cargo bike ticket in little tokyo
Thread started by
mikeywally at 02.2.11 - 2:55 pm
so i made a left turn from the sakura crossing apartment building, to head north on san pedro, to finish my newspaper delivery run. and a cop pulls my over at 2nd and san pedro, and gives me a ticket.
i didnt even really care what for but i knew it was a moving violation, so its gonna be bad. and my job probly isnt going to pay for it. they pay me below minimum wage and under the table anyway.
according to the ticket i violated "21804 (a) vc." from
the web:
21804. (a) The driver of any vehicle about to enter or cross a highway from any public or private property, or from an alley, shall yield the right-of-way to all traffic, as defined in Section 620, approaching on the highway close enough to constitute an immediate hazard, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that traffic until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety.
(b) A driver having yielded as prescribed in subdivision (a) may proceed to enter or cross the highway, and the drivers of all other vehicles approaching on the highway shall yield the right of-way to the vehicle entering or crossing the intersection.
Amended Ch. 623, Stats. 1988. Effective January 1, 1989.
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so, was the ticket justified? or was the cop just harassing you?
FuzzBeast responding to a
comment by trickmilla
02.2.11 - 5:51 pm
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the setting is pretty thick so i think i will lose the case based on complexity.
im sitting on my gigantic three wheel cargo bike filled with newspapers waiting to be delivered. im in little tokyo on the west side of san pedro.
there are cars waiting at the red to my left and cars moving to my right and a truck parked in the middle of the turning lane on the street (can trucks park in the middle of the street to unload and load?)
the cop car is at the front of the pack at the red to my left. light goes green, the cop car bolts ahead of all the cars, i turn left after the cop car and before the rest of the cars. the two moving cars to my right were already passed me before i even got to the turning lane.
no cars honked, slowed down, or acted irregularly. ive been riding this bike for over half a year delivering newspapers. ive been paid to ride my bike across the united states. this ticket is an insult to my professional ability to manage risk on a bicycle.
i feel like im being discriminated against because my bike is different, being huge and having three wheels.
i quit my job that second. i didnt even pick up any money for that days work.
AND MY JOB IS TAKING NO RESPONSIBILITY THUS FAR.
mikeywally02.3.11 - 3:57 am
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I think you pretty much have to prove that you didn't impede traffic. If you feel you were clear, and no cars slowed down (much less stopped) then you fulfilled the requirement to
"yield the right-of-way to that traffic until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety."
I'd fight this ticket.
the reverend dak responding to a
comment by mikeywally
02.3.11 - 12:04 pm
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"AND MY JOB IS TAKING NO RESPONSIBILITY THUS FAR."
Regardless of fault your employer is the last one that should be responsible. Any delivery job I have had or know of, you the employee are responsible for tickets etc.
Taking a delivery job implies the risk of getting ticketed. Your employer did not decided to make a left turn into traffic did they?
sack or crack you choose02.3.11 - 12:28 pm
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Fight the ticket. Don't make no retarded peace officer think he can ruin your thrill to ride your bike.
First of all, the police bolted by you, leaving cars behind him, at X amount of distance. The officer can not determine how far he was from the other cars judging by his acceleration and looking back in his mirror, but you do because you judge your way through the right-of-way in traffic. Unless he was trained and has certification to show upon the judge that he can determine how far he was from the other cars he left at the light. A lot of peace officers think they can just issue out tickets based on their senses. Fuck those police. If they don't have proof that they have super human senses and can judge well, then fuck them, and challenge them by that. (end)
^olsko*jr702.4.11 - 8:27 am
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I'm with dak and olsko. Dat's some ol' bullmess, mikey. Make that cop show up to court as many times as you can (don't forget the old delaying tactic), then make him sound like a dumbass in front of the judge. You have the rhetorical skills to craft such an argument, I know. Depending on how much the ticket costs, it may be a worthwhile investment of your time, especially now that you're not delivering papers :)
Lance K responding to a
comment by ^olsko*jr7
02.6.11 - 12:01 pm
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I would fight it too, just because it is seems so picky, punitive.. . douchey - total dick move on behalf of the cop. I would feel this way about what happened to you even if I wasn't into riding bikes.
Out of curiosity, could you have said you do not have any ID on you? I imagine he wouldn't be able to write you a ticket. Would that even be an option or do you think he would have escalated the incident and arrested you or something ridiculous like that?
kiwikiwi02.6.11 - 1:59 pm
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my gf's dad works with cops a lot and according to him if a cop asks you for id and you don't have it they can detain you, search your person for it and if they can't find it they can fingerprint you and run you through the system.
if they detain you and find that you do have they can arrest you for lying to an officer when questioned. and, according to him, if operating any vehicle (cars, bikes, scooter, skateboard) you must and have to carry a government issued id on you unless underage, then you should be supervised or chaperoned by a parent or guardian 25 years or older.
the law is tricky, but that's what we deal with for the right to ride. sorry mikeywally. i'd fight it.
icarus02.6.11 - 9:15 pm
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California does not have a Stop and ID mandate. You do not have to present identification to cops (unless you are driving in which case you would need a driver's license, obviously).
You certainly don't need ID to ride a skateboard and underage kids do not need someone 25+ (wtf?) to skate either.
Maybe your gf's dad should stop taking cops' word for things.
monovsstereo responding to a
comment by icarus
02.6.11 - 9:29 pm
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They only give those instructions to make their life easier. Cops love ID, because then they can punch you into their system(s) and make your life hell in the slow grinding way the criminal justice system loves to do.
ubrayj02 responding to a
comment by monovsstereo
02.7.11 - 2:31 am
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Yeah dude I know. I just wanted to point out that people shouldn't take the word of some guy who says the cops can arrest or otherwise fuck with you for not having an ID.
ACAB :)
monovsstereo responding to a
comment by ubrayj02
02.7.11 - 4:36 pm
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