You are hereAccording to the city, riding a bicycle the wrong way down the street is WORSE than driving the wrong way...
According to the city, riding a bicycle the wrong way down the street is WORSE than driving the wrong way...
DougMC posted some VERY interesting facts amidst the ridiculous spam-fest (working on fixing that stat) that is the ATXBS forums about a bunch of new bicycle-specific traffic fines in the new City of Austin Municipal Court fine schedule. Check this out:
The City of Austin Municipal Court has updated their schedule of fines. They now have some bicycle-specific fines listed --
Bicycle - No Lights $147 $170
Bicycle - Ran Red Light $217 $275
Bicycle - Riding on Sidewalk $146 $185
Bicycle - Wrong Way One Way $201 $251(first number is if you pay quickly, second is if you don't.)
OK, the fine for running a red light is the same as in a car -- fair enough. They don't have any information on driving your car on the sidewalk, I guess that doesn't happen very often, so that's fine.
But the fines for `no lights' and `wrong way' are actually *higher* on a bike than in a car! Here's the relevant fines that don't mention bicycles --
Driving Without Lights $137 $155
No Headlights $137 $155
Equipment Violations -Light violation-flashing lights to front, signal device violations, brakes, muffler, defective tires, light violation-headlight, taillight. $137 $155
Defective Lights - Headlights $137 $155
Wrong Way on One Way Street $167 $200... what's up with that?
So according to the city it's also a worse act to ride a bicycle without a front light than it is to drive an unlit automobile? Does anyone else see a problem with this? Thanks again Doug for pointing out how much the local municipal law enforcement community fears the horribly dangerous unlit or wrong-way cyclist. It seems like the cycling community is less equipped to pay these egregious fines, so the fact that they're being dinged another 50 bucks for the same behavior as an automobile (and a much lesser chance of causing injury) is some bullshit.
these are the same guys handing out tickets to cyclists?
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/APD_officers_caught_running_red_light...
The City of Austin ordinances regarding bicycles can be found here.
This is where children are required to wear helmets and riding on the sidewalk is prohibited in a few places.
Speaking of which, this is the sidewalk law --
§ 12-2-13 USE OF SIDEWALKS RESTRICTED.
(A) Except as provided in Subsection (B), a person may ride a bicycle on a sidewalk.
(B) A person may not ride a bicycle on a sidewalk on the following streets:
(1) 100 to 1100 blocks of Congress Avenue;
(2) 1900 to 2500 blocks of Guadalupe Street;
(3) 100 to 1100 blocks of Brazos Street;
(4) 200 to 1100 blocks of Colorado Street;
(5) from the 200 block of Second Street (West) to the 300 block of Second Street (East);
(6) from the 900 block of Fifth Street (West) to the 800 block of Fifth Street (East);
(7) from the 700 block of Sixth Street (East) to the 1000 block of Sixth Street (West);
(8) from the 100 block of Eighth Street (West) to the 200 block of Eighth Street (East);
(9) from the 100 block of Ninth Street (West) to the 200 block of Ninth Street (East);
(10) from the 200 block of 11th Street (West) to the 200 block of 11th Street (East); and
(11) from the 200 block of 15th Street (West) to the 200 block of 15th Street (East).
...
but back to my point, the law also specifies the penalties for these violations.
§ 12-2-36 PENALTY; ENFORCEMENT.
(A) A person commits an offense if the person performs an act prohibited by this article or fails to perform an act required by this article.
(B) An offense under this article is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed:
(1) $20 on a first conviction; and
(2) $40 on a subsequent conviction.
...
`Not to exceed $20' doesn't seem to jive with `$146'.
Now, this $20/$40 thing would only seem to apply to things set out in the city ordinances, so it wouldn't apply to red lights, stop signs or going the wrong way (unless somebody got clever about § 12-2-2, but that seems a stretch), but since this is the only place that sidewalk riding is prohibited it certainly should apply to that.
Is it the Municipal Court itself? The city manager? Whichever office this came out of needs to be flooded with calls and emails, immediately.
It's not about those offenses necessarily being worse on a bike than in a car. Let's assume for the sake of argument that those offenses are equally bad on a bike and in a car (which clearly isn't the case). Far more people commit those offenses on a bike than in a car, which suggests that the fine needs to be higher to lower the frequencies of those offenses on a bike to their levels in cars. Again, I don't think the frequencies of the bike offenses actually need to be lowered to those of cars, but the higher fines don't mean that someone has to think the offenses are worse on a bike.
Regardless, the police should lean heavily towards warnings when dealing with people on bikes because a lot of people don't know what their responsibilities are on a bike, and punishing people too severely will lead to more people avoiding biking altogether, which is contrary to the city's goals.
"Far more people commit those offenses on a bike than in a car, which suggests that the fine needs to be higher to lower the frequencies of those offenses on a bike to their levels in cars."
I'm guessing by "Far more" you mean proportionately (i.e. as a percentage). Otherwise, that doesn't make much sense. Still kind of dubious...From what I observe on a daily basis, there are just as many cars running stop signs/lights, not signaling, etc. It's just that when people observe a bike doing it, their reaction is more often "idiot [bikers]" PLURAL, as opposed to "idiot [car driver]" SINGULAR, when a car does it. The reasons for this are many and complicated.
Also, your point about more severe penalties decreasing overall bike-riding is well-taken. I'd go further, though, and offer that even if law enforcement does lean toward warnings, just the public perception that the law is skewed against cyclists will keep some from riding.
Just some thoughts...
-Nick
http://theybar.blogspot.com
derek if you are going the wrong way, under 15 mph, once again, pedestrian speed.no different than someone walking their dog..a team of joggers can go the "wrong way" on a one way street..why the hell are they pickin on us? maybe it's because we are winning? cock fondue
derek years ago, i unlocked my bike from the alley between 5th and 6th, dan mckluskys' i worked at, just leaving work to go home, 70 dollar ticket, bike cops, riding on the sidewalk 20 feet, just to get to the street. so now it's more..i always ride on sidewalks when there are evil drivers and no pedestrians...last time i checked, riding on the sidewalk was only illegal on sixth street, congress from the bridge to the capitol, and the drag mlk to 29th street...anyone know if these NO RIDING ON SIDEWALK districts have changed, for i am a 10 mph cruiser type(slower than jogging) won me a lawsuit in co. pedestrian speed.. hey, how about some cock migas! with special sauce
What if while I'm riding....my left nut begins to itch? Will I be breaking a law when I scratch it?
derek you have to be on the right side of the road to scratch your left nut with your right hand..left side....
Is it illegal to ride with ear/headphones on?
... car or bike. Perhaps some cities have such a law, but I'm not aware of Austin having one.