speeding ticket - Page 4

"Bob M" <ctviggen@x.rcn.com> wrote in message newsprrflxb1s8jqfq6@news.snet.sbcglobal.net...
> On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 10:17:10 +0000 (UTC), Chicago Paddling-Fishing <jwn@ripco.com> wrote:
>
> > Steven M. O'Neill <steveo@panix.com> wrote:
> > : Ben Pfaff <blp@cs.stanford.edu> wrote:
> > :>tomk2003@hotmail.com (Tom Keats) writes:
> > :>
> > :>> Actually, if one was so inclined, it's quite easy for a rider to speed through a school or
> > :>> playground zone with a speed limit of 30 Km/h (20 MPH).
> > :>> :>> I've noted how many drivers will step on the gas just to get
> > :>> past a rider who is doing the speed limit in a school zone. And I've also noted how many
> > :>> riders ignore those speed limits.
> > :>
> > :>It is difficult to observe speed limits, even if you want to, when you don't have a bike
> > :>computer. I know that I only carry my bike computer on recreational rides. Since the majority
> > :>of my rides are utility rides, this means I don't have it very often.
> >
> > : It seems silly to want to try. A speed limit is meant to control the damage a motor vehicle
> > : can do, right? Obviously a bicycle (with rider) weighs much much less than car and can do much
> > : much less damage at any given speed.
> >
> > Well, I think it's a total safety thing. I've only been speeding once, I was doing 36.4 in a
> > 35... I know, not much over the limit, but it was
the
> > fasted I had ever ridden.
> >
> > Safetywise, I don't think I'd go that fast again (I was on a rural highway going downhill) but I
> > did jump at the chance at the time. When I looked at my bike computer I suddenly realized any
> > wrong move, and it was gonna hurt big.. I was wearing a helmet, but that wouldn't have helped
> > much at that speed I don't think.
> >
>
> It depends on where you ride. In AZ, I rarely if ever broke the speed limit, as the speed limits
> were higher (I rode roads with 45+ mph speed limits) and it was primarily plat. In CT, it's a
> different story. Today, I hit 46 mph going downhill (as measured by "highest speed" on my
> speedometer). The speed limit -- I believe -- is 35 mph in that area (and it might actually be
> 25!). So, I was going faster than the speed limit. But it's a lightly traveled road (at least at
> 6:30 am it is), and cars are going way faster than I am. For instance, on another downhill, I
> paced a truck in front of me for a while, but as soon as it became flat, he took off. I believe I
> was speeding at that time, too, but I tend not to look down often.
>
> --
> Bob M in CT Remove 'x.' to reply

46mph? That's fast. What are you riding?

Hmmm. Interesting discussion. Keep in mind that the most likely place to get a bicycle speeding
ticket in NYC is on the roadways of Central Park. There is a specific bicycle limit that is fairly
low (something like 25mph) and is meant to protect the joggers/bladers/little old ladies crossing
the street.

salmoneous@aol.com (salmoneous) wrote:

>Hmmm. Interesting discussion. Keep in mind that the most likely place to get a bicycle speeding
>ticket in NYC is on the roadways of Central Park. There is a specific bicycle limit that is fairly
>low (something like 25mph) and is meant to protect the joggers/bladers/little old ladies crossing
>the street.

I think it's 15mph (24km/h). 25mph would be way out of line for Central Park most of the time.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

"Mark Hickey" <mark@habcycles.com> wrote in message
news:7hc3gvs3tj46ot5bigflmabhsogj4goup0@4ax.com...
> salmoneous@aol.com (salmoneous) wrote:
>
> >Hmmm. Interesting discussion. Keep in mind that the most likely place to get a bicycle speeding
> >ticket in NYC is on the roadways of Central Park. There is a specific bicycle limit that is
> >fairly low (something like 25mph) and is meant to protect the joggers/bladers/little old ladies
> >crossing the street.
>
> I think it's 15mph (24km/h). 25mph would be way out of line for Central Park most of the time.
>
> Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

The speed limit in Central Park is, in fact, 15mph. See here:
http://www.transalt.org/blueprint/chapter8/sidebar.html

In 4 years of riding in the Park I have never seen or heard of anyone getting a ticket. Group
rides in the evenings (when the Park is closed to automobile traffic) exceed the limit by a
considerable margin.

Don

In article <20030701131602.07403.00001724@mb-m17.aol.com>, wafflycathcs@aol.comcomcom
(wafflyDIRTYcatLITTERhcsBOX) wrote:

> >
> >I think it's 15mph (24km/h). 25mph would be way out of line for Central Park most of the time.
>
> Forgive me for appearing a thicko, but, considering bikes don't come with *accurate* speedometers
> attached (at least they don't in the UK, and I am making an assumption about the States), how on
> earth is a cyclist supposed to tell if he or she is cycling above a particular speed limit? It
> seems illogical to have a pedal cycle speed restricted in that way.

Speed limits for all vehicles are, (quick, think of the legal term) uh, "statutory"(?) offenses.
That is, the prosecutor does not have to prove intent on the part of the vehicle operator to exceed
the speed.

You are always responsible for the speed and operation of your vehicle, be it a bicycle, a vintage
vehicle with no speedometer (such as my father's 1958 AJS), or a Toyota.

In most cases this doesn't come up, because the cops don't regard most cyclists as speed hazards.

A cycle computer, properly calibrated, is generally more accurate than a car speedometer.

Most governments have given cyclists the freedom to not equip speedometers and the responsibility to
stay within speed limits. Please do not start a campaign to change this, as the likely change will
be mandatory speedometers! And lights, and fenders....

> Over here in the UK, speed limits do not apply to pedal cycles. You can be done for "pedalling
> furiously" or is it, "furious pedalling" whatever, but *not* for speeding.

Bicycle speeding is rarely taken seriously over here, mainly because most cyclists restrict their
speeding to occasional bursts over 30 km/h in a school zone or over 50 on fast descents. In most
cases, they will still be slower than prevailing traffic.

As for the example of the UK, that's another way of enforcing the limit, but I assure you that the
net effect is similar.

Able to violate almost every speed limit on my commute (can't hit 60 km/h on the nearly
flat highway),
--
Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 14:52:16 -0700, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:

>Most governments have given cyclists the freedom to not equip speedometers and the responsibility
>to stay within speed limits. Please do not start a campaign to change this, as the likely change
>will be mandatory speedometers! And lights, and fenders....

Mandatory lighting would be a great idea, at the very least for any bike riding in darkness.

Jasper

In article <20030702030912.20676.00001224@mb-m24.aol.com>, wafflycathcs@aol.comcomcom
(wafflyDIRTYcatLITTERhcsBOX) wrote:

> >Most governments have given cyclists the freedom to not equip speedometers and the responsibility
> >to stay within speed limits. Please do not start a campaign to change this, as the likely change
> >will be mandatory speedometers! And lights, and fenders....
>
> "most .. have given them the freedom"??? here's me thinking bikes without speedos have been around
> a lot longer than most governments ;-)
>
> >As for the example of the UK, that's another way of enforcing the limit, but I assure you that
> >the net effect is similar.
>
> As I'm in the UK, I can assure you that the number of cyclists being done for "speeding" is
> vanishingly small, so the net effect isn't similar :-)

Net effect being that there are virtually no speeding tickets being issued to cyclists, I assure you
the effect is quite similar on both sides of the pond.

In Vancouver, they occasionally bust you for not having a bell,
--
Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

In article <ali5gvoonqbvc9obvpko49vdl079ol3ud5@4ax.com>, Jasper Janssen <jasper@jjanssen.org> wrote:

> On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 14:52:16 -0700, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:
>
> >Most governments have given cyclists the freedom to not equip speedometers and the responsibility
> >to stay within speed limits. Please do not start a campaign to change this, as the likely change
> >will be mandatory speedometers! And lights, and fenders....
>
> Mandatory lighting would be a great idea, at the very least for any bike riding in darkness.
>
> Jasper

Well, I don't know about the UK, but it is mandatory to have lights if you're riding in the dark
here. It's just not mandatory to have lights period, and this is one thing that comes up fairly
often, since reflectors are mandatory on new bikes, but are clearly just a fig leaf so that everyone
can pretend that either bikes don't get ridden at night or that including a cheapo light on every
bike would just be more expense saddling those of us who do ride at night with a useless light as
well as not-very-useful reflectors.

--
Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 06:22:57 -0700, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:

>Well, I don't know about the UK, but it is mandatory to have lights if you're riding in the dark
>here. It's just not mandatory to have lights period, and this is one thing that comes up fairly
>often, since reflectors are mandatory on new bikes, but are clearly just a fig leaf so that
>everyone can pretend that either bikes don't get ridden at night or that including a cheapo light
>on every bike would just be more expense saddling those of us who do ride at night with a useless
>light as well as not-very-useful reflectors.

A light kit with front and rear lights and a bottle generator plus mounting hardware and wires
*retails* for 6 or so bucks. On the price of a bike, $1-2 wholesale of hardware really shouldn't be
that big an issue.

Jasper

"Don Belfer" <vze254s5@verizon.net> wrote:
> The speed limit in Central Park is, in fact, 15mph. See here:
> http://www.transalt.org/blueprint/chapter8/sidebar.html
>
> In 4 years of riding in the Park I have never seen or heard of anyone getting a ticket. Group
> rides in the evenings (when the Park is closed to automobile traffic) exceed the limit by a
> considerable margin.

What's a bigger problem is cyclists not obeying the pedestrian crossing lights on the loop roads. It
can be *very* scary crossing the road with hundreds of bikes whizzing past. And I've seen more
bike-ped collisions on the Central Park roads than I have anywhere else in NYC or elsewhere.

Olmstead designed grade-separated pedestrian, horseback, and horse-and-carriage roads for a reason.

-Apr

It's not so much the speeding tickets but the tickets for going through lights that have been given
to me on several occasions. I've also been ticketed for biking in Washington Square Park at 7:30 AM
on a cold winter morning. Guess there bike tickets are built into the cost of living in NYC.

------------------------------------

victor

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 20:42:11 GMT, "victor" <vcarnuccio@mindspring.com> wrote:

>It's not so much the speeding tickets but the tickets for going through lights that have been given
>to me on several occasions. I've also been ticketed for biking in Washington Square Park at 7:30 AM
>on a cold winter morning. Guess there bike tickets are built into the cost of living in NYC.
>
>------------------------------------
>
>victor
>
>
>

Tickets of every sort are built into NYC budget now.

Earl Camembert <nospam@forme.com> wrote:
> "victor" <vcarnuccio@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> >It's not so much the speeding tickets but the tickets for going through lights that have been
> >given to me on several occasions. I've also been ticketed for biking in Washington Square Park
> >at 7:30 AM on a cold winter morning. Guess there bike tickets are built into the cost of living
> >in NYC.
>
> Tickets of every sort are built into NYC budget now.

I never got a ticket riding in NYC, but then, I'm a boring vehicular cyclist. Under normal
circumstances, it wouldn't occur to me to ride through Washington Square Park. I've run a light or
two (though usually I don't), but if I were caught, of course I'd get a ticket.

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/

"zeldabee" <zeldabee@apollo.geese.com> wrote in message news:20030902205507.489$sG@newsreader.com...
> Earl Camembert <nospam@forme.com> wrote:
> > "victor" <vcarnuccio@mindspring.com> wrote: I've also been
> > >ticketed for biking in Washington Square Park at 7:30 AM on a cold winter morning. Guess there
> > >bike tickets are built into the cost of living in NYC.
[...]
> Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't occur to me to ride through Washington Square Park.

Could you please enlighten a non-New Yaw-w-w-wkah: Why don't the powers-that-be permit or wish one
to bicycle this park in particular? Or parks in general??

Granted my experience is quaintly provincial but I've never seen a park-posted as off-limits to
bikes. Some hiking trails or wildlife preservation areas, yes - but not urban parks.

"bgaudet0801" <bgaudet0801@rogers.com> wrote:
> "zeldabee" <zeldabee@apollo.geese.com> wrote...
> > Earl Camembert <nospam@forme.com> wrote:
> > > "victor" <vcarnuccio@mindspring.com> wrote: I've also been
> > > >ticketed for biking in Washington Square Park at 7:30 AM on a cold winter morning. Guess
> > > >there bike tickets are built into the cost of living in NYC.
> [...]
> > Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't occur to me to ride through Washington Square Park.
>
> Could you please enlighten a non-New Yaw-w-w-wkah: Why don't the powers-that-be permit or wish
> one to bicycle this park in particular? Or parks in general??

There's no place for people to ride there. It's a small park, and is full of peds day and night.
People sit around on benches, or mill around watching buskers and whatnot.

> Granted my experience is quaintly provincial but I've never seen a park-posted as off-limits to
> bikes. Some hiking trails or wildlife preservation areas, yes - but not urban parks.

Actually, your question puzzles me. Larger parks, like Central and Prospect Parks, have bike paths.
Why would you want to ride around in a dinky, crowded little park? It would take about 30 seconds to
get from one end to the other...assuming you didn't run down a ped on the way. Little children, I
can see...

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/