You are hereBeen pulled over? Unfairly harassed? Make your voice heard!
Been pulled over? Unfairly harassed? Make your voice heard!
Dan Mottola, The Austin Chronicle's intrepid two-wheeled reporter and flag waver for all things cycling-related just sent me a rather interesting request:
I'm starting to work on a story about the perceived ramp-up in enforcement against cyclists by the APD. I'm supposed to talk to Dept. brass today or tomorrow. Since you're in very much in touch with the community via your award-winning blog (Ed: flattery, works every time), I was wondering if you could help me out. Can you post an open call to your readers to send me any accounts of citations they've received recently by the APD. I'd especially be interested in hearing from anyone who feels they've been unfairly targeted or harassed.
I've noted the multiple posts you've made on the topic and the 3 or 4 comments left by folks who've been ticketed. My thinking is, the more the merrier when it comes to cyclist experiences. I'd like to get as clear a picture as I can of who's being ticketed and why... to see if there's any pattern there.
Let me know if you need any more info from me. If you're able to oblige, have people send their stories to this address.
Thanks 1,000,000-
There you have it, ladies and gents of the cycling persuasion. If you want to make your voices heard to a real live reporter, drop this guy an email. If you're a little wary of spilling your guts to a reporter, take a few minutes and look at the shit Dan has covered in the past. He's one of the good guys, and does a lot of his reporting from our side of the windshield. Help him out if you can!
Beyond what's been said on this website, I've talked to several people in person with regards to the APD's crackdown on cyclists, and it seems to have even further-reaching effects than what I'd seen and heard about through the website and via email. Rather than re-hash my thoughts on it I'll just cut and paste what I wrote Dan earlier this morning...
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One of my concerns is with the number of cyclists they’re pulling over. The first person to email me about the situation mentioned that in the 30 minutes he was pulled over, over a dozen other people were stopped and ticketed as well. Though the website gets around, it’s still only viewed by a small cross-section of cyclists, so the responses we’re seeing are only representative of a small sliver of the community. Talking to a couple guys who live on the east side and work in shops, they’ve also been mentioning an unannounced crackdown on bikers on the east side as well as downtown and campus, that the police have been harassing bikers over minor things, most of whom bike out of necessity for transportation, not as recreational cyclists or political radicals (aka students and trustifarians). That’s the bit of the story I’ve found most disconcerting. The bikers I know are a relatively decently educated crew, and know what to do when pulled over, or how to fight a ticket. Some guy riding his Magna to his construction job on the east side getting a ticket is gonna ruin his day. I’m curious to see the cop’s enforcement numbers. When the helmet law was in effect it was used primarily on the east side and primarily against minorities (4 to 1, I believe), so I’m curious to see if this crackdown is having a similar effect.
To me it seems like a decent revenue stream for the cops. Small, confusing tickets that people won’t bother fighting unless they know what they’re doing or are just a dick like me and fight everything. Catching a rapist is a lot of work and doesn’t “pay”, but catching a biker without a back light is simple and nearly instantaneously puts $155 in the city’s pocket. If you can knock out a dozen of those in half an hour like the previous claim, you’re making the city some decent cheddar off the Austin cycling community.
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I live north and commute to the south west so I don't get the east side experience like I used to when I worked off of Montopolis, and consequently rarely know what's going down over there with regards to law enforcement, unless I read it in the news. If any of y'all east siders have been seeing evidence of the crackdown in your neck of the woods, holla!
I live, work, and bike on the Eastside, and I rarely see cops. When I do notice the police, they are generally busting prostitutes about a block from my house, so I'm actually happy to see them. However, I follow bike laws pretty closely as it is, so I'm not on the lookout for coppers all the time.
Honestly? I've been riding way less ever since I heard about the crackdown. UT Police sent an email to everyone on campus who'd registered their bike saying they would start cracking down, and I just stopped riding...started riding the bus instead. It totally took the joy out of cycling for me. The idea that they were out to get me? That they weren't on my side protecting me from the crazy drivers around town? That totally broke my spirit.
And the funny thing? I'm one of those cyclists who *already* stops at every stop sign and signals turns. Ain't that a kicker? I would just shake my head when I'd see others blowing stop signs or riding against traffic. I figured they'd either learn the hard way, or have a bad scare and stop riding entirely. When they make a mistake, they're the one who pays for it. Cars, on the other hand...
I've been bike-commuting for over five years now... I started when I worked at a lawfirm downtown, and I've kept it up, summer and winter, ever since...through grad school and now post-school (I still work on campus, and downtown too... and commute from around Cherrywood and Manor). I felt like I'd learned a lot about how to keep myself safe, how to predict the driving habits of cars to avoid collisions, I'd learned the back routes that put me on safer streets rather than awful thoroughfares. But now I feel like there's just one more obstacle to safe cycling out there... that I have to worry about being unfairly targeted....that there isn't an equal amount of crackdown on car-drivers who roll through stopsigns...what gives, APD?
I want more driver AND cyclist education about how to share the road safely. I want drivers to be aware of us... to give us a break. I know some of us do crazy things on bicycles, but you can't generalize and say *all* of us are doing that and so clearly are the party to blame. There are cars out there who do crazy things too...just in a one ton steel box... I'm not seeing the crackdown in that department at all. It makes me lose my faith in our system (and I'm a pretty optimistic, faithful girl!)
If you obey the laws (even when it's not a safety issue), they're not likely to give you any trouble.
I imagine they're mostly looking for red light/stop sign running and no lights/reflector at night. If you always stop when you're supposed to, and get those lights, I doubt they'll give you any grief. Or if you're going to run something, at least look around first ... probably a good idea even without a crackdown.
APD is probably just bowing to pressure from above, who's bowing to complaints from motorists that cyclists get away with running red lights/stop signs, and motorists don't. And there's more than a little truth to that ...