CVC 21650.1
Thread started by
_iJunes at 01.25.10 - 11:37 am
Bicycle Operated on Roadway or Highway Shoulder
21650.1. A bicycle operated on a roadway, or the shoulder of a highway, shall be operated in the same direction as vehicles are required to be driven upon the roadway.
I received a citation for riding my bike EastBound on the North Side crosswalk of Ventura/Sepulveda. I was riding Southbound on Sepulveda, and then crossed the street from the NW corner of the street to the NE corner with the hand flashing about 15 seconds until crossing is over. As soon as I crossed, the officer rode up the sidewalk to pull me over.
If i were to follow the true rules of the road, i would've have had to make a left turn on Sepulveda to Ventura, and then make another left into the street right after it to get back onto that NE corner. The officer stated that I am required to walk my bike across the crosswalk. In cleated road shoes, this can be difficult.
Should I even bother pleading not guilty?
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By definition, under Section 275 of the California Vehicle Code a crosswalk is an extension of the sidewalk across the intersection. Thus, generally speaking, the legality of riding within the crosswalk will be determined by whether or not it is legal to ride on the sidewalk. If it is legal to ride on the sidewalk, it is also legal to ride within the crosswalk; if it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk, it is also illegal to ride in the crosswalk. This is the general rule; state laws may specifically address riding in the crosswalk, but where no such state law exists, the legality of riding in the crosswalk will be determined by the legality of riding on the sidewalk.
I would fight this one. If you are in a crosswalk even on a bike you should be treated as a pedestrian. if you were in a lane riding then you should be treated like a car. Thus in a crosswalk 21650.1 does not apply.
Foldie01.25.10 - 12:08 pm
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Yes. The officer could be wrong. If you are allowed to ride your bicycle on the sidewalk, you are allowed to ride your bicycle on the crosswalk. The default in California is that you are allowed to ride your bike on the sidewalk; some cities such as Santa Monica & Culver City disallow it; Los Angeles allows it. Looking up Ventura and Sepulveda blvds, they meet in Sherman Oaks which is in Los Angeles so it should be allowed.
You possibly got caught in the crossfire of the la streetsblog article:
http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/01/12/if-you-want-to-know-a-bicycle-law-dont-ask-the-california-highway-patrol-part-ii/
I wonder if the feedback from that article is encouraging police to show their power and give tickets to crosswalk riding bicyclists. Use that article for more info. Please fight the ticket. Thanks!
Who wrote the ticket? LA city, CHP, smaller city PD? Do you have the officer's name?
Did you stop and the light and then enter the crosswalk, or did you just turn left? How fast were you going while in the crosswalk? A fast walk/slow jog?
gregb01.25.10 - 12:14 pm
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And how much was the ticket?
gregb01.25.10 - 12:15 pm
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in response to 'foldie':
unless your just unlucky, we all know how many a rider get's fucked by the 'legality' of the so called interpretation of the laws regarding the 'legality' of said laws interpreted, AND the the interpretation of said laws, which can NOT be the laws interpretation.
make sense?
eddieboyinla01.25.10 - 12:19 pm
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Sorry greg you are wrong.
Culver City is the ONLY city that ALLOWS riding bikes on the sidewalk in LA.
All the others do not allow it.
richtotheie responding to a
comment by gregb
01.25.10 - 12:20 pm
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lol, you would think so, go ahead, everybody, ride your bikes on the sidewalk, lets over whelm the system with an over whelming abundance of tickets.
eddieboyinla01.25.10 - 12:22 pm
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just to add, sometimes private buildings/institutions have their own rules re: riding bikes on surrounding sidewalks. not sure if this applies in your case though.
tfunk40801.25.10 - 12:24 pm
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§ 7.04.250 RIDING ON SIDEWALKS.
A. No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk within any business district or upon the sidewalk adjacent to any public school building, church, recreation center or playground or upon a walkway specifically designated by resolution of the City Council as closed to all vehicular or bicycle traffic.
B. Whenever any person is riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk such person shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and when overtaking and passing a pedestrian, after giving an audible signal, shall at all times pass to the left of such pedestrian.
richtotheie responding to a
comment by gregb
01.25.10 - 12:26 pm
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more info: That's culver city law
('65 Code, § 8-27) (Ord. No. CS-100 § 51; Ord. No. CS-639 § 1)
richtotheie01.25.10 - 12:27 pm
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1. No person shall ride, operate or use a bicycle, unicycle, skateboard, cart, wagon, wheelchair, rollerskates, or any other device moved exclusively by human power, on a sidewalk, bikeway or boardwalk in a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. (Amended by Ord. No. 166,189, Eff. 10/7/90.)
(LA MC 56.15)
Thus you can ride a bicycle on the sidewalks of the City of Los Angeles as long as you don't do it with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.
gregb responding to a
comment by richtotheie
01.25.10 - 12:30 pm
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WHY IS IT THAT EVERY TIME I 'PASS TO THE LEFT OF A PED, HE ALWAYS WALKS IN TO ME, IT SEEMS THAT THEY (PEDS) EXPECT YOU TO COME UP FROM BEHIND THEM, THEN OVER TAKE THEM ON YOUR RIGHT, AND THEIR RIGHT ALSO. PEDS SHOULD HAVE TO GET ''''WALKING LICENSE'''' JUST LIKE DRIVERS.
eddieboyinla01.25.10 - 12:32 pm
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In regards to Culver City, what is a business district in Culver City? You can't ride your bike on the sidewalk within the business district. Downtown Culver city seems like a business district to me. Sepulveda seems like a business district to me. Venice Blvd seems like a business district to me. Can I ride my bike on the sidewalk in those places?
gregb responding to a
comment by richtotheie
01.25.10 - 12:33 pm
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I don't see in your links that Culver city is the only city to allow bicycle riding, and comparing Culver City's law with Los Angeles, LA seems less restrictive. What am I missing?
gregb01.25.10 - 12:36 pm
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HAVE YOU EVER MET ...... HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON CRANK MOB?
eddieboyinla01.25.10 - 12:37 pm
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WHY IS IT THAT EVERY TIME I 'PASS TO THE LEFT OF A PED, HE ALWAYS WALKS IN TO ME, IT SEEMS THAT THEY (PEDS) EXPECT YOU TO COME UP FROM BEHIND THEM, THEN OVER TAKE THEM ON YOUR RIGHT, AND THEIR RIGHT ALSO. PEDS SHOULD HAVE TO GET ''''WALKING LICENSE'''' JUST LIKE DRIVERS.
eddieboyinla
01.25.10 - 3:32 pm
You obviously are passing the pedestrian too close and too fast and should slow down on the sidewalk or get into the street.
gregb responding to a
comment by eddieboyinla
01.25.10 - 12:38 pm
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You're not missing anything, as i'm researching through them myself, i am seeing that my first statement was incorrect, and that apparently culver city does allow biking on the sidewalk but only in certain districts. I'm assuming only residential?
it feels like i've heard of so many ticket stories for riding on the sidewalks in LA, but i this shows that to be false... Maybe i'm just thinking santa monica.
richtotheie responding to a
comment by gregb
01.25.10 - 12:41 pm
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OK so the ticket came out to 180. Its 180 i would like to keep if possible.
here is the thing, I dismounted on the sidewalk.Crossing the intersection in my road shoes would have been very dangerous to me, as i have slipped many times before. This was in Sherman Oaks, on a major intersection, 3 lane traffic both ways. Each Left Turn lane gets its own designated signal. Busiest intersection in the valley during rush hour traffic.
_iJunes01.25.10 - 12:45 pm
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LAPD Cited me
I have the name and Serial No
I was debating whether i wanted to ride up sepulveda or take the bus. i came to a complete stop and entered the crosswalk from the farthest west corner and coasted into the intersection because a car was making a right turn. As soon as i hit the corner, i dismounted, and then the officer cut the curb to pull me over.
The officer said that I was impeding traffic to the cars making a right turn, but don't I have the right of way in a crosswalk?
_iJunes responding to a
comment by gregb
01.25.10 - 12:59 pm
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Good that you're researching this. SMCM had a lot of problems with this and this was one way that it was broken up. Multiple people got cited for this. It does seem like CC only allows residential/industrial? sidewalk riding.
gregb responding to a
comment by richtotheie
01.25.10 - 1:04 pm
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now a legal question, fine i broke the law on sidewalk riding. but i was cited for riding on a roadway. can i use the other to cancel this citation, and have them not somehow reissue me a citation based on me incriminating myself some other way?
_iJunes01.25.10 - 1:06 pm
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to clarify, you WERE in the crosswalk right??
Then he sited you with the wrong ticket.
From http://www.lapdonline.org/prevent_crime/content_basic_view/7745 :
"Bicyclists are permitted to ride on sidewalks; however, it is an infraction to do so in a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property (56.15.1 LAMC). If you ride your bicycle on the street, you must ride in the same direction as the flow of traffic and as close as practicable to the right side of the roadway (21202a CVC)"
THIS IS FROM LAPD'S SITE!!!
Also - here is the FULL Vehicle Code having to do with bicycles:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=veh&group=21001-22000&file=21200-21212
or click
HERE
richtotheie responding to a
comment by _iJunes
01.25.10 - 1:07 pm
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As long as you also entered the crosswalk with the walk sign, and from the sound of it you did, it seems that you did it completely legal. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. You will have to pay the $180 upfront but it sounds like you can win. You should probably do the whole, delay, delay, trial by declaration thing, but you could just do the trial by declaration and win.
I have not received a ticket for this but I did receive a good settlement from an insurance company after getting hit by a car while riding my bike "against traffic" in the crosswalk.
gregb responding to a
comment by _iJunes
01.25.10 - 1:09 pm
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THX RICHIE
i think i will build my case around this.
_iJunes responding to a
comment by richtotheie
01.25.10 - 1:11 pm
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yup, i already extended and i just did the trial by dec on the day i was due, and now my final action is coming up on the 4th of feb.
i hope whoever searches this CVC find the info useful.
_iJunes responding to a
comment by gregb
01.25.10 - 1:12 pm
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now a legal question, fine i broke the law on sidewalk riding. but i was cited for riding on a roadway. can i use the other to cancel this citation, and have them not somehow reissue me a citation based on me incriminating myself some other way?
_iJunes
01.25.10 - 4:06 pm
I don't see that you broke the law on sidewalk riding. You weren't operating with a willful disregard for safety, right?
gregb responding to a
comment by _iJunes
01.25.10 - 1:17 pm
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It sounds like he wanted you to be a "pedestrian" before you started to cross the crosswalk....he didn't like the fact that you rode up to the corner then rode across the crosswalk without stopping.
You would have had to dismount on the corner..and then walk across the crosswalk... or you could have been a vehicle...and taken the left turn signal and made a u-turn to the corner you needed to be on.
adrian01.25.10 - 1:24 pm
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everytime i get on a bike its a willful disregard for safety.
_iJunes responding to a
comment by gregb
01.25.10 - 1:24 pm
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If you dont want to or can not afford to pay up front, ask for own recognisance
buckchin responding to a
comment by _iJunes
01.25.10 - 1:26 pm
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http://www.lapdonline.org/van_nuys_community_police_station
I just got off the phone with an officer at the Van Nuys station,
818-374-9500 Voice
He didn't know how you could get a ticket for what you did.
I assume the officer who ticketed you was having a bad day.
gregb responding to a
comment by _iJunes
01.25.10 - 1:38 pm
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This issue has been debated for a long time on a number of bike blogs. Lots of confusion with the CVC and local municipal laws.
Junes, shoot me an email. I'm an attorney, let's talk.
[my username] @ rocketmail
DJwheels01.25.10 - 2:58 pm
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shoot this story over to la street blog http://la.streetsblog.org/ he has had a beef with lapd about these tickets ever since that woman got killed by the ladwp truck in a cross walk and the police ruled the accident her fault simply cause she was riding in the cross walk. he could possibly give you some ammunition on how to fight this.
I say fight it if you can.
and remember the penalty is the process itself, not the fine.
good luck
thegodofthor01.25.10 - 3:09 pm
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Great info, guys! I'm bookmarking this thread, because I use the sidewalk or crosswalk when I don't want to tangle with cars in an intersection or tight stretch of road. This could come in handy!
outerspace01.25.10 - 3:10 pm
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sounds like you were in the crosswalk going against traffic...
I agree you could probably get this dismissed but will need to go into court and plead your case to the judge. Walking of bikes in crosswalks is the law. (Thats why every crossing on the bike path from Victory to Canoga says WALK YOUR BIKE.)
JUNES, when you are on a road bike, and wearing your road shoes, stay in the road and act like a car!
ChaosRR01.25.10 - 7:16 pm
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i was trying to get to the NE corner, there is no other way to get there because the roads around it are all dead ends. i would literally have to uturn somewhere on sepulveda/ventura. in rush hour
_iJunes responding to a
comment by ChaosRR
01.25.10 - 11:07 pm
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rev106 wants to see you in his office, also.dont foget
mandingo responding to a
comment by _iJunes
01.25.10 - 11:17 pm
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Walking of bikes in crosswalks is the law. (Thats why every crossing on the bike path from Victory to Canoga says WALK YOUR BIKE.)
ChaosRR
01.25.10 - 10:16 pm
I'm sorry ChaosRR, I don't know where you got this interpretation. Can you please give us a citation? Had this been the case, I wouldn't have gotten anything from the insurance company the time I was struck while riding my bicycle in the crosswalk against traffic in Los Angeles. As it is, I received a good settlement without involving lawyers.
Also read up on the streetsblog thread I posted at the beginning of this thread; there is much more info there.
gregb responding to a
comment by ChaosRR
01.26.10 - 12:22 am
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you probably said a smart remark with u being ijunes and all...and he said fuk this im gonna cite this mofo.lol i dont know hope u beat it junebug
Huey55501.26.10 - 1:29 am
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the law says that the sidewalk is a part of the roadway, so some idiot cop decided that bikes couldnt ride against traffic on the sidewalk because it is a part of the roadway. this is very tortured logic considering the fact that it is illegal for a pedestrian to be in the roadway. based on this logic, it would be illegal for any pedestrian to be in the roadway.
IT IS LEGAL TO RIDE A BIKE ON THE SIDEWALK IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Rules and Regulations: Subject Matter
21100. Local authorities may adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution regarding the following matters:
(g) (3) Nothing in this subdivision shall limit the authority of a city or city and county pursuant to Section 12111.
(h) Operation of bicycles, and, as specified in Section 21114.5, electric carts by physically disabled persons, or persons 50 years of age or older, on the public sidewalks.
LAMC SEC. 56.15 BICYCLE RIDING –
SIDEWALKS
1. No person shall ride, operate or
use a bicycle, unicycle, skateboard, cart,
wagon, wheelchair, rollerskates, or any
other device moved exclusively by human
power, on a sidewalk, bikeway or
boardwalk in a willful or wanton disregard
for the safety of persons or property.
(Amended by Ord. No. 166,189, Eff.
10/7/90.)
2. No person shall ride, operate or
use a bicycle or unicycle on Ocean Front
Walk between Marine Street and Via
Marina within the City of Los Angeles,
except that bicycle or unicycle riding shall
be permitted along the bicycle path
adjacent to Ocean Front Walk between
Marine Street and Washington Boulevard.
(Amended by Ord. No. 153,474, Eff.
4/12/80.)
3. No person shall operate on a
beach bicycle path, or on an area of a
beach which is set aside for bicycle or
unicycle use, any bicycle or tricycle which
provides for side-by-side seating thereon or
which has affixed thereto any attachment
or appendage which protrudes from the
side of the bicycle or tricycle and is used or
designed to carry another person or
persons thereon.
4. For the purposes of this section
motorized bicycles as defined by Section
406 of the California Vehicle Code shall be
included within the terms “motor vehicle” as
defined in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code
and as used in Section 21663 of the
Vehicle Code.
(Amended by Ord. No. 148,990, Eff.
12/17/76.)
THE DMV DRIVER'S HANDBOOK STATES THAT IT IS OK TO RIDE IN THE SIDEWALK!!!!
FROM THE DMV DRIVER'S HANDBOOK
2. Using Crosswalks
Approach the intersection staying on the right. Stop and either cross as a pedestrian in the crosswalk, or make a 90 degree left turn and proceed as if you were coming from the right. If there is a signal light, wait for the green or WALK signal before crossing. Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A HANDY REFERENCE GUIDE HERE
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4WxRDrLGDR6ZGYwZjQwYzEtZTQ5ZC00NTMxLWEyNWEtOWZlZDU4NzRmOTUy&hl=en
tortuga_veloce01.26.10 - 9:06 am
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*THE DMV DRIVER'S HANDBOOK STATES THAT IT IS OK TO RIDE IN THE CROSSWALK!!!!
FROM THE DMV DRIVER'S HANDBOOK
2. Using Crosswalks
Approach the intersection staying on the right. Stop and either cross as a pedestrian in the crosswalk, or make a 90 degree left turn and proceed as if you were coming from the right. If there is a signal light, wait for the green or WALK signal before crossing. Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
tortuga_veloce01.26.10 - 9:08 am
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get a copy of the DMV handbook and bring it to court, dammit!
adrian responding to a
comment by tortuga_veloce
01.26.10 - 11:01 am
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It does say to "cross as a pedestrian," though. What does that mean? You have to dismount? Be careful about using that in court as the judge will interpret this to his liking.
outerspace01.26.10 - 12:57 pm
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conjunction junction, whats your function...
OR
_iJunes
responding to a comment by outerspace
01.26.10 - 1:14 pm
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UPDATE: Case won, found not guilty. WIN!
thx djwheels
_iJunes03.23.10 - 4:04 pm
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and also thx for everyone else's input, hope this thread serves a good purpose in the future.
_iJunes03.23.10 - 4:21 pm
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