Run a Stop Sign, Get a Ticket

~

From The (Portland) Oregonian - July 17, 2007

On a 100-mile ride from Portland to the Oregon coast, three bicyclists
pedaling through Washington County earlier this month rolled past a stop
sign in tiny North Plains and were pulled over by the police chief.

Three citations later, the trio owed the municipal court more than
$1,000 in total fines. But that wasn't what steamed them or what set off
a flurry of snippy online messages between the small-town cop and the
big-city bicycle bloggers.

What aggravated them was the context of the incident, coming soon after
Aloha cyclist Timothy O'Donnell was struck and killed by a driver with a
suspended license who faced only fines for traffic violations, such as
careless driving and passing in a no-passing zone. They were also
annoyed by what they called "a lecture" from North Plains Police Chief
Scott Whitehead.
Jonathan Maus, editor of BikePortland.org, picked up the North Plains
story for his bicycle blog July 6 and set off a heated online debate in
the cycling community over the next five days.
The comments reflected long-simmering tensions that erupted after
O'Donnell's death and remain heated among drivers, cyclists and police
officers.

"It seems like there's always a big outrage," Maus said.

Whitehead himself entered the online fray at one point.

Since he came to North Plains four years ago, Whitehead says he has
spent a small part of his eight-hour days at the busy intersection of
Northwest Glencoe and West Union roads, just north of U.S. 26.

The intersection sits on a popular cycling route that draws dozens of
cyclists on weekdays and hundreds on weekends, said Whitehead, who
claims to ticket anybody who blasts through the four-way stop. He said
he probably writes five to seven cycling citations a month during the
peak of cycling season -- and five to seven year-round for vehicles.

By comparison, police in nearby Hillsboro -- which, at a population of
85,000, is roughly 50 times larger than North Plains -- issued a single
citation to a cyclist for rolling through a traffic signal this past
year, although they stop and warn several people a month, said Lt.
Michael Rouches. The fine for that offense in Hillsboro is $242. North
Plains charges $335.

Whitehead said he ignores the vast majority of cyclists, including those
"coming through the stop sign at a couple miles an hour, and it's
obvious they're looking and making sure nobody is coming."

But that's exactly how Tim Schauer, 39, said his group traveled through
the stop sign July 5. The three, who pleaded not guilty to their
citations, will be in North Plains Municipal Court on Aug. 6.

Whitehead "sort of took the opportunity to tongue-lash us a bit,"
Schauer said. Whitehead mentioned recent bicycle fatalities and made it
seem "like I'm a contributing factor to this really tragic accident,"
said Schauer, pointing out that O'Donnell was not violating any traffic
laws when he was killed in June on a rural road north of Cornelius.

Schauer later described the North Plains incident on the Oregon Bicycle
Racing Association e-mail list: "During the rest of our ride to the
coast, we discussed amongst ourselves the $1,005 in fines we were levied
with compared to the $1,100 in fines levied against the driver who hit
and killed the cyclist recently. It truly is a strange world sometimes."

After Schauer went online, a few readers, such as Evan MacKenzie of
Baker City, e-mailed Whitehead privately. MacKenzie, a recent Hillsboro
resident, criticized Whitehead for "punishing cyclists" and wrote: "The
area around North Plains is a wonderful place to ride, but not if the
local police practice a skewed 'Dukes of Hazzard' observance of the
law."

Whitehead acknowledges fanning the flames with his response, in which he
called MacKenzie a "complete idiot." MacKenzie decided to forward the
exchange to BikePortland.org, where it prompted a flurry of hostility
toward Whitehead -- as well as an effort to restore calm and defend the
chief.

"While that is certainly a steep fine, the truth of the matter is this,"
wrote "Dabby" on July 9. "It is illegal to not stop at a stop sign.
Until it is legal to yield at a stop sign, if you do, and get caught,
you deserve the ticket. . . . Pay the fine."

Whitehead himself wrote: "There is nothing worse than responding to a
crash with injuries or death. You think it's tough on you as a bike
community? It's tough on us when we have to make a death notification
and then second guess if we could have prevented such a tragic event."

That hasn't happened in North Plains recently, where the only bicycle
crash in the past few years was the fault of a truck driver turning in
front of a cyclist who had the right of way, Whitehead said. It was not
fatal.

MacKenzie thinks some cycling time could help Whitehead better
understand cyclists. "I invite you to go on a ride with me and see what
it's like. I'll come all the way back from Baker City and ride with
you," he wrote back after Whitehead's initial response.

But Whitehead said he doesn't plan to join MacKenzie on the road,
particularly if it's West Union Road, which he says is too dangerous for
cyclists. And Whitehead doesn't think he could keep up for long. "It's a
lot of endurance. I don't have that much energy to do what these folks
do."

~

"Paul J. Berg" wrote in message
...
~

From The (Portland) Oregonian - July 17, 2007

On a 100-mile ride from Portland to the Oregon coast, three bicyclists
pedaling through Washington County earlier this month rolled past a stop
sign in tiny North Plains and were pulled over by the police chief.

Three citations later, the trio owed the municipal court more than
$1,000 in total fines. But that wasn't what steamed them or what set off
a flurry of snippy online messages between the small-town cop and the
big-city bicycle bloggers.

What aggravated them was the context of the incident, coming soon after
Aloha cyclist Timothy O'Donnell was struck and killed by a driver with a
suspended license who faced only fines for traffic violations, such as
careless driving and passing in a no-passing zone. They were also
annoyed by what they called "a lecture" from North Plains Police Chief
Scott Whitehead.
Jonathan Maus, editor of BikePortland.org, picked up the North Plains
story for his bicycle blog July 6 and set off a heated online debate in
the cycling community over the next five days.
The comments reflected long-simmering tensions that erupted after
O'Donnell's death and remain heated among drivers, cyclists and police
officers.


What a dickheaded cop. If any of them spent any time on a bike they'd
realize that you can safely go through a stop sign without having to put a
foot on the ground.

The other driver sounds like he should have gotten a minimum of a couple of
years.

"aeiouy" wrote:


"Paul J. Berg" wrote in message
...
~

From The (Portland) Oregonian - July 17, 2007

On a 100-mile ride from Portland to the Oregon coast, three
bicyclists pedaling through Washington County earlier this month
rolled past a stop sign in tiny North Plains and were pulled over by
the police chief.

Three citations later, the trio owed the municipal court more than
$1,000 in total fines. But that wasn't what steamed them or what set
off a flurry of snippy online messages between the small-town cop and
the big-city bicycle bloggers.

What aggravated them was the context of the incident, coming soon
after Aloha cyclist Timothy O'Donnell was struck and killed by a
driver with a suspended license who faced only fines for traffic
violations, such as careless driving and passing in a no-passing
zone. They were also annoyed by what they called "a lecture" from
North Plains Police Chief Scott Whitehead.
Jonathan Maus, editor of BikePortland.org, picked up the North Plains
story for his bicycle blog July 6 and set off a heated online debate
in the cycling community over the next five days.
The comments reflected long-simmering tensions that erupted after
O'Donnell's death and remain heated among drivers, cyclists and
police officers.


What a dickheaded cop. If any of them spent any time on a bike they'd
realize that you can safely go through a stop sign without having to
put a foot on the ground.

If you want to ride in traffic, you get to obey the traffic laws just
like the big kids.


The other driver sounds like he should have gotten a minimum of a
couple of years.

Maybe. Depends on the situation. Apparently You don't know all of it.

In article 1pkni.1080$I76.401@trnddc05,
Lobby Dosser wrote:

If you want to ride in traffic, you get to obey the traffic laws just
like the big kids.

If they rolled through a stop sign, it sounds like they *precisely*
obeyed the the traffic laws just like the big kids. Here's a fun
physics follow-up: if a 5000lb SUV rolls through a stop sign at 1mph,
how fast could a 250lb cyclist do it while carrying the same momentum?
Or is it asking too much for the laws of the government to follow from
the laws of physics?

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, 4ax.com, buzzardnews.com, googlegroups.com,
heapnode.com, localhost, teranews.com, x-privat.org

aeiouy wrote:

"Paul J. Berg" wrote in message
...
~

From The (Portland) Oregonian - July 17, 2007

On a 100-mile ride from Portland to the Oregon coast, three bicyclists
pedaling through Washington County earlier this month rolled past a stop
sign in tiny North Plains and were pulled over by the police chief.

Three citations later, the trio owed the municipal court more than
$1,000 in total fines. But that wasn't what steamed them or what set off
a flurry of snippy online messages between the small-town cop and the
big-city bicycle bloggers.

What aggravated them was the context of the incident, coming soon after
Aloha cyclist Timothy O'Donnell was struck and killed by a driver with a
suspended license who faced only fines for traffic violations, such as
careless driving and passing in a no-passing zone. They were also
annoyed by what they called "a lecture" from North Plains Police Chief
Scott Whitehead.
Jonathan Maus, editor of BikePortland.org, picked up the North Plains
story for his bicycle blog July 6 and set off a heated online debate in
the cycling community over the next five days.
The comments reflected long-simmering tensions that erupted after
O'Donnell's death and remain heated among drivers, cyclists and police
officers.


What a dickheaded cop. If any of them spent any time on a bike they'd
realize that you can safely go through a stop sign without having to put
a foot on the ground.

The other driver sounds like he should have gotten a minimum of a couple
of years.


so you think traffic laws should not have to be obeyed by bicyclist's on
public roads? Where is it written that they get that right!

(Doc O'Leary) wrote in

t:

In article 1pkni.1080$I76.401@trnddc05,
Lobby Dosser wrote:

If you want to ride in traffic, you get to obey the traffic laws
just like the big kids.

If they rolled through a stop sign, it sounds like they *precisely*
obeyed the the traffic laws just like the big kids.

How so, if the law requires a full stop?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

(aeiouy) wrote in
:

What a dickheaded cop. If any of them spent any time on a bike
they'd realize that you can safely go through a stop sign without
having to put a foot on the ground.

Most of the time, someone driving a car can safely roll through a
stop sign too.

But that's not what the law says, is it?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
(aeiouy) wrote in
:

What a dickheaded cop. If any of them spent any time on a bike
they'd realize that you can safely go through a stop sign without
having to put a foot on the ground.

Most of the time, someone driving a car can safely roll through a
stop sign too.

Neither you or I were there so we don't know how these guys went through the
stop but yes you can come to a stop on a bike without having to put a foot
down. To take it one step further; in your opinion, if a jogger came to
that intersection and didn't stop jogging for 1 second before continuing
would they be guilt of jay walking?


But that's not what the law says, is it?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

(aeiouy) wrote in
:

To take it one step further; in your opinion, if a jogger came to
that intersection and didn't stop jogging for 1 second before
continuing would they be guilt of jay walking?

My opinion has no bearing on this, and I have no idea what the law
has to say about it, if anything.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

"Lobby Dosser" wrote in message
news:1pkni.1080$I76.401@trnddc05...
"aeiouy" wrote:


"Paul J. Berg" wrote in message
...
~

From The (Portland) Oregonian - July 17, 2007

On a 100-mile ride from Portland to the Oregon coast, three
bicyclists pedaling through Washington County earlier this month
rolled past a stop sign in tiny North Plains and were pulled over by
the police chief.

Three citations later, the trio owed the municipal court more than
$1,000 in total fines. But that wasn't what steamed them or what set
off a flurry of snippy online messages between the small-town cop and
the big-city bicycle bloggers.

What aggravated them was the context of the incident, coming soon
after Aloha cyclist Timothy O'Donnell was struck and killed by a
driver with a suspended license who faced only fines for traffic
violations, such as careless driving and passing in a no-passing
zone. They were also annoyed by what they called "a lecture" from
North Plains Police Chief Scott Whitehead.
Jonathan Maus, editor of BikePortland.org, picked up the North Plains
story for his bicycle blog July 6 and set off a heated online debate
in the cycling community over the next five days.
The comments reflected long-simmering tensions that erupted after
O'Donnell's death and remain heated among drivers, cyclists and
police officers.


What a dickheaded cop. If any of them spent any time on a bike they'd
realize that you can safely go through a stop sign without having to
put a foot on the ground.

If you want to ride in traffic, you get to obey the traffic laws just
like the big kids.
You never go 5 miles over the speed limit?



The other driver sounds like he should have gotten a minimum of a
couple of years.

Maybe. Depends on the situation. Apparently You don't know all of it.
From what was posted here I know enough to know that a) he was driving under
a suspended license b) he was passing in a no-passing zone c) his actions
killed a bicyclist. With that information I know he should haev been
charged with involuntary manslauther at least.