[*BCM*] Longfellow / Cambridge Bike Police

[Rob Arnold]

Nevertheless, the number of people killed/injured by cars far exceed the
number of people killed/injured by bikes.

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 3:40 PM, Anne Wolfe <goannego at gmail.com> wrote:

> Cyclists who run red lights are at greater risk of potential harm as when
> they're struck by oncoming traffic they have nothing to protect them.
> Unlike, say, being in a car which is struck.  Screw property damage, let's
> talk serious personal injury.  And about the fastest way to get stopped by a
> cop is to run a red light in a car.
>
> Cars that run red lights are considered so serious that in many states and
> countries, they are automatically photographed and issued with penalty
> points.  No cops even required.  This has certainly had the effect of
> substantially reducing the running of red lights by cars.  Now, if only
> cyclists would learn as well.
>
> People's most common complaints about cyclists?  Seems to be the running of
> red lights.  That Newsweek article's common theme?  Running red lights
> (including the guy who picked up his bike and RAN through the red light.
> The red lights are a big deal.  Put your big girl panties on and learn to
> deal with it.
>
> 2008/7/30 Rob Arnold <rsarnold at gmail.com>
>
> Speaking of percentages, I wonder what percentage of property damage are
>> responsible by cars versus bikes? Or personal injuries? Or deaths? The
>> enforcement should be proportional to the potential harm. I'm guessing it
>> isn't.
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Anne Wolfe <goannego at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Look at it in terms of percentages.  What percentage of traffic
>>> violations (and/or police time) in Cambridge are given to cars?  What
>>> percentage are given to bikes?
>>>
>>> If you want to complain about non-enforcement of traffic laws against
>>> vehicles, the time to do it is not during grumbling for being caught running
>>> a red light.  Because of course, while you might think it is safer, traffic
>>> and pedestrians coming the other way may well disagree when you hit them.
>>> Or they hit you.  Etc.
>>>
>>> I've seen a lot more cyclists in my day fail to signal a turn than
>>> drivers.  And I've seen a whole lot of drivers fail to signal.
>>>
>>> As an aside, I just noticed this on Newsweek.  Feeding in with the
>>> Seattle and NYC issues, non-law abiding bikers are in for considerably more
>>> crackdowns everywhere it seems.
>>>
>>> http://www.newsweek.com/id/149224
>>>
>>> 2008/7/30 Charvak Karpe <charvak at alum.mit.edu>
>>>
>>> Yes, I've been stopped by the Cambridge bike cops for running the 77
>>>> Mass Ave light.  They only gave me a warning and told me that they'll
>>>> be around town and I should stop the next time I see them so they
>>>> don't write me a ticket.  It's one more thing to be alert for,
>>>> distracting me from dodging cars.  I was polite, but I did ask why
>>>> they don't do something more useful like ticket people for not using
>>>> turn signals.  They claimed that they write tickets for that too and
>>>> enforce all laws.  They thanked me for being green and "helping mother
>>>> earth".  I thanked them for the warning.
>>>>
>>>> If I had time, I'd demand statistics of how many tickets the City of
>>>> Cambridge has issued for failure to use turn signals and carry that
>>>> with me for the next time I see them.  Has anyone heard of someone
>>>> getting a ticket for turning without signalling?
>>>>
>>>> It's not their fault that they've been assigned the bicycle
>>>> enforcement shift, so the best they can do is hand out a bunch of
>>>> warnings.  We should be nice to those guys.  One might expect the
>>>> police to do useful things like track down stolen property or stop and
>>>> ask questions when they see a bike lock being cut instead of writing
>>>> bike tickets, but at least they're not pushing us off the bikes.
>>>> Sarcasm aside, police presence does help keep drivers tamer than they
>>>> would be otherwise.  And although they vary as much as any group of
>>>> people, most of them are pretty nice if you're nice to them and
>>>> respectful of their authority.
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Agreed about the hypocrisy of these bicycle traps.  Just this morning,
>>>> at
>>>> that very location, I was right behind a rider who was fined for running
>>>> the light ahead of me.  With the reputation that Boston motorists have,
>>>> I
>>>> can't help but feel they have much bigger fish to fry.
>>>>
>>>> However, I have to say that last Friday (in the afternoon, following the
>>>> police-supported Bike Friday event that I attended) I was told by a cop
>>>> to
>>>> go if I saw a chance through the busy intersection.  It was "the least
>>>> they could do" because I was "sparing us all the gas."  He was a really
>>>> nice guy, and if I'd had the time, I'd have grabbed his badge number and
>>>> commended him (leaving out the law breaking part of course) to his
>>>> department.
>>>> --
>>>> James David Morgan
>>>> Co-Founder and Designer
>>>> The Groundswell Collective
>>>> http://www.groundswellcollective.com/
>>>> http://blog.groundswellcollective.com/
>>>>
>>>> Jon Ramos wrote:
>>>> Speaking of the area near the Longfellow Bridge....
>>>> There have been an increasing number of bike police traps in
>>>> Cambridgelately.? I have noticed that they are spread out along my route
>>>> at different locations, but they seem to always be at least one cop the
>>>> intersection of Broadway & Main Street in Cambridge (just before the
>>>> Longfellow).? I have watched other cyclist get stopped and ticketed a
>>>> few
>>>> times, usually when crossing with the pedestrian walk signal when all
>>>> lights are red.
>>>> ?
>>>> Here is a map of the spot:?
>>>> (
>>>> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Broadway+%4042.362770,+-71.084582&daddr=42.361977,-71.082423&hl=en&geocode=12899578198328372370,42.362770,-71.084582%3B6747366231024457007,42.362270,-71.083680&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=17&sll=42.362008,-71.082627&sspn=0.003623,0.006748&ie=UTF8&ll=42.363047,-71.08283&spn=0.014491,0.043302&z=15
>>>> )
>>>> (In my opinion) I think it is good for the police to stop cyclists for
>>>> blasting through a red light, but I personally think it is safer to
>>>> cross
>>>> that particular intersection with the pedestrian signal vs. waiting for
>>>> the green and battling for a safe spot with the cars.
>>>> ?
>>>> I also think it is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS that the bike police at that
>>>> intersection do NOTHING about all of the shuttles, taxis, large trucks,
>>>> and cars that are parked in the bike lane less than 50 yards east from
>>>> where the cops are handing out tickets to cyclists.
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Anne M. Wolfe, LL.M.
>>> Mobile: ( 07805) 456901
>>> "If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter
>>> and cover head. Please do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Anne M. Wolfe, LL.M.
> Mobile: ( 07805) 456901
> "If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter and
> cover head. Please do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."
>
> _______________________________________________
> Boston Critical Mass mailing list
> list at bostoncriticalmass.org
> http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list
> To unsubscribe email list-unsubscribe at bostoncriticalmass.org
>
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