tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post5944110235975739905..comments2023-08-16T06:44:41.792-05:00Comments on Gotta Be Gritty: BREAKIN THE LAWnotquitealibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165701714584254319noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-39706231360606151802010-08-07T12:48:53.672-05:002010-08-07T12:48:53.672-05:00The third and final reading of the new Memphis bic...The third and final reading of the new Memphis bicycle ordinances occurred on May 11, 2010. Despite the amendments to law, I was stopped and cited on my 1 mile commute under three old ordinances by Officer Hughes and Officer Donovan on S. Main St. Evidently these officers don't have an updated code of ordinances.<br /><br />Two of the citations were for the egregious offenses of riding without a reflector (in the daylight) and riding without a bell. The other offense was riding too far from the curb. I hazard a guess that Officers Hughes and Donovan have never fallen on the trolley rails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-56243800892000162522010-06-01T18:07:52.774-05:002010-06-01T18:07:52.774-05:00This is the continuation of a fine tradition by po...This is the continuation of a fine tradition by police departments all over the country of harassing cyclists. The best (or worst) example is the cop in New York who attacked a cyclist during a Critical Mass ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWjSOVDyUJ4<br /><br />I hope you're going to do something about this incident, like bring it to the attention of every person in authority you can. I suggest you contact the police department's legal adviser (dealing directly with the police brass will probably be a waste of time, since they're in the business of defending their people, almost no matter what they do). The MPD's lawyer, though, needs to understand the department is fucked up when it comes to cyclists, because they're going to have a major problem with liability if they don't change.<br /><br />B the way, you do know, I assume, that you probably have a lawsuit (if you wanted to pursue it) against the MPD for false arrest and a violation of your civil rights. It's probably a bigger pain in the ass than you want to incur, but think about it anyway.<br /><br />New bicycle laws aren't worth the paper they're written on if the folks who enforce the law don't even know what it is, and worse harass the beneficiaries of those laws.<br /><br />Good luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-40813831736227126272010-05-31T10:20:35.416-05:002010-05-31T10:20:35.416-05:00wow, that is hella fucked up...wow, that is hella fucked up...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-17106439513015485422010-05-28T21:45:17.033-05:002010-05-28T21:45:17.033-05:00i feel your pain. i actually got hit by an underco...i feel your pain. i actually got hit by an undercover in New Orleans and he threatened to arrest me and make me pay for his car(?!?) if i didnt ride off and pretend nothing happened.i was on a cruiser and he was in an suv, so my bike looked like a fucking boomerang, and before i knew what happened, he was zooming off in his car. i think i need to get a rear rack with an attorney riding on it hahaKenny Sharberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03332404255909731641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-20365950038805045552010-05-27T15:21:27.070-05:002010-05-27T15:21:27.070-05:00I think Cara summed it up pretty nicely. And yeah...I think Cara summed it up pretty nicely. And yeah, thanks for the fixed gear clause, Cort. The only reason I wasn't carrying around a copy of the laws to begin with is because I thought it would hurt my case, seeing as other people have tried to say that being able to lock up the back wheel counts as a brake, but been ticketed anyway.notquitealibrarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12165701714584254319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-54165534136481780712010-05-27T15:00:08.636-05:002010-05-27T15:00:08.636-05:00That story is awesome! And thanks for the fixed g...That story is awesome! And thanks for the fixed gear consideration. We thought he might try and get us for that, since all of us were riding brakeless, but dude was totally oblivious. I like the part about acrobatic riding. They definitely wrote on Charles's citation something about wheelie-ing off a curb, but apparently that's okay! I like the yielding at red lights parts too, because we have been pulled over for that in the past also. We for sure were not breaking any laws; we all had lights and were in the right lane of traffic when he pulled us over. This is awesome, and now that I know brakeless fixed is allowed, I'm always going to have a copy with me. But it's also kind of a dream. Cops don't care about this and are still going to pull us over, whether or not they actually know the law, because they want a reason to mess with us. The law is on our side, but the city isn't, and pulling out a copy of these codes will only make the police more angry and cause them to give us ridiculous charges, like "obstructing traffic". Thanks for helping update the cycling laws, but how can we change people's minds?Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02197905963964553739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-8233590589974725882010-05-27T09:13:10.465-05:002010-05-27T09:13:10.465-05:00I feel for you. My phone was hiding from me and I ...I feel for you. My phone was hiding from me and I didn't get the message until this morning. A similar situation happened to me as I was on my way to work one morning. I was in the left turn lane on McLean at Union when an officer pulled up and told me I needed to get out of the intersection. I backed up thinking that I was too far forward and he says, "No, you can't ride your bike in the street." After I told him that I was lawfully allowed to be there I offered to follow him to the precinct right down the street to show him the law. We pulled out the law book and he begins reading 'bicycles are subject to the rules and rights of automobiles' and this big 'Oh' comes out of his mouth and he keeps reading 'shall ride as far right as practicable' and says to me, "See, you were in the left turn lane, you can't be there." To which I reply, "Keep reading." He continues, "Except under the following conditions: when overcoming a slower moving vehicle or when making a left hand turn." Another big 'Oh'. We debated the finer points of traffic until I dropped Councilman Shea Flinn's name, who just sponsored an resolution updating the bicycle laws. Then he backed off.<br /><br />For that updated ordinance view this file, pg 9-14: http://www.cityofmemphis.org/pdf_forms/documents_041310.pdf<br /><br />The way to make this better is to join the community organizations who are already working for it such as Walk Bike Memphis which meets at Otherlands every 2nd Monday at 5:30pm. This group was instrumental in rewriting the bike laws that you just read. <br /><br />And you can thank me for making sure the fixed gear clause got in there.Corthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00489169424242784429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3679263485938642091.post-82663533308882547512010-05-27T09:11:43.007-05:002010-05-27T09:11:43.007-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Corthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00489169424242784429noreply@blogger.com