I had a friend in high school who got ticketed for running a stop sign on a bicycle. He intended to go to law school. He showed up in court and argued that bicycles weren’t subject to the Nevada Revised Statutes. The Judge gave him four weeks to write a report on what laws governed bicycles. Turned out that everything except the vehicle equipment sections of the Motor Vehicle Code applied to any vehicle operated in the public right of way.
That is the way it is in NJ. A bicyclist needs an audible mechanical sounding device, and reflectors at all times, lights at night. Bicyclists also have to obey all the same laws as a motorist, with one exemption a bicycle can ride in the sidewalk. I NYC a sidewalk is off limits to a bicycle but not a unicycle.
I would've been absolutely shocked if he had really been exempted from NRS. Next door here in CA in the mandatory driver's ed for teenagers they teach the bicycle rules and explain in layman's term which of the laws apply to them and it's nearly all of them. They also teach it to younger kids in grade school but more rudimentary for riding one to school.
@@matthewhall5571 Wow teaching useful information for daily life. Good job CA. History, Sociology, and such are great, but kids don't care about them. Adults do. So they don't pay attention and don't learn well. Also while they may provide lessons and enrich a person, they generally aren't highly tranferrable to daily life. Spending time on thing they really will use in regular life is so often skipped. How about how businesses work, osha and job safety, credit, loans, and other basic finances, stocks, insurance, copyright and patents, towing trailers, securing loads, basic home maintenance and repair, gardening, employment rules, taxes, etc. Life skills. Does anyone else think it is odd that we are all expected to obey the laws, but never taught what they are?
@@court2379 We aren't taught 'what they are' because there is too much law on the books today for everyone to know every single law on the books. That speaks to it is time to PRUNE the legal books quite substantially... like 90%.
I was on my bike one day just cruising around and wanted to check on the progress of a construction project down on Rt 68. I rode passed the sign warning about the construction ahead down to the site were a policeman got out of his car and started reading me the Riot Act. He threatened me with tickets for riding on a closed road, he said I could be arrested for my crime, he turned beet red with anger. (And your little dog too , my pretty) He did let me go with a stern warning , verbal. Confused I rode back out and checked the sign at the end of the road , it said BRIDGE OUT AHEAD 1 MILE not ROAD CLOSED Thankfully I had Officer Karen to help me understand the English language
I don't know Bridge closed or bridge out means that the bridge is not functioning which would then automatically mean the road is not functioning or open seems pretty cut-and-dry to me
I grew up in a small town, and my grandpa owned the only bike shop in town. In that capacity, his shop was usually the second place visited (after the doctor or E.R.) following bike accidents. It was amazing how many kids got badly injured and bikes got badly damaged by riding double, especially when the passenger was sitting on the handlebars.
A few years ago we were in New Jersey near NYC and I am reading in the paper about a blind person seriously injured on a path in Central Park by a bicyclist going a high speed. That pedestrian was Richard Bernstein from the personal negligence law firm we see in advertising every day. Richard was in the hospital for ten weeks. He filed a lawsuit against NYC for negligence.
In the 90's a coworker was given a ticket for speeding on a bicycle. We were sure he'd be exonerated when he went to court. He still had to pay. But those of us who worked with him were absolutely impressed that he reached 40 mph on a bicycle.
I once had a car damaged by a bicyclist who ran a stop sign. I hadn't even seen him before he plowed into the side of my car on his bicycle. As he went down after he hit me, my first concern was whether the rider was injured. He said he was alright, and that it was his fault, and went on his way. After I got home, I discovered a dent in the rear door on the side the bicycle had hit. I hadn't gotten any information from the rider (and besides, who carries liability insurance on a bicycle?), so I was SOL as far as recovering anything from him. The damage was cosmetic only, so I ended up never getting it repaired.
Went through the top of "T" intersection on a red light riding a bike: $450 ticket, and was informed that regardless of the bike lane being striped through and the fact that no cars would be impeded, one must stop for the red. On another occasion, several of us crested a major hill on tandem bikes and we started cranking hard. We were caught on RADAR just a short way down at 55 MPH in a 45 zone. Motorcycle officer chased us down to enthusiastically inform us of our feat; no ticket, no warning. Location: So. Calif.
A speed skater friend was clocked at 55 in a 35 skating down a mountain. He went to traffic school and answered honestly when asked why he was there. Instructor demanded to see the ticket. Satisfied that he had indeed received a speeding ticket on rollerblades the instructor signed his papers and told him he was free to go.
Many moons ago when I was considerably younger and in good physical condition, a friend of mine and I rode a 50 mile "fun" run on his Cannondale tandem in 2 hours. My legs were useless for at least an hour afterward.
A few years ago I was riding one of my common road routes, when I spotted some county police on the side of the road, one with a radar gun and another one waving cars over, that they had caught speeding. Of course, as I rode by, they "clocked" me. With a big smile, the cop complimented me, announcing I had been doing 22 mi/h. I think the limit there was about 40, so he was just having a little fun. I thanked him for the speedometer check and rode on. It was a fairly good, somewhat downhill stretch, or I wouldn't have reached that speed. I would have, a few decades ago, and even nowadays I still get up to around 30 - 35 on seriously downhill segments, but I haven't hit 40 or over in about 15 years now. Fred
I know a guy that got pulled over by the police for doing like 40 in a residential area. They told him, "Don't think that just because you're on a bicycle, we can't give you a ticket. Slow down!" This happened in Clawson MI, many years ago.
12 years ago I was ticketed for speeding on my bike by the Nat. Park police/ranger at Saratoga National Battlefield Park. The speed limit on the park tour road is 15mph I was doing 31. The person I used to ride that road with every morning, was a NYS trooper. We both got tickets. Bicycle riders have had several deer- bike crashes on that road. (as well as running into closed gates early AM before the park opens) The county sheriff deputy's regularly ticket cyclists for stop sign and red light violations.
I know someone that was picked up for a warrant for "driving with due care on a bicycle." I also know someone cited for making an illegal right turn on a bicycle into a 7-11 parking lot. When law enforcement wants to mess with you they really don't need a reason. This is America, we have allowed anyone with a badge to make their own rules.
1970 at age 14 I received my first citation. I was ticketed on my bicycle for 'crossing private property to avoid a traffic control device'. I had cut behind a gas station and there was a traffic light at the intersection. Thought my dad would kill me. But dad was a truck driver, so he took the ticket to his lawyer and that was the last it was ever heard of.
Yeah.. that seems a bit out of place .. Though I see lots of bicyclist around campus here, switch between "pedestrian" and vehicle anytime they see a benefit. Ride on road, cut to a crosswalk on red to keep going, then back to the road seamlessly.. join pedestrians crossing a road to make a left turn on red then resume road driving... So while I don't think you really deserved a ticket, some people do.
Wait a minute, the bike speed limit is 12.5 MPH? That doesn't make sense. I used to be an elite long distance runner. When out for just a maintenance run, I would run at a 7 minute mile pace, which is 8.6 miles per hour. If I was doing faster pace training, I'd typically run 6 minute miles, which is 10 mph. During. competitive event, I could hold a 4.5 minute per mile pace for about 18 miles, which is a 13.3 mph pace. Sounds like I'd have received a ticket in Toronto.
I believe it was on a trail shared with pedestrians. A lot of seniors walk these paths and many are hearing impaired. Also there are people with toddlers and baby carriages. As a mute point the limit was converted from 20 KPM which is why 12.5 MPH sounds weird.
The problem isn't the speed of the cyclist it's the walkers not sharing the path by keeping to one side. If you aren't allowing someone faster to pass, even another walker, then you are the problem. Common sense...
@@flyerbry There are plenty of clueless cyclists out there, but the average pedestrian is oblivious. No matter where you are, if it's in a place where you drive on the right the same "slower traffic keep right" rule should be SOP.
Yeah, the bike indication thing you mentioned around 5:40, you don't necessarily have to use the raised right hand for left turn or raised left hand for right turn. You have to CLEARLY indicate what you're doing. Your using the right hand straight out for right turns and left hand straight out for left turns is definitely clear.
Maybe this is the cause of all the frustration with police these days. The police can't tell a complaint from a positive response! You say f**k you, they hear thank you!
The city of Huntington Beach hands out a lots of speeding tickets to people on bikes and skates who are down on the boardwalk. The killer of it is that the tickets are points on your driving record! 😮
1975 have a downhill 45 mph into an s curve with 25 mph warning. I was 15 with a new 10 speed. Clocked at 51 mph, lost control and slid down a water filled ditch. No ticket but got a lecture from the cop about speeding, reckless driving, driving on the wrong side and blocking a road with the 8 friends that were watching or being lookouts.
My grandfather emigrated to this country from Belarus in 1906. He was processed through Ellis Island, and settled in Harlem with his parents. He was a noted bike racer and coach, and founding member of the Century Road Club. He told me many stories of being ticketed for speeding on his racing bikes back in the day, particularly while heading down the long hill on Amsterdam Avenue from Harlem into Midtown Manhattan.
Okay, this brings back an old memory while I was in the Air Force. I was late to a dentist appointment after duty hours. I was in civilian clothes riding my bike. I got stopped doing 32 in a 25 zone. The guy didn't know how to write me up so he let me go with a warning. As a former officer, I didn't have the heart to tell him to write it the normal way. I called my supervisor when I got home and told him about it. The next morning after my Colonel was at the morning base wide commanders meeting, he came into my office. His question was how did I get stopped doing 32 on a bicycle with cast on my foot with my cane bungeed to the handlebars. We all had a good laugh about it. But all is not over. Same thing but was stopped doing 27 in a 20 mph zone about 2 weeks later. Again, same thing, on my way to the dentist. Word came to me directly from the base 2 star commander, slow down! MSgt David R. Smyth, USAF, Ret.
While on a business trip in Golden Colorado, I saw a cop using a radar gun to clock cyclist on a path that is shared with joggers and pedestrians. I mentioned this when I got back to the facility I was visiting and another person there said they had received a speeding ticket while running on the same path.
On the point of cyclists blowing reds and stop signs, I also sometimes hear "Well if I blow a stop sign and get hit, I'm the one getting hurt." Well what about the damage to the car, and the psychological damage to the driver.
The hipster clown that blasted into a 4 way stop at the bottom of a hill and destroyed the front end of my motorcycle tried yelling at me about bicycles having "right of way" before eventually running off leaving his wrecked bicycle. Cost me around 1k for his idiocy.
As a kid growing up in the D, kids got jobs at the local stores and delivered 2 bags of groceries, one in each hand. Things have changed since the 50s. Also had a CDL classmate who got a ticket for speeding. He was on a bike, coasting downhill. Not only did it end up carrying the weight of a moving violation, but it also counted against his CDL. Naturally, that was there (I think he was in California at the time), and then (about 10 years ago). Your mileage may vary.
Answering before I watch: 100% yes - bicycles are required to comply with road vehicle legislation. I once got a ticket *and 3 demerit points* for biking through a red light.
There's an old law in the UK, Offences Against the Person Act, 1861 and cyclists have been prosecuted under this law for "wanton & furious riding" and could suffer a 2 year sentence.
are you serious? here they have whats called a arizona stop law that says no stop unless theres another vehicle at that intersection .. stupid law gonna get idiots hurt who dont understand how that works
@@commanderjank9060 We have the same thing in Massachusetts. Every law except needing a driver's license applies to cyclists, and reflects on your driving record and insurance. Including DUI, so you can lose your license for drunken cycling. Enforcement is erratic, however; in the cities the traffic laws are almost never enforced on cyclists, but in the suburban and rural towns they are often strictly enforced. Outside of cities a lot of people, including a lot of cops, have a real hate for cyclists on the roads.
I live near a large university campus in Florida that has a 20mph speed limit campus wide. Florida law states that all bicycles on the road have traffic laws applied to them in the same way that all other vehicles have. Many tickets are given for running stop signs (at $257 a pop) and there are a number of instances of bicycles being stopped for speeding on campus roads and receiving speeding tickets. What I do not know is whether or not a speeding ticket on a bicycle incurs points on your license.
I got speeding tickets twice bicycling as a kid. Went to court and asked the judge, "How would I know how fast I was going?" Answer: it was my responsibility to know. First offense was 42 mph, second was 37 mph. Both were on the same major arterial posted at 25 mph on a 300 foot high hill. The city code said arterials should be posted at 30 or 35 mph. Got fined the first time, but the second time I got a pass because the speed signs were not in compliance. I didn't get a speedometer until I was in college, but got pretty good at estimating speeds. (This was in an Oregon suburb.)
I was going to comment about this. I'm not a cyclist, but do they have speedometers? Are they required to in that area? If not, how are they supposed to know if they're below the limit if they have no way to measure it? Being careful of pedestrians is fine, but I'm just wondering if this is legally enforceable.
@@fllthdcrb Like ignorance of the law, ignorance of your speed is no excuse. And nowadays virtually every serious rider has a bicycle computer that tells them all sorts of useful stuff, including speed.
In that area on that bike path sidewalk a cyclist smashed into an old lady and broke both her legs. So that is why the police are there enforcing safety.
When we're talking about safety for people on bikes yielding is generally safer than full stops at stop signs. The main reason is that coming to a full stop makes it so you stay in the road a lot longer than otherwise making you way more vulnerable to cars. People on bikes also don't have the blindspots that drivers do, making yielding at stop signs a lot safer than when cars do the same. This is why some places have a special exception for bikes (usually with signage under the stop sign if it's not well known yet) allowing them to yield instead of stop. Here in Oregon I believe it's called something like the "Stop as Yield" law for bikes. Well specifically it's actually the exemption to ORS 811.265 that's listed in the beginning of ORS 814.416. Stop as Yield is the nickname though.
When I used to teach new motorcycle riders, I would always have someone say "but I have the right of way". I would tell them they were correct it they should have that engraved on their headstone.....
In my experience, motorcyclists are better drivers than cyclists. Because cyclists are so bad, I have to keep an eye out for them. That helps me in seeing motorcyclists too.
Around here and everywhere I suppose... we have guys I call "Lance Armstrong wannabes". Ya know, dudes on racing bikes kitted out in biking shorts barreling along the side streets at high speeds.. I cringe when I see them cruise through stop signs without slowing. Not that I'm above doing that myself... but at my age, it's hard enough to get up to "not fall over speed", and it pains me to give up the momentum built up. :-)
We have a pack like that around our local bike paths, someone of them ( a lot of them) go as far getting the clip on pedals/shoes, so many don't do stops signs...
More than a few decades ago, another scout in my Boy Scout Troop was pulled over and given a ticket for doing 45 in a 30MPH zone. He was trying out his brand new 15 speed bike.
As a cyclist, who has used multiuse paths, I'm confident that there have been a number of incidents where pedestrians have been struck or nearly struck by other cyclists who don't want to ride nice and go too fast.. pedestrians complain to the city and the higher ups tell PD.. do something...
There was a similar dynamic where I went to college. There were a fair number of bicycle pedestrian accidents, but the campus cops responded by issuing stop sign tickets an an intersection with a four way stop on campus with mostly car and bicycle traffic. I got one of these tickets, and the fine was a whopping $3.00 (late seventies, so that was more money then than now, but still not really much of a hardship even for a broke college student). I think they bumped the fine to $6.00 for a second offense, but I never got a second ticket. The real problem, IMO, was that people insisted on riding bicycles in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic where they shouldn't have even been allowed to ride. I found after awhile, that since most classes were within about a three or four block radius, and that area had a lot of walking traffic between classes, that it was actually quicker to ride from where I lived to the central campus area, and walk between classes. Riding between classes meant that I had to unlock the bike, ride to my destination, mostly at walking speed due to the heavy walking traffic, then find an open rack space near my destination, lock the bike. As riding generally didn't allow any more speed than walking, it took less time to walk.
Don't forget people farting too loudly, people breathing too much oxygen or better yet sitting on a toilet too long or taking more than a 10 second shower. We live in a very sick and depraved world at this point and it's only going to get worse unfortunately.
In Ontario Canada bike laws are the same as cars in the highway traffic act. There are additional laws governing bikes that do not apply to cars. Towns may also have their own by-laws governing bikes. From what I read cyclists can not be charged with speeding but can be charged with careless operation of a bike. The fines are the same for both cars and bikes.
Yes you can. And it happened to me in Stoney Creek Park, which as you know is in Michigan. I was cited for going 31 mph in a 25 mph. This was in 1979, cost $25. I have commuted by bicycle for years around the Detroit area, not a real safe proposition I can say. I know people that have been cited for running stops, hogging the entire lane (impeding) and one idiot of getting a DUI on his bicycle. Riding drunk down the middle of John R at 2:45am will earn you that for sure.
If bikes have a “right to the road” they also have the duty follow the rules and stay safe. I have seen many bicyclists who behave dangerously in traffic.
Austin Tillman and..given the money spent on bike lanes, the should pay for a license plate. About a hundred times what a powered vehicle would pay, seeing as they aren’t paying any fuel taxes.
john blankenship that might be a good idea in some contexts but I think the primary purpose of bike lanes in some cities is to relieve traffic congestion so that would de-incentivize people to use bikes. And bikes do almost no wear to the roads so they are better for road maintenance as well.
@@620john620 I bought a bike at a Police auction for $6 and you want me to pay $10,000 for a licence plate? For that kind of money I could buy a one ton truck and run you off the road! You're not too bright are you? Remember, bike owners also pay property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and all the other taxes too. They pay for those bike paths! They have a right to use them! Get over it! Go cry somewhere else! You're a big baby!
In the early 80s when I was a bicycle messenger in the nation's capital, I got a triple-banger of moving violations (on a bicycle) issued by Washington, D.C. police for running two read lights and fleeing and eluding. No other messenger at my agency had ever before been charged with fleeing and eluding, so we celebrated with beer after the workday was done.
My dad told me when he was growing up in the 60s he got a speeding ticket on a bike in a school zone. He didn't have a driver's license and they impounded his bike. The cost of getting the bike back was about triple the cost of a brand new bike so he just bought a new one.
I enjoyed your bicycle video. I used to commute to work by bicycle. Your video reminded me of a couple of stories I read in Bicycling Magazine many years ago. In one, they said that among serious bicyclists a speeding ticket is a prized trophy. I realize you said that is not the current law in Michigan but this many years ago and I don’t know what particular state they were talking about. In another story, a man got a ticket while riding his bicycle. I don’t think it was speeding but some other traffic violation. He went to court because they were going to put points on his license. He explained to the judge that he was riding a bicycle. The judge looked at the citation and noted that it said he was driving a Peugeot. He said that’s right - it’s a Peugeot bicycle.
Here in Switzerland there is no speed limit for bicycles as they are not required to have speedometers as standard equipment by law ! but they have to obey the law of due care or attention towards other "road users" The new rage of electric bakes have cyclists travelling at up to 45 km per hr and weaving in and out of traffic at these speeds and especially when wet is very dangerous and is not giving due care to other road users. Main problem is the 20 and 30 KM/ hr streets which are shared with pedestrians .
This happened at the Great Lakes Naval Training Base, North of Chicago, IL, back in the mid 1970's. A friend got his bicycle impounded for speeding until he graduated from the six weeks of training he was attending. He was going with a strong wind and told me later that he was stopped by the Naval police for going 35 in a 20 MPH zone.
@@randomvideosn0where It being Canada, I assume Steve has translated 20km/h into mph. I wouldn't be worried about joggers at that speed. That pace is more appropriate for a world-champion long-distance runner or maybe a high-school middle distance hopeful. I know (because I've tried) that I couldn't hit that pace at a flat sprint.
We used to get speeding citations for speeding on roller blades in San Diego CA in the early 90’s. They found a new revenue device and embraced it quickly.
A few states such as SC allow Bicyclists, Moped/scooter users and even Motorcyclists to Drive through a red light, based on the fact that your vehicle may not have enough mass or magnetic field to trip or trigger the device used to change light signals. You still have to stop and wait a reasonable time, afterwards you have to determine if it is safe to do so and if so you may proceed with caution through the red light, During traffic hours someone else's vehicle will usually trigger it for you but in light or no traffic you don't have to sit there and wait as long as you do it safely.
@@ScubaSteveCanada Fortunately, the law doesn't care about your opinion. (And if you can't control a bicycle one-handed at a corner then you're either going too fast or you shouldn't be riding a bicycle.)
@@YourWifesBoyfriend Steve displays a $100 bill in each video. Sometimes it is more hidden than others, but it is always there. It's a reward for the person who can present him with an actual Supreme Court ruling that states that no drivers license is required. In this video it's laying across the top of the Tucker (second from the left) car model. It's a game with some to be the first to find the $100.
I've known several people who got speeding tickets on bicycles. Some were drafting behind semi trailers. My favorite...a mature neighbor was on a relatively long, steep hill ..his hand brakes could barely slow him down. On his right, a cliff. His left, oncoming traffic. He saw the lights in his mirror, could not stop until he got to the bottom and started on the uphill slope. 65 in a 35 zone.
Some years ago I was on a casual recreational weekly club ride through a residential neighborhood on a decent-quality touring bike. One week one or more person(s) scattered a couple of boxes of thumbtacks on a long downhill stretch of our route. A dozen riders had one or two flats each, one crashed badly as a result. On an unrelated point, while I have never raced seriously on a velodrome, I have mastered the 'track stand' on my touring bike, my road bike, and my tandem.
Were I used to live the local police tried to give two bicyclists DUIs and take their Drivers license. But the law said Motor Vehicle. They did get them for public intoxication.
@@NikoBellaKhouf then they must have an expanded law to include bicycles. Because if the law says motor vehicle and nothing else then they can't take your driver's licence. Also you don't need a license to ride a bike.
Bicycles used to be called Push Bikes (UK). One day a man I worked with was walking back to work along a pedestrian pavement (side walk?) when a cyclist came speeding along towards him so he stepped to the side and pushed him off. Maybe that is where the name originated.
Thanks for pointing out that bicycles on the "road ways" are required to follow laws of the roadways. I see so many clowns making turns with no signal, and especially not stopping for red lights or stop sings, with no regard for the danger to themselves. They seem to have never considered that a 40 pound bicycle with a 200 human on it will not win an argument with a 2 ton car.
I had a friend stopped for speeding. The officer let him go because he couldn't figure out how to make out a ticket for a bike. My top recorded speed is 53 mph, though the only time I've been pulled over was for not riding on the shoulder. It was perfectly legal as the shoulder was filled with debris. Turns out the police had been receiving complaints all day about cyclists riding in the road, there was an event and a bunch of idiots had been riding in groups taking up the entire lane on the highway. The police saw me and a friend and pulled us over to lecture us even though we were riding single file right on the line.
Disgraceful behavior --- fussing at totally-innocent people on bicycles while their buddy-buddy cronies and fellow cops are out roaring around in their cars and/or driving drunk! Police are mostly egotistical power-hungry bullying pigs who are out of touch with reality or what ordinary folks are reasonably capable of! Like I always say, law-enforcement people start out as pint-sized bullies in the nursery, pushing/hitting other kids and hogging their toys and stealing their snacks. Then they are the "troublesome kids" in grade school, social bullies in middle school, test-cheaters and soulmate-stealers in high school, etc. And then they go on to become cops, lawyers, judges, etc., so that they can go on dictatorially running roughshod over the rest of us hapless mortals who are just trying to get by!
If you ride on the sidewalk you need to walk your bike across intersections. More accidents occur between turning vehicles and bikes ridding in crosswalk than crossing on road.
Here in CA, my recollection is that the Vehicle Code refers to motor vehicles for some things and vehicles for others. Speed, red lights, etc generally refer to vehicles, as does DUI. Street racing only applies to motor vehicles, though, and there are very few equipment requirements in the daytime (in times of darkness, I believe lights are now required).
I think there is a lot of cyclist who think they own every inch where someone is allowed to walk. I have seen a few near events of violent from people walking when a cyclist almost hits them. Ticketing for speeding, not sure but they do need to be in their own areas and not competing with those who use the sidewalks and trails.
There are a lot of people, not just cyclists, who think this way. I ride a bike, and I see inconsiderate cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike. Walkers/runners are on the trails with ear buds in, so they may or may not be able to hear you when you call out "on your left" Or they will stop on the trail instead of getting off in the grass if they are going to have a conversation with their friend. Motorists will get mad when you stop at a 4 way stop and then expect to go when it is your turn per the rules of the road. And of course, cyclists also do dumb things like failure to signal or yield, and so on. They too can congregate blocking the trail and so on. The bottom line is some people are inconsiderate. After all, how many motorists do you notice impeding traffic by driving at the same speed as the car to the left of them. Or people who congregate in a door way having a conversation. Or the cyclist as described above.
I was briefly into cycling and know people who are very into it. There are few groups of people who feel more entitled than cyclists. They will complain to anyone who will listen about how they have a right to be on the road, how they have been wronged, how bad car drivers are, etc. Yet, when you point out that the constantly break the law by ignoring street signs, stop signs, yield signs, traffic lights, speed limits, etc they brush it off as insignificant. Between that and the constant threat of death in the DC Metro area for cyclists, I quickly stopped cycling.
Steve, we're about the same age. When I was a teen I could ride my bike from Cranbrook to the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop in Birmingham that no longer exists in under 11 minutes. What red light? No, I didn't go down Woodward. I went past the old mill pond and up Willit's hill! Try that in your Viper!
@@stevelehto That hill is a real leg burner. Lol. I used to ride out there via Normandy from Clawson everyday. I'd have to drop a mile and a half south to pick it up but it was safer with less traffic. Still have my bike, and a mountain bike I bought in 1987, still in great condition. The road bike, Haha, many many crashes.
Grand Rapids Michigan in 1980. Christopher Jeffries (local artist who won awards at Festival of the Arts) recieved a speeding ticket on Plainfield Ave. north of 3mile road while drafting a city bus. 43 mph in a 35mph zone. RIP my friend.
Have the police calibrated the guns to work on bicycles? I can remember examples where UK police got false readings off nearby objects and buildings because of poor aim at cars and calibrating their equipment poorly and a bike is a much smaller target, with far fewer reflective surfaces.
A guy I went to high school with got a ticket for riding his 10-speed bike 55 in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. If you've ever been a pedestrian hit by a bicyclist, you'd know why they might need to be restricted. The husband of a judge in Boston, MA was in critical condition in a coma and almost died after being hit by a bike messenger. The city banned bike messengers after that. (no surprise).
Here in the Netherlands, there's is no speed limit for non-motorized bicycles. Electric bikes have a speed limit of 20 or 45 km/h. depending on the type of electric motor/petrol motor. Both have a license plate. blue for 20 km/h and yellow for 45 km/h.
One of the Marines stationed at the Marine barracks at NAS Whidbey Island got ticketed for going 50mph down the hill towards the front gate of the base.
The dog isn't a vehicle and by law dog owners are supposed to keep the dog on a leash so it sounds legal to me. That's not to say there aren't localities with a law making the practice illegal. Personally I wouldn't do it with my dog but depending on the size and temperament of the dog I can see where it could be done safely.
So I live near one of the busiest (and oldest) multi-use rail-trails in the country. (W&OD). There is no speed limit but there is a ban on racing or speed training. They don't usually patrol BUT if you hit a pedestrian and you're doing 15 mph or above or you're down on your tri-bars expect to get written up.
My friend growing up had a life goal of getting a speeding ticket on a bicycle. His best shot was downhill through a school zone doing ten over. The cop saw him, clocked him, laughed and waved.
South of Toronto is Lake Ontario and eventually St. Catharines, ON. And yes, in Ontario a bicycle is a vehicle. I know in one of the provinces I have lived in (Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) the proper way to signal a right turn is in the same fashion as the left signal. In Manitoba bicycles may cruise carefully through a stop sign if no traffic is coming close. Tough times never last but tough people do - sounds like a quote from Robert Schuller.
I had a situation 59 years ago with my brand new bike. My job throwing papers earned enough to replace my 9 year old one. 5 blocks from my house was an entrance to a highway, not strictly limited access, but not intersections at every street and we rode there regularly. Then on a Saturday morning I was riding, about a mile from home on my new, ONE SPEED bike, when I was stopped by a Kansas highway patrol officer. FOR SPEEDING. 57 in a 50. I didn't get a ticket, but I was told to slow down, even though I had been passed by several cars. About 12 to 18 months later they put up signs. No pedestrians, no bicycles, no animals led, ridden or driven.
I can see getting a ticket if your on a public path in a forest preserve, there's family's out there with children and dogs and some Yahoo come hauling ass from the other direction and there's a blind corner just smashes into these people and does serious damage, I've almost gotten hit by these morons walking down a side walk, so yeah they should get tickets
How do you know your speed? If you don't have a speedometer how would you know you're doing 20 or 25, or anything? I can't see how it could stand in court. In Ontario if a vehicle is manufactured without a seatbelt you are not required to wear one when driving. Law mandates all new vehicles have to have seatbelts but if you purchase an old one you are not required to add in a seatbelt and thus can drive freely without one. In a similar vein unless I am required to add in my own speedometer on a bicycle, how can I be expected to follow the laws around speeding on one?
I've had the reverse problem back when I lived in St Louis. There's a large park with parallel bicycle and pedestrian paths, and I'd always come roaring down the bicycle path to find some pedestrian chugging along, usually with headphones, totally ignoring the dedicated pedestrian path 6 feet away. Just as common would be a pair of baby carriages taking up the entirety of the bike path.
I'm biking a lot and I like to go fast and I don't really always follow the traffic laws;-) Having said that, cyclists are behaving like jerks quite often. This bothers me particularly on shared paths with pedestrians. Bikers should give pedestrians space, slow down when the path is crowded and should not startle pedestrians (especially elderly) by zooming past them at high speed with 2 inch distance. I'm absolutely supportive of police "educating" reckless bikers. If we wait until accidents happen due to reckless cyclist then we will get much stricter laws and limits on biking.
My dad got one when he was younger. Was going down one of the steepest hills in the city cop clocked him at 55 where the speed limit changed to 35 near the bottom of the hill.
It was a data collection program in order to determine if it would be cost effective to start ticketing cyclist. For instance if they determine on average they have enough violations to justify a dedicated government employee to monitor these paths and make enough to pay said employee and have excess to go in the public piggy bank. If you remember the legal limit B.A.C used to be .10 then for some reason it dropped to .08 and it was pushed by the federal government by telling state governments that if they didn't lower it to .08 those states would not receive federal funding. I'm sure a study of some sort was done to determine " hey look how much more revenue we could receive if we drop the B.A.C down .O2" clearly it had nothing to do with safety it simply and always about a money grab and control. But that's just my never to be humble opinion. And yes no one should drive while incapacitated or debilitated.
I think I remember relating this story on the last video which addressed cycling and speeding tickets, some years ago. I actually got pulled over for speeding on a bicycle. I was in Letchworth State Park in western NY, and was maybe 15 or 16 at the time. There's one particular steep hill with a 35mph auto limit where I could build up ridiculous speeds, with enough low-visibility turns that I really shouldn't have survived to adulthood. A park ranger once pulled me over there and claimed he'd clocked me at 47mph in a 35mph. No ticket, he said he'd never live it down at the station, but "...slow the [ahem] down, kid!" I still wonder to this day whether he'd actually clocked me, and whether a ticket would have had basis in the law.
About twenty years ago I began riding recumbent bicycles almost exclusively, and was dismayed to find a provision in the state vehicle code prohibiting operation of any bicycle "...built, equipped, or modified in such a manner as to cause the pedal in its lowermost position to be more than twelve inches above the ground." My long-wheelbase 'bent with 20-inch wheels front and rear barely passed the standard, but I wrote to my state representative pleading the case for my Bacchetta short wheelbase with 26-inch wheels front and rear wheels, pedal nearly two feet above the pavement. About a dozen "high-racers" showed up for 'bicycle day' for that legislative session, and we prevailed in having the height limit removed from the law.
I’m 51, live in texas all my life when i was kid growing up we were always taught to go against traffic theory was so you could see the on coming traffic face to face you see one another eye to eye. Then when my daughter got old enough rules changed to way your saying they are there. always wondered what changed this i always thought eye to eye was safe. Just saying thoughts
Going against traffic is for pedestrians since they are able to easily move to the side for oncoming traffic. Bikes move more like a car so they should travel in the direction of traffic.
Probably the old way was better for safety with low traffic. And that rule change, like no biking on sidewalks, seems like a rule important for safety in cities that gets applied everywhere.
It has todo with the total force in the event of a crash, if you are moving with traffic at 12mph and traffic is moving at 30mph the the net force of the crash is 18mph. If you are going against traffic although you have better visibility as a cyclist, the force is additive and the net crash would be 42mph which is much deadlier then one at 18mph
So you ride at 12 mph, the car is going 30 mph. When riding against car traffic, the head-on collision speed = 42 mph, death of the rider likely. Riding with traffic, collision speed = 18 mph, death very unlikely. There's the reason.
Calgary, AB has a very extensive paved pathway system. Speedlimits on it is 20 km/h. There has been times that they have radar enforced it, with tickets handed out, on the busy sections. Some even are cleared in the winter of snow, just like the roads. I have a speedometer on my bike, and my record is almost 70 km/h... but was in an 80 km/h road, going down a reasonably steep hill, pedalling hard (with lots of room to stop at the bottom for the light). I wonder what those in the cars were thinking about me almost getting up to speed!
Yup, it happens in northern NJ. Gliding freely downhill your inertia can result in a faster speed then posted for motor vehicles. Problem is no one ever owns a speedometer for bicycles.
Back in highschool, I was pulled over on my mountain bike, for doing 45 in a 25 zone. It didn't help that I was 3-4' off the ground going past the cop. I was coming down a very steep hill, and there were drain grates every block , which were nominally level, so the road dropped away at the downhill side of each drain. This made an awesome ramp on a few, and I had taken them at lower speeds without issues. This day I caught the largest one at absolute top speed, and there just happened to be a cop at the cross street intersection. This was not my first or last interaction with the cops in that town while on my bike, but was definitely memorable.
Steve I was up north on a twisty turny fall color type of road and as I topped a big hill in the Sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore a cyclist on a recumbent was wizzing his way downward doing maybe 50 or so....speed limit was I think 45 on that road, he slowed down a bit entering the next roller but yeah I could see a NP ranger lighting him up on a fast downhill run.
ABS is common iin NL on citybikes, it's mechanical though. There are several different types, roller drum brakes and others that have some extra springs on them, I haven't looked that carefully at them so not sure how they work, but I have tested some briefly.
I had a friend in high school who got ticketed for running a stop sign on a bicycle. He intended to go to law school. He showed up in court and argued that bicycles weren’t subject to the Nevada Revised Statutes. The Judge gave him four weeks to write a report on what laws governed bicycles. Turned out that everything except the vehicle equipment sections of the Motor Vehicle Code applied to any vehicle operated in the public right of way.
That is the way it is in NJ. A bicyclist needs an audible mechanical sounding device, and reflectors at all times, lights at night. Bicyclists also have to obey all the same laws as a motorist, with one exemption a bicycle can ride in the sidewalk.
I NYC a sidewalk is off limits to a bicycle but not a unicycle.
I would've been absolutely shocked if he had really been exempted from NRS. Next door here in CA in the mandatory driver's ed for teenagers they teach the bicycle rules and explain in layman's term which of the laws apply to them and it's nearly all of them. They also teach it to younger kids in grade school but more rudimentary for riding one to school.
@@matthewhall5571 Wow teaching useful information for daily life. Good job CA. History, Sociology, and such are great, but kids don't care about them. Adults do. So they don't pay attention and don't learn well. Also while they may provide lessons and enrich a person, they generally aren't highly tranferrable to daily life. Spending time on thing they really will use in regular life is so often skipped. How about how businesses work, osha and job safety, credit, loans, and other basic finances, stocks, insurance, copyright and patents, towing trailers, securing loads, basic home maintenance and repair, gardening, employment rules, taxes, etc. Life skills.
Does anyone else think it is odd that we are all expected to obey the laws, but never taught what they are?
@@court2379 Odd indeed...
@@court2379 We aren't taught 'what they are' because there is too much law on the books today for everyone to know every single law on the books.
That speaks to it is time to PRUNE the legal books quite substantially... like 90%.
I was on my bike one day just cruising around and wanted to check on the progress of a construction project down on Rt 68. I rode passed the sign warning about the construction ahead down to the site were a policeman got out of his car and started reading me the Riot Act. He threatened me with tickets for riding on a closed road, he said I could be arrested for my crime, he turned beet red with anger. (And your little dog too , my pretty) He did let me go with a stern warning , verbal.
Confused I rode back out and checked the sign at the end of the road , it said
BRIDGE OUT AHEAD 1 MILE not ROAD CLOSED Thankfully I had Officer Karen to help me understand the English language
If the officer had been black, would you refer to the officer by a derogatory black name?
Tokyo San, why do you assume the officer wasn't black?
There are times when people earn derogatory names fair 'n' square. What's skin color got to do with anything?
@Donny D Your definitely right, Karens come in all sorts of WIDE shapes and sizes.
I don't know Bridge closed or bridge out means that the bridge is not functioning which would then automatically mean the road is not functioning or open seems pretty cut-and-dry to me
I grew up in a small town, and my grandpa owned the only bike shop in town. In that capacity, his shop was usually the second place visited (after the doctor or E.R.) following bike accidents. It was amazing how many kids got badly injured and bikes got badly damaged by riding double, especially when the passenger was sitting on the handlebars.
Friend used to ride competitively. Getting a speeding ticket on a public road was considered a badge of honor - but that was for going 30/35/40+ mph.
Yep!
A few years ago we were in New Jersey near NYC and I am reading in the paper about a blind person seriously injured on a path in Central Park by a bicyclist going a high speed. That pedestrian was Richard Bernstein from the personal negligence law firm we see in advertising every day. Richard was in the hospital for ten weeks. He filed a lawsuit against NYC for negligence.
In the 90's a coworker was given a ticket for speeding on a bicycle. We were sure he'd be exonerated when he went to court. He still had to pay. But those of us who worked with him were absolutely impressed that he reached 40 mph on a bicycle.
I once had a car damaged by a bicyclist who ran a stop sign. I hadn't even seen him before he plowed into the side of my car on his bicycle. As he went down after he hit me, my first concern was whether the rider was injured. He said he was alright, and that it was his fault, and went on his way. After I got home, I discovered a dent in the rear door on the side the bicycle had hit. I hadn't gotten any information from the rider (and besides, who carries liability insurance on a bicycle?), so I was SOL as far as recovering anything from him. The damage was cosmetic only, so I ended up never getting it repaired.
They're those out there who would take the bicyclist to court
Even if the driver IS at fault, the cyclist is still the one injured or dead. Consider this epitaph: "Good thing it wasn't his fault."
Dead right.
Good thing it wasn't the cyclist fault INDEED, otherwise his insurance rate would skyrocket.
Dead right
Space Cadet :
His fault, or not, the dead guy's insurance rate is going to PLUMMET!
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
Went through the top of "T" intersection on a red light riding a bike: $450 ticket, and was informed that regardless of the bike lane being striped through and the fact that no cars would be impeded, one must stop for the red. On another occasion, several of us crested a major hill on tandem bikes and we started cranking hard. We were caught on RADAR just a short way down at 55 MPH in a 45 zone. Motorcycle officer chased us down to enthusiastically inform us of our feat; no ticket, no warning. Location: So. Calif.
A speed skater friend was clocked at 55 in a 35 skating down a mountain. He went to traffic school and answered honestly when asked why he was there. Instructor demanded to see the ticket. Satisfied that he had indeed received a speeding ticket on rollerblades the instructor signed his papers and told him he was free to go.
Many moons ago when I was considerably younger and in good physical condition, a friend of mine and I rode a 50 mile "fun" run on his Cannondale tandem in 2 hours. My legs were useless for at least an hour afterward.
A few years ago I was riding one of my common road routes, when I spotted some county police on the side of the road, one with a radar gun and another one waving cars over, that they had caught speeding. Of course, as I rode by, they "clocked" me. With a big smile, the cop complimented me, announcing I had been doing 22 mi/h. I think the limit there was about 40, so he was just having a little fun. I thanked him for the speedometer check and rode on.
It was a fairly good, somewhat downhill stretch, or I wouldn't have reached that speed. I would have, a few decades ago, and even nowadays I still get up to around 30 - 35 on seriously downhill segments, but I haven't hit 40 or over in about 15 years now.
Fred
I know a guy that got pulled over by the police for doing like 40 in a residential area. They told him, "Don't think that just because you're on a bicycle, we can't give you a ticket. Slow down!" This happened in Clawson MI, many years ago.
12 years ago I was ticketed for speeding on my bike by the Nat. Park police/ranger at Saratoga National Battlefield Park. The speed limit on the park tour road is 15mph I was doing 31. The person I used to ride that road with every morning, was a NYS trooper. We both got tickets. Bicycle riders have had several deer- bike crashes on that road. (as well as running into closed gates early AM before the park opens) The county sheriff deputy's regularly ticket cyclists for stop sign and red light violations.
I know someone that was picked up for a warrant for "driving with due care on a bicycle." I also know someone cited for making an illegal right turn on a bicycle into a 7-11 parking lot. When law enforcement wants to mess with you they really don't need a reason. This is America, we have allowed anyone with a badge to make their own rules.
& it's really disheartening when they're on a first name relationship with the judge & ask how "little" Timmy is doing.
Wait, they got a warrant for "driving *with* due care"? What, it was an area where they were SUPPOSED to drive recklessly?
I know someone who got a DUI (his second w/in a year) and his 'driver's' license revoked. He was riding his little sister's bicycle!
and most of them possess sub-standard IQ's
1970 at age 14 I received my first citation. I was ticketed on my bicycle for 'crossing private property to avoid a traffic control device'. I had cut behind a gas station and there was a traffic light at the intersection. Thought my dad would kill me. But dad was a truck driver, so he took the ticket to his lawyer and that was the last it was ever heard of.
Yeah.. that seems a bit out of place ..
Though I see lots of bicyclist around campus here, switch between "pedestrian" and vehicle anytime they see a benefit.
Ride on road, cut to a crosswalk on red to keep going, then back to the road seamlessly.. join pedestrians crossing a road to make a left turn on red then resume road driving...
So while I don't think you really deserved a ticket, some people do.
I used to do that too, but I'd hop off my bike and walk when I did that
Wait a minute, the bike speed limit is 12.5 MPH? That doesn't make sense. I used to be an elite long distance runner. When out for just a maintenance run, I would run at a 7 minute mile pace, which is 8.6 miles per hour. If I was doing faster pace training, I'd typically run 6 minute miles, which is 10 mph. During. competitive event, I could hold a 4.5 minute per mile pace for about 18 miles, which is a 13.3 mph pace. Sounds like I'd have received a ticket in Toronto.
I believe it was on a trail shared with pedestrians. A lot of seniors walk these paths and many are hearing impaired. Also there are people with toddlers and baby carriages. As a mute point the limit was converted from 20 KPM which is why 12.5 MPH sounds weird.
The problem isn't the speed of the cyclist it's the walkers not sharing the path by keeping to one side. If you aren't allowing someone faster to pass, even another walker, then you are the problem. Common sense...
@@flyerbry There are plenty of clueless cyclists out there, but the average pedestrian is oblivious. No matter where you are, if it's in a place where you drive on the right the same "slower traffic keep right" rule should be SOP.
Imagine them putting a 'boot' on your legs for non-payment of a fine.... :)
I too was running 6 minute miles for training. On slow days I would wind it down to 7 a minute mile, the tourist run.
Yeah, the bike indication thing you mentioned around 5:40, you don't necessarily have to use the raised right hand for left turn or raised left hand for right turn. You have to CLEARLY indicate what you're doing. Your using the right hand straight out for right turns and left hand straight out for left turns is definitely clear.
"Positive response form residents"....
You mean the ones that complained in the first place?
Or the one who complained
Karen
Maybe this is the cause of all the frustration with police these days. The police can't tell a complaint from a positive response! You say f**k you, they hear thank you!
That's what I said...
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one... Spock.
The city of Huntington Beach hands out a lots of speeding tickets to people on bikes and skates who are down on the boardwalk. The killer of it is that the tickets are points on your driving record! 😮
same in the UK even if you have not got a car licence it goes on your provisional driving licence
As they should be. If you're operating a vehicle on a public road, you need to follow ALL of the same rules that motorized vehicles have to follow.
@@philiprobar, is the boardwalk private property?
@@---cr8nw No, but the local municipality must have laws specifically for the boardwalk, A.K.A multiuse path, since it's not a public road.
@@philiprobar, are you certain that they aren't treated as public roads under state or local law? I would expect that they would be.
1975 have a downhill 45 mph into an s curve with 25 mph warning. I was 15 with a new 10 speed. Clocked at 51 mph, lost control and slid down a water filled ditch. No ticket but got a lecture from the cop about speeding, reckless driving, driving on the wrong side and blocking a road with the 8 friends that were watching or being lookouts.
My grandfather emigrated to this country from Belarus in 1906. He was processed through Ellis Island, and settled in Harlem with his parents. He was a noted bike racer and coach, and founding member of the Century Road Club. He told me many stories of being ticketed for speeding on his racing bikes back in the day, particularly while heading down the long hill on Amsterdam Avenue from Harlem into Midtown Manhattan.
Okay, this brings back an old memory while I was in the Air Force. I was late to a dentist appointment after duty hours. I was in civilian clothes riding my bike. I got stopped doing 32 in a 25 zone. The guy didn't know how to write me up so he let me go with a warning. As a former officer, I didn't have the heart to tell him to write it the normal way. I called my supervisor when I got home and told him about it. The next morning after my Colonel was at the morning base wide commanders meeting, he came into my office. His question was how did I get stopped doing 32 on a bicycle with cast on my foot with my cane bungeed to the handlebars. We all had a good laugh about it. But all is not over. Same thing but was stopped doing 27 in a 20 mph zone about 2 weeks later. Again, same thing, on my way to the dentist. Word came to me directly from the base 2 star commander, slow down! MSgt David R. Smyth, USAF, Ret.
😂 Awesome story! Thank you for taking the time to write it down for our enjoyment.
@@SongSydney Thanks. This story brought back some good military memories.
While on a business trip in Golden Colorado, I saw a cop using a radar gun to clock cyclist on a path that is shared with joggers and pedestrians.
I mentioned this when I got back to the facility I was visiting and another person there said they had received a speeding ticket while running on the same path.
On the point of cyclists blowing reds and stop signs, I also sometimes hear "Well if I blow a stop sign and get hit, I'm the one getting hurt." Well what about the damage to the car, and the psychological damage to the driver.
Or worse yet, The driver sees the cyclist coming and swerves to avoid the impact and hits a tree or other hard object.
Could the driver sue the cyclist for damage to personal property and emotional distress?
@@XM-qk5sh There's no driving situation in which swerving out of your lane is not a infraction. Circumstances don't matter.
@@Alverant In most cases you'd have to because bicycle insurance isn't really a thing.
The hipster clown that blasted into a 4 way stop at the bottom of a hill and destroyed the front end of my motorcycle tried yelling at me about bicycles having "right of way" before eventually running off leaving his wrecked bicycle. Cost me around 1k for his idiocy.
As a kid growing up in the D, kids got jobs at the local stores and delivered 2 bags of groceries, one in each hand. Things have changed since the 50s. Also had a CDL classmate who got a ticket for speeding. He was on a bike, coasting downhill. Not only did it end up carrying the weight of a moving violation, but it also counted against his CDL. Naturally, that was there (I think he was in California at the time), and then (about 10 years ago). Your mileage may vary.
As a bicyclist for the last 20 years I agree 100% with you Steve absolutely fantastic video
Answering before I watch: 100% yes - bicycles are required to comply with road vehicle legislation. I once got a ticket *and 3 demerit points* for biking through a red light.
But your in Canada. That doesn't count.
There's an old law in the UK, Offences Against the Person Act, 1861 and cyclists have been prosecuted under this law for "wanton & furious riding" and could suffer a 2 year sentence.
California, too.
are you serious? here they have whats called a arizona stop law that says no stop unless theres another vehicle at that intersection .. stupid law gonna get idiots hurt who dont understand how that works
@@commanderjank9060 We have the same thing in Massachusetts. Every law except needing a driver's license applies to cyclists, and reflects on your driving record and insurance. Including DUI, so you can lose your license for drunken cycling. Enforcement is erratic, however; in the cities the traffic laws are almost never enforced on cyclists, but in the suburban and rural towns they are often strictly enforced. Outside of cities a lot of people, including a lot of cops, have a real hate for cyclists on the roads.
Thank You!
It's probably a noise violation to clip poker cards on your wheels nowadays...
Posting on Facebook...
I live near a large university campus in Florida that has a 20mph speed limit campus wide. Florida law states that all bicycles on the road have traffic laws applied to them in the same way that all other vehicles have. Many tickets are given for running stop signs (at $257 a pop) and there are a number of instances of bicycles being stopped for speeding on campus roads and receiving speeding tickets.
What I do not know is whether or not a speeding ticket on a bicycle incurs points on your license.
I got speeding tickets twice bicycling as a kid. Went to court and asked the judge, "How would I know how fast I was going?" Answer: it was my responsibility to know. First offense was 42 mph, second was 37 mph. Both were on the same major arterial posted at 25 mph on a 300 foot high hill. The city code said arterials should be posted at 30 or 35 mph. Got fined the first time, but the second time I got a pass because the speed signs were not in compliance. I didn't get a speedometer until I was in college, but got pretty good at estimating speeds. (This was in an Oregon suburb.)
the speedometer on my bicycle hasn't worked ever since my bike never came with one.
I was going to comment about this. I'm not a cyclist, but do they have speedometers? Are they required to in that area? If not, how are they supposed to know if they're below the limit if they have no way to measure it? Being careful of pedestrians is fine, but I'm just wondering if this is legally enforceable.
@@fllthdcrb Like ignorance of the law, ignorance of your speed is no excuse. And nowadays virtually every serious rider has a bicycle computer that tells them all sorts of useful stuff, including speed.
In that area on that bike path sidewalk a cyclist smashed into an old lady and broke both her legs. So that is why the police are there enforcing safety.
she shouldnt of been on thier pathway lol duhh
@@rctopfueler2841 And that mindset is the issue with bicyclists.
When we're talking about safety for people on bikes yielding is generally safer than full stops at stop signs. The main reason is that coming to a full stop makes it so you stay in the road a lot longer than otherwise making you way more vulnerable to cars. People on bikes also don't have the blindspots that drivers do, making yielding at stop signs a lot safer than when cars do the same. This is why some places have a special exception for bikes (usually with signage under the stop sign if it's not well known yet) allowing them to yield instead of stop. Here in Oregon I believe it's called something like the "Stop as Yield" law for bikes. Well specifically it's actually the exemption to ORS 811.265 that's listed in the beginning of ORS 814.416. Stop as Yield is the nickname though.
Steve: Extending your right arm to signal a right turn is legal and in the vehicle code in every state that I have lived in.
When I used to teach new motorcycle riders, I would always have someone say "but I have the right of way". I would tell them they were correct it they should have that engraved on their headstone.....
In my experience, motorcyclists are better drivers than cyclists. Because cyclists are so bad, I have to keep an eye out for them. That helps me in seeing motorcyclists too.
Around here and everywhere I suppose... we have guys I call "Lance Armstrong wannabes". Ya know, dudes on racing bikes kitted out in biking shorts barreling along the side streets at high speeds.. I cringe when I see them cruise through stop signs without slowing. Not that I'm above doing that myself... but at my age, it's hard enough to get up to "not fall over speed", and it pains me to give up the momentum built up. :-)
We have a pack like that around our local bike paths, someone of them ( a lot of them) go as far getting the clip on pedals/shoes, so many don't do stops signs...
More than a few decades ago, another scout in my Boy Scout Troop was pulled over and given a ticket for doing 45 in a 30MPH zone. He was trying out his brand new 15 speed bike.
5:39 both are valid signals as I understand it. Though I usually do the bent left arm one for my right turns.
As a cyclist, who has used multiuse paths, I'm confident that there have been a number of incidents where pedestrians have been struck or nearly struck by other cyclists who don't want to ride nice and go too fast.. pedestrians complain to the city and the higher ups tell PD.. do something...
Mandate walking in a predictable manner. Often it is the pedestrians suddenly changing direction that causes issue.
There was a similar dynamic where I went to college. There were a fair number of bicycle pedestrian accidents, but the campus cops responded by issuing stop sign tickets an an intersection with a four way stop on campus with mostly car and bicycle traffic. I got one of these tickets, and the fine was a whopping $3.00 (late seventies, so that was more money then than now, but still not really much of a hardship even for a broke college student). I think they bumped the fine to $6.00 for a second offense, but I never got a second ticket.
The real problem, IMO, was that people insisted on riding bicycles in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic where they shouldn't have even been allowed to ride. I found after awhile, that since most classes were within about a three or four block radius, and that area had a lot of walking traffic between classes, that it was actually quicker to ride from where I lived to the central campus area, and walk between classes. Riding between classes meant that I had to unlock the bike, ride to my destination, mostly at walking speed due to the heavy walking traffic, then find an open rack space near my destination, lock the bike. As riding generally didn't allow any more speed than walking, it took less time to walk.
what's next? speeding pedestrians?
And walking under the influence. Well, they already have that one.
Don't forget people farting too loudly, people breathing too much oxygen or better yet sitting on a toilet too long or taking more than a 10 second shower. We live in a very sick and depraved world at this point and it's only going to get worse unfortunately.
In High School my brother was pulled over on hwy 01 in California for speeding. He tucked in and exceeded the limit. Going down hill helped.
In Ontario Canada bike laws are the same as cars in the highway traffic act. There are additional laws governing bikes that do not apply to cars. Towns may also have their own by-laws governing bikes. From what I read cyclists can not be charged with speeding but can be charged with careless operation of a bike. The fines are the same for both cars and bikes.
Yes you can. And it happened to me in Stoney Creek Park, which as you know is in Michigan. I was cited for going 31 mph in a 25 mph. This was in 1979, cost $25. I have commuted by bicycle for years around the Detroit area, not a real safe proposition I can say. I know people that have been cited for running stops, hogging the entire lane (impeding) and one idiot of getting a DUI on his bicycle. Riding drunk down the middle of John R at 2:45am will earn you that for sure.
If bikes have a “right to the road” they also have the duty follow the rules and stay safe. I have seen many bicyclists who behave dangerously in traffic.
Austin Tillman and..given the money spent on bike lanes, the should pay for a license plate. About a hundred times what a powered vehicle would pay, seeing as they aren’t paying any fuel taxes.
john blankenship that might be a good idea in some contexts but I think the primary purpose of bike lanes in some cities is to relieve traffic congestion so that would de-incentivize people to use bikes. And bikes do almost no wear to the roads so they are better for road maintenance as well.
@@620john620 I bought a bike at a Police auction for $6 and you want me to pay $10,000 for a licence plate? For that kind of money I could buy a one ton truck and run you off the road! You're not too bright are you? Remember, bike owners also pay property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and all the other taxes too. They pay for those bike paths! They have a right to use them! Get over it! Go cry somewhere else! You're a big baby!
In the early 80s when I was a bicycle messenger in the nation's capital, I got a triple-banger of moving violations (on a bicycle) issued by Washington, D.C. police for running two read lights and fleeing and eluding. No other messenger at my agency had ever before been charged with fleeing and eluding, so we celebrated with beer after the workday was done.
Steve I changed my hydraulic disc brakes for mechanical disc brakes and i love them. Cheap and easy to install.
I was up to Mackinac Island last year. You can get a ticket for speed on a bike there.
38 in a 25, also beat a "failure to stop" ticket in court.
I don't want to tell you how fast a buddy and I got going down Lookout Mountain into Menlo on my tandem. We passed a Winnebago.
My dad told me when he was growing up in the 60s he got a speeding ticket on a bike in a school zone. He didn't have a driver's license and they impounded his bike. The cost of getting the bike back was about triple the cost of a brand new bike so he just bought a new one.
I enjoyed your bicycle video. I used to commute to work by bicycle. Your video reminded me of a couple of stories I read in Bicycling Magazine many years ago. In one, they said that among serious bicyclists a speeding ticket is a prized trophy. I realize you said that is not the current law in Michigan but this many years ago and I don’t know what particular state they were talking about.
In another story, a man got a ticket while riding his bicycle. I don’t think it was speeding but some other traffic violation. He went to court because they were going to put points on his license. He explained to the judge that he was riding a bicycle. The judge looked at the citation and noted that it said he was driving a Peugeot. He said that’s right - it’s a Peugeot bicycle.
Here in Switzerland there is no speed limit for bicycles as they are not required to have speedometers as standard equipment by law !
but they have to obey the law of due care or attention towards other "road users" The new rage of electric bakes have cyclists travelling at up to 45 km per hr and weaving in and out of traffic at these speeds and especially when wet is very dangerous and is not giving due care to other road users. Main problem is the 20 and 30 KM/ hr streets which are shared with pedestrians .
Yeee Haww, I'm moving to Switzerland.
I got one, was doing 35 in a 25 and was asked why I didn't have a speedometer....
This happened at the Great Lakes Naval Training Base, North of Chicago, IL, back in the mid 1970's. A friend got his bicycle impounded for speeding until he graduated from the six weeks of training he was attending. He was going with a strong wind and told me later that he was stopped by the Naval police for going 35 in a 20 MPH zone.
Side-by-side bicycling reminds me of the incident in Colorado where a pickup truck driver angrily goes after a cycling group.
12.5 mph is really slow on a paved surface. That’s sight seeing pace.
You'd be getting passed by joggers!
@@randomvideosn0where 4:50mile I believe.
@@randomvideosn0where It being Canada, I assume Steve has translated 20km/h into mph. I wouldn't be worried about joggers at that speed. That pace is more appropriate for a world-champion long-distance runner or maybe a high-school middle distance hopeful. I know (because I've tried) that I couldn't hit that pace at a flat sprint.
that's 20kmh. Same speed as a fatal cyclist-pedestrian collision I read about in Scotland, UK. It's really slow, and too fast, all at once.
@@Dave-bu6bc i call BS on the speed being the reason.
I got one just for that very reason. But it was on a public road and it was a school zone.
We used to get speeding citations for speeding on roller blades in San Diego CA in the early 90’s. They found a new revenue device and embraced it quickly.
A few states such as SC allow Bicyclists, Moped/scooter users and even Motorcyclists to Drive through a red light, based on the fact that your vehicle may not have enough mass or magnetic field to trip or trigger the device used to change light signals. You still have to stop and wait a reasonable time, afterwards you have to determine if it is safe to do so and if so you may proceed with caution through the red light, During traffic hours someone else's vehicle will usually trigger it for you but in light or no traffic you don't have to sit there and wait as long as you do it safely.
I hadn't thought of hand signals in many years. Do they even teach them anymore? I remember having to know them when I got my license back in the day.
I consider hand signals to be unsafe due to the fact you have to take a hand off and you no longer have full control.
@@ScubaSteveCanada Fortunately, the law doesn't care about your opinion. (And if you can't control a bicycle one-handed at a corner then you're either going too fast or you shouldn't be riding a bicycle.)
Ben's laying on the roof of he Tucker.
🥇
He certainly does blend in real good.
@@YourWifesBoyfriend The Tucker has a "hat. . ." worth $100.00.
@@YourWifesBoyfriend Steve displays a $100 bill in each video. Sometimes it is more hidden than others, but it is always there. It's a reward for the person who can present him with an actual Supreme Court ruling that states that no drivers license is required. In this video it's laying across the top of the Tucker (second from the left) car model. It's a game with some to be the first to find the $100.
First place 🏆🤩🥇
I've known several people who got speeding tickets on bicycles. Some were drafting behind semi trailers. My favorite...a mature neighbor was on a relatively long, steep hill ..his hand brakes could barely slow him down. On his right, a cliff. His left, oncoming traffic. He saw the lights in his mirror, could not stop until he got to the bottom and started on the uphill slope. 65 in a 35 zone.
Some years ago I was on a casual recreational weekly club ride through a residential neighborhood on a decent-quality touring bike. One week one or more person(s) scattered a couple of boxes of thumbtacks on a long downhill stretch of our route. A dozen riders had one or two flats each, one crashed badly as a result.
On an unrelated point, while I have never raced seriously on a velodrome, I have mastered the 'track stand' on my touring bike, my road bike, and my tandem.
Were I used to live the local police tried to give two bicyclists DUIs and take their Drivers license. But the law said Motor Vehicle. They did get them for public intoxication.
Chicago police have arrested cyclists for DUI
@@NikoBellaKhouf then they must have an expanded law to include bicycles. Because if the law says motor vehicle and nothing else then they can't take your driver's licence. Also you don't need a license to ride a bike.
@@craigstephen3216 in Chicago, you can only ride a bicycle on the street, not the sidewalk. The rules of the road apply.
I've never heard a cyclist speak more sense than Steve in this video (myself included).
Extortionists in the government.
Bicycles used to be called Push Bikes (UK). One day a man I worked with was walking back to work along a pedestrian pavement (side walk?) when a cyclist came speeding along towards him so he stepped to the side and pushed him off. Maybe that is where the name originated.
Thanks for pointing out that bicycles on the "road ways" are required to follow laws of the roadways. I see so many clowns making turns with no signal, and especially not stopping for red lights or stop sings, with no regard for the danger to themselves. They seem to have never considered that a 40 pound bicycle with a 200 human on it will not win an argument with a 2 ton car.
I had a friend stopped for speeding. The officer let him go because he couldn't figure out how to make out a ticket for a bike.
My top recorded speed is 53 mph, though the only time I've been pulled over was for not riding on the shoulder. It was perfectly legal as the shoulder was filled with debris. Turns out the police had been receiving complaints all day about cyclists riding in the road, there was an event and a bunch of idiots had been riding in groups taking up the entire lane on the highway. The police saw me and a friend and pulled us over to lecture us even though we were riding single file right on the line.
Typical cop move... pick the easy target instead of the right one.
Disgraceful behavior --- fussing at totally-innocent people on bicycles while their buddy-buddy cronies and fellow cops are out roaring around in their cars and/or driving drunk! Police are mostly egotistical power-hungry bullying pigs who are out of touch with reality or what ordinary folks are reasonably capable of! Like I always say, law-enforcement people start out as pint-sized bullies in the nursery, pushing/hitting other kids and hogging their toys and stealing their snacks. Then they are the "troublesome kids" in grade school, social bullies in middle school, test-cheaters and soulmate-stealers in high school, etc. And then they go on to become cops, lawyers, judges, etc., so that they can go on dictatorially running roughshod over the rest of us hapless mortals who are just trying to get by!
@@catmandont100 LOL No, not really... just stating facts :P
If you ride on the sidewalk you need to walk your bike across intersections. More accidents occur between turning vehicles and bikes ridding in crosswalk than crossing on road.
Had a friend in Colorado come down a hill and got a 35 in 30 mph ticket and paid it. About 10 years ago.
Here in CA, my recollection is that the Vehicle Code refers to motor vehicles for some things and vehicles for others. Speed, red lights, etc generally refer to vehicles, as does DUI. Street racing only applies to motor vehicles, though, and there are very few equipment requirements in the daytime (in times of darkness, I believe lights are now required).
I think there is a lot of cyclist who think they own every inch where someone is allowed to walk. I have seen a few near events of violent from people walking when a cyclist almost hits them. Ticketing for speeding, not sure but they do need to be in their own areas and not competing with those who use the sidewalks and trails.
There are a lot of people, not just cyclists, who think this way.
I ride a bike, and I see inconsiderate cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.
Walkers/runners are on the trails with ear buds in, so they may or may not be able to hear you when you call out "on your left"
Or they will stop on the trail instead of getting off in the grass if they are going to have a conversation with their friend.
Motorists will get mad when you stop at a 4 way stop and then expect to go when it is your turn per the rules of the road.
And of course, cyclists also do dumb things like failure to signal or yield, and so on. They too can congregate blocking the trail and so on.
The bottom line is some people are inconsiderate. After all, how many motorists do you notice impeding traffic by driving at the same speed as the car to the left of them.
Or people who congregate in a door way having a conversation.
Or the cyclist as described above.
I was briefly into cycling and know people who are very into it. There are few groups of people who feel more entitled than cyclists. They will complain to anyone who will listen about how they have a right to be on the road, how they have been wronged, how bad car drivers are, etc. Yet, when you point out that the constantly break the law by ignoring street signs, stop signs, yield signs, traffic lights, speed limits, etc they brush it off as insignificant. Between that and the constant threat of death in the DC Metro area for cyclists, I quickly stopped cycling.
Steve, we're about the same age. When I was a teen I could ride my bike from Cranbrook to the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop in Birmingham that no longer exists in under 11 minutes. What red light?
No, I didn't go down Woodward. I went past the old mill pond and up Willit's hill! Try that in your Viper!
I've ridden Willits Hill many times. I used to ride over through Birmingham and around Quarton Lake. Love that part of town.
@@stevelehto That hill is a real leg burner. Lol. I used to ride out there via Normandy from Clawson everyday. I'd have to drop a mile and a half south to pick it up but it was safer with less traffic. Still have my bike, and a mountain bike I bought in 1987, still in great condition. The road bike, Haha, many many crashes.
Grand Rapids Michigan in 1980. Christopher Jeffries (local artist who won awards at Festival of the Arts) recieved a speeding ticket on Plainfield Ave. north of 3mile road while drafting a city bus. 43 mph in a 35mph zone.
RIP my friend.
Have the police calibrated the guns to work on bicycles? I can remember examples where UK police got false readings off nearby objects and buildings because of poor aim at cars and calibrating their equipment poorly and a bike is a much smaller target, with far fewer reflective surfaces.
Radar is not calibrated by Police, they have set standards that they use to test the accuracy of the Radar. It will work fine on a bicycle.
A guy I went to high school with got a ticket for riding his 10-speed bike 55 in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. If you've ever been a pedestrian hit by a bicyclist, you'd know why they might need to be restricted. The husband of a judge in Boston, MA was in critical condition in a coma and almost died after being hit by a bike messenger. The city banned bike messengers after that. (no surprise).
Here in the Netherlands, there's is no speed limit for non-motorized bicycles. Electric bikes have a speed limit of 20 or 45 km/h. depending on the type of electric motor/petrol motor. Both have a license plate. blue for 20 km/h and yellow for 45 km/h.
One of the Marines stationed at the Marine barracks at NAS Whidbey Island got ticketed for going 50mph down the hill towards the front gate of the base.
I have seen several bike riders being towed by their dog. Is that legal?
The dog isn't a vehicle and by law dog owners are supposed to keep the dog on a leash so it sounds legal to me. That's not to say there aren't localities with a law making the practice illegal. Personally I wouldn't do it with my dog but depending on the size and temperament of the dog I can see where it could be done safely.
Horse drawn vehicles are still legal too.
I don’t know, but since you suppose to have control of your dog (not the dog have control of you) I would bet that it is illegal.
So wow, Steve, you cycle every day, run every day, film two videos every day. When the heck do you have time to practice law?
So I live near one of the busiest (and oldest) multi-use rail-trails in the country. (W&OD). There is no speed limit but there is a ban on racing or speed training. They don't usually patrol BUT if you hit a pedestrian and you're doing 15 mph or above or you're down on your tri-bars expect to get written up.
My friend growing up had a life goal of getting a speeding ticket on a bicycle. His best shot was downhill through a school zone doing ten over. The cop saw him, clocked him, laughed and waved.
I wonder if the Karen complaining about bicylists is related to the mayor.
Peloton is more of a unicycle.🤷♂️
South of Toronto is Lake Ontario and eventually St. Catharines, ON. And yes, in Ontario a bicycle is a vehicle. I know in one of the provinces I have lived in (Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) the proper way to signal a right turn is in the same fashion as the left signal. In Manitoba bicycles may cruise carefully through a stop sign if no traffic is coming close. Tough times never last but tough people do - sounds like a quote from Robert Schuller.
I had a situation 59 years ago with my brand new bike. My job throwing papers earned enough to replace my 9 year old one. 5 blocks from my house was an entrance to a highway, not strictly limited access, but not intersections at every street and we rode there regularly. Then on a Saturday morning I was riding, about a mile from home on my new, ONE SPEED bike, when I was stopped by a Kansas highway patrol officer. FOR SPEEDING. 57 in a 50. I didn't get a ticket, but I was told to slow down, even though I had been passed by several cars. About 12 to 18 months later they put up signs. No pedestrians, no bicycles, no animals led, ridden or driven.
I can see getting a ticket if your on a public path in a forest preserve, there's family's out there with children and dogs and some Yahoo come hauling ass from the other direction and there's a blind corner just smashes into these people and does serious damage, I've almost gotten hit by these morons walking down a side walk, so yeah they should get tickets
How do you know your speed? If you don't have a speedometer how would you know you're doing 20 or 25, or anything? I can't see how it could stand in court.
In Ontario if a vehicle is manufactured without a seatbelt you are not required to wear one when driving. Law mandates all new vehicles have to have seatbelts but if you purchase an old one you are not required to add in a seatbelt and thus can drive freely without one. In a similar vein unless I am required to add in my own speedometer on a bicycle, how can I be expected to follow the laws around speeding on one?
I've had the reverse problem back when I lived in St Louis. There's a large park with parallel bicycle and pedestrian paths, and I'd always come roaring down the bicycle path to find some pedestrian chugging along, usually with headphones, totally ignoring the dedicated pedestrian path 6 feet away. Just as common would be a pair of baby carriages taking up the entirety of the bike path.
@@FrancisBeanBlades yeah I know some people are completely oblivious to other people.
I'm biking a lot and I like to go fast and I don't really always follow the traffic laws;-) Having said that, cyclists are behaving like jerks quite often. This bothers me particularly on shared paths with pedestrians. Bikers should give pedestrians space, slow down when the path is crowded and should not startle pedestrians (especially elderly) by zooming past them at high speed with 2 inch distance. I'm absolutely supportive of police "educating" reckless bikers. If we wait until accidents happen due to reckless cyclist then we will get much stricter laws and limits on biking.
It's almost like cyclists on shared paths should treat pedestrians with caution in the same way that cars on roads should treat cyclists.
In Ontario the posted limit on pathways is 20km/h or 12mph. I live in Quebec and I don’t recall seeing any here.
My dad got one when he was younger. Was going down one of the steepest hills in the city cop clocked him at 55 where the speed limit changed to 35 near the bottom of the hill.
Bike Lanes Matter
I've seen that painted on the streets
It was a data collection program in order to determine if it would be cost effective to start ticketing cyclist. For instance if they determine on average they have enough violations to justify a dedicated government employee to monitor these paths and make enough to pay said employee and have excess to go in the public piggy bank.
If you remember the legal limit B.A.C used to be .10 then for some reason it dropped to .08 and it was pushed by the federal government by telling state governments that if they didn't lower it to .08 those states would not receive federal funding. I'm sure a study of some sort was done to determine " hey look how much more revenue we could receive if we drop the B.A.C down .O2" clearly it had nothing to do with safety it simply and always about a money grab and control. But that's just my never to be humble opinion. And yes no one should drive while incapacitated or debilitated.
I think I remember relating this story on the last video which addressed cycling and speeding tickets, some years ago. I actually got pulled over for speeding on a bicycle.
I was in Letchworth State Park in western NY, and was maybe 15 or 16 at the time. There's one particular steep hill with a 35mph auto limit where I could build up ridiculous speeds, with enough low-visibility turns that I really shouldn't have survived to adulthood. A park ranger once pulled me over there and claimed he'd clocked me at 47mph in a 35mph. No ticket, he said he'd never live it down at the station, but "...slow the [ahem] down, kid!" I still wonder to this day whether he'd actually clocked me, and whether a ticket would have had basis in the law.
I wonder what the radar cross section of a bicycle rider on a carbon fiber bicycle is?
About twenty years ago I began riding recumbent bicycles almost exclusively, and was dismayed to find a provision in the state vehicle code prohibiting operation of any bicycle "...built, equipped, or modified in such a manner as to cause the pedal in its lowermost position to be more than twelve inches above the ground."
My long-wheelbase 'bent with 20-inch wheels front and rear barely passed the standard, but I wrote to my state representative pleading the case for my Bacchetta short wheelbase with 26-inch wheels front and rear wheels, pedal nearly two feet above the pavement. About a dozen "high-racers" showed up for 'bicycle day' for that legislative session, and we prevailed in having the height limit removed from the law.
Canada?
Well there's your problem right there.
Same thing happens in the US
bicycleuniverse.com/can-get-speeding-ticket-bike/
I’m 51, live in texas all my life when i was kid growing up we were always taught to go against traffic theory was so you could see the on coming traffic face to face you see one another eye to eye. Then when my daughter got old enough rules changed to way your saying they are there. always wondered what changed this i always thought eye to eye was safe. Just saying thoughts
Going against traffic is for pedestrians since they are able to easily move to the side for oncoming traffic. Bikes move more like a car so they should travel in the direction of traffic.
Since the popularity of cellphones has increased, I absolutely refuse to ride with the flow of traffic.
Probably the old way was better for safety with low traffic. And that rule change, like no biking on sidewalks, seems like a rule important for safety in cities that gets applied everywhere.
It has todo with the total force in the event of a crash, if you are moving with traffic at 12mph and traffic is moving at 30mph the the net force of the crash is 18mph. If you are going against traffic although you have better visibility as a cyclist, the force is additive and the net crash would be 42mph which is much deadlier then one at 18mph
So you ride at 12 mph, the car is going 30 mph. When riding against car traffic, the head-on collision speed = 42 mph, death of the rider likely. Riding with traffic, collision speed = 18 mph, death very unlikely. There's the reason.
Calgary, AB has a very extensive paved pathway system. Speedlimits on it is 20 km/h. There has been times that they have radar enforced it, with tickets handed out, on the busy sections. Some even are cleared in the winter of snow, just like the roads.
I have a speedometer on my bike, and my record is almost 70 km/h... but was in an 80 km/h road, going down a reasonably steep hill, pedalling hard (with lots of room to stop at the bottom for the light). I wonder what those in the cars were thinking about me almost getting up to speed!
Yup, it happens in northern NJ. Gliding freely downhill your inertia can result in a faster speed then posted for motor vehicles. Problem is no one ever owns a speedometer for bicycles.
Found (100) - Top of Tucker
3rd 🍹😏
Back in highschool, I was pulled over on my mountain bike, for doing 45 in a 25 zone. It didn't help that I was 3-4' off the ground going past the cop. I was coming down a very steep hill, and there were drain grates every block , which were nominally level, so the road dropped away at the downhill side of each drain. This made an awesome ramp on a few, and I had taken them at lower speeds without issues. This day I caught the largest one at absolute top speed, and there just happened to be a cop at the cross street intersection.
This was not my first or last interaction with the cops in that town while on my bike, but was definitely memorable.
Steve I was up north on a twisty turny fall color type of road and as I topped a big hill in the Sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore a cyclist on a recumbent was wizzing his way downward doing maybe 50 or so....speed limit was I think 45 on that road, he slowed down a bit entering the next roller but yeah I could see a NP ranger lighting him up on a fast downhill run.
ABS is common iin NL on citybikes, it's mechanical though. There are several different types, roller drum brakes and others that have some extra springs on them, I haven't looked that carefully at them so not sure how they work, but I have tested some briefly.