
<br />
Poorly enforced though they may be, we have our own HOV lanes called "bike lanes." They are special lanes that are reserved for us and our "morally superior behavior" and I'd say most of the time (about 98%), they are clear and unobstructed lanes just for us to use.<br />
<br />
I break traffic laws here and there (a lot more than I should), but I certainly think that any dumb shit that happens because I'm doing that would be MY fault and if I got a ticket, I'd think to myself "nice move dumbass!"…
Tony,<br />
<br />
Poorly enforced though they may be, we have our own HOV lanes called "bike lanes." They are special lanes that are reserved for us and our "morally superior behavior" and I'd say most of the time (about 98%), they are clear and unobstructed lanes just for us to use.<br />
<br />
I break traffic laws here and there (a lot more than I should), but I certainly think that any dumb shit that happens because I'm doing that would be MY fault and if I got a ticket, I'd think to myself "nice move dumbass!" If we lived in a society where everyone got to decide if the moral value of their behavior required them to obey laws or not, we'd be in, oh wait, I guess we kind of are in that sort of world, and I know when I see some asshole in a car driving down the shoulder on the Kennedy in stopped traffic I don't assume it's because they are giving an underprivileged grandma a ride to the clinic, I think it's just because they are some kind of typical jerk who thinks they are more important than everyone else.<br />
<br />
I ride about 6-ish days a week and drive my car about once a week for a consolidated grocery/errand running day and it's irritating as hell to sit in an endless line of cars because I'm used to whipping by them all day long and I'm instantly jealous of anyone I see on a bike while I'm stewing in traffic, so I can certainly empathize with drivers who find it a bit maddening to see bikers blasting through lights and stop signs. I think many of them should give it a try and maybe they'll find that it improves a lot of things in their daily lives, but I don't think we'll get anywhere by each deciding which traffic laws we should be following while expecting the endless sea of cars to follow all of them.<br />
<br />
You have to change laws first, like the great statute in Iowa (Idaho), that was mentioned before, then do what the new law says. Alternately, you can break laws like many of us do each day and just take your medicine should it every come along and be administered.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<cite>Tony Adams said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?id=2211490%3ATopic%3A111729&page=5#2211490Comment111971"><div>No. I don't insist on different treatment because we are better or morally superior citizens, but because we are engaged in better or morally superior behavior. There is a huge difference.<br/> <br/>
As Dan M notes it will be tough sell. But it is not a ground breaking concept. What is the HOV lane? A special lane on a freeway reserved for those who are engaging in the morally superior act of car-pooling or riding a motorcycle. Do some drivers stuck in the regular schlub lanes resent it when a car-pool whizzes by in the HOV lane? Sure. This is the same resentment that lots of drivers feel when a bike sails through a red light that Dan M also mentions.<br/>
<br/>
What about tax incentives for green home improvements or motor vehicles? Or the contrary, excise taxes loaded upon cigarettes? All of these are versions of the same concept.<br/>
<br/>
<cite>Duppie said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/speed-trap-alert-where-there?page=5&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A111960&x=1#2211490Comment111958"><div>So you demand different laws mainly on the fact that cyclists are somehow better, morally superior citizens? That's funny.<br/></div>
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</blockquote> Wow, I wonder if every driver…tag:thechainlink.org,2009-08-20:2211490:Comment:1121872009-08-20T23:27:28.761ZRyan Lhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/RyanL
Wow, I wonder if every driver and cyclist in Chicago had to watch this video and pass a test on it, if that would help change things for the better?<br />
<br />
Now I want to memorize all the codes so that when someone nearly kills me I can yell something like "MCC-9-80-035 Mofo, MCC-9-80-035!"
Wow, I wonder if every driver and cyclist in Chicago had to watch this video and pass a test on it, if that would help change things for the better?<br />
<br />
Now I want to memorize all the codes so that when someone nearly kills me I can yell something like "MCC-9-80-035 Mofo, MCC-9-80-035!"