Jul 24, 2012 at 07:21 PM
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/cyclist-sentenced.html
Well it seems sometimes thing turn out fair... ish.
Well it seems sometimes thing turn out fair... ish.
Close Encounters of the #%&*@! Kind (Legal too)
Oct 17, 2012 at 03:00 AM
fml...just got pinned 270 bucks...on canal street.
Oct 17, 2012 at 12:25 PM
I presume this was for running a red light. Go to court. I had my red light ticket dismissed without even having to say anything. You will need to have something to say and perhaps pictures of the intersection to support your ploint. I do not knojw what happened, but I can imagine that you were just trying to stay out of the traffic rush that comes when the light turns green.
Oct 17, 2012 at 06:36 PM
in all honesty i ran the light cause pedestrians were jay walking and no cars were in sight either...what was ur defense going to be?
Oct 18, 2012 at 05:11 PM
Actually, pedestrians jay walking and no cars in sight. I had some pictures.
Oct 18, 2012 at 06:56 PM
yea im thats not a bad idea. im gonna go back there and show how the intersection i ran the light at is a usual chaos.
Oct 29, 2012 at 02:10 AM
so I go online to plead 'not guilty' before the 15 day appeal period or whatever it's called...and no record of a traffic ticket!!
I'm hoping this is for real and that the officer took pity on my broke ass.
I'm hoping this is for real and that the officer took pity on my broke ass.
Oct 29, 2012 at 03:16 AM
Do not count on that. Their system is dreadfully inefficient.
Oct 29, 2012 at 03:09 PM
Keep checking. I had a ticket show up 11 months later. If you don't pay it, they'll start charging you late fees. Which I found out the hard way...
Oct 29, 2012 at 05:02 PM
k, im gonna have to call them then...thx for the tips.
Oct 29, 2012 at 11:47 PM
Don't you have an appearance date. Just show up and take your licks.
Oct 31, 2012 at 01:18 AM
no u have to plead not guilty first...then u get an appearance date (obviously if u plead guilty, just pay the ticket)
Oct 31, 2012 at 04:22 AM
This gets you out of a riding on the sidewalk summons/warrant in brooklyn...I got a bogus one a while back for riding on the sidewalk in Williamsburg. I wasn't on the sidewalk even for a second. The ticket stated i was spotted riding on the sidewalk at the "corner of Havemeyer and Marcy".....those are parallel streets. I'll be going to this.
Oct 31, 2012 at 02:40 PM
@alyosha I think you can probably mail the summons in with your not guilty plea. Then they will correspond by mail. Keep a copy for your records.
Nov 30, 2012 at 02:58 AM
Ok. My turn today to get the red light tickets.
This time, I was rushing to bring an ice pack to my kid, who was bleeding from falling on his mouth. I probably should have showed the ice pack to the cop, but didn't. Stupid.
Filled in the TA form.
Will call TA.
Stokes, do you still have that article?
And I broke the straddle cable on the rear brake moments before being pulled over.
Dec 06, 2012 at 08:48 PM
Here's the article I found from TA where they interviewed a cop
Here's a relevant passage:
We've got about 10,000 subscribers, many of whom are cyclists in
New York City. As an officer, and a cyclist, is there anything you
would like to tell them?
As a beat cop speaking to cyclists, I would say to follow the law so you have nothing to worry about. As a cyclist speaking to a beat cop, I'd say sometimes it makes more sense to look both ways and coast through a red light.
If a cyclist should ride to a light, see that no one is coming and proceed cautiously, why not? But from an officer's perspective, that is too messy. What if a vehicle comes out of nowhere? How long did the cyclist look to each side? Did they actually come to a complete stop? Was he rolling? It would be impossible to make something so subjective stick in court.
If you must, though, here's a way to safely blow a red light: ride up to it, look both ways, then get of your bike and walk through the intersection, then get back on. No self-respecting cop is going to write a jaywalker.
As a beat cop speaking to cyclists, I would say to follow the law so you have nothing to worry about. As a cyclist speaking to a beat cop, I'd say sometimes it makes more sense to look both ways and coast through a red light.
If a cyclist should ride to a light, see that no one is coming and proceed cautiously, why not? But from an officer's perspective, that is too messy. What if a vehicle comes out of nowhere? How long did the cyclist look to each side? Did they actually come to a complete stop? Was he rolling? It would be impossible to make something so subjective stick in court.
If you must, though, here's a way to safely blow a red light: ride up to it, look both ways, then get of your bike and walk through the intersection, then get back on. No self-respecting cop is going to write a jaywalker.
Dec 06, 2012 at 08:50 PM
If you want to see a map where every reported crash has been plotted, take a look at
If you take away context, the map can make it seem as if the entire city is too dangerous to ride in.
Dec 07, 2012 at 12:54 PM
ok, I do remember that article now. In fact, I have adopted the strategy of getting off my bike to walk across an intersection, especially if I see a cop sitting there. I'm almost finished with my probation period from my last ticket.
Bye the way, cops don't care about ice packs or other relevant data about why it might actually make sense to run a red light. About the only thing that they respond to is an out-dated EMT license. The judge, on the other hand, comes from a different branch of government . . .
Bye the way, cops don't care about ice packs or other relevant data about why it might actually make sense to run a red light. About the only thing that they respond to is an out-dated EMT license. The judge, on the other hand, comes from a different branch of government . . .
Dec 08, 2012 at 08:51 PM
So, yesterday I went to my court appearance for a red-light ticket I got in January - that's right, 11 months ago. The courts were so jammed that they bumped my court date back, twice.
Every other time I've gotten a summons, I've pleaded not guilty online or by mail, shown up, and had the ticket tossed out; the arresting officer would either not show up or be totally disorganized with his facts or the judge would just be bored and want me out of his face. I had begun to think that I was untouchable.
Think again. The officer who ticketed me in January was there; he was hyper-organized, efficient and monotone - he was like Robocop with a horrble haircut. I had nothing good to say in my defense - he had me dead-to-rights. The judge found me guilty and I had to pay $190. I then rode to work in the rain, stopping at every single red light, hating bikes, hating cars, hating cops, hating the city.
The kicker is, I've become a much more careful commuter in the past year - especially since my accident last August. I felt like that person who blatantly ran a red in front of an undercover was the "old" me, and it seemed unfair somehow to pay for his crimes.
Dec 08, 2012 at 08:54 PM
lol Whitey is JewishJeffrey White said:My system is not very gentile
Dec 08, 2012 at 09:28 PM
Dec 08, 2012 at 09:29 PM
Sorry Tito. The system sucks. My wife almost gets wiped out by a delivery guy with an electric motor speeding the WRONG WAY down Bleecker St. And you get a $190 fine! The system sucks. But one should never count chickens before they are hatched. Your draw of the robocop is simply bad luck.
I recommend your prorating your $190 over the last XX years that you have ridden through red lights with impunity (including previous tickets). That makes it seem not as bad (but still bad).
I recommend your prorating your $190 over the last XX years that you have ridden through red lights with impunity (including previous tickets). That makes it seem not as bad (but still bad).
Dec 08, 2012 at 11:47 PM
Exactly. I rationalized that $90 ticket I got in fort lee to "oh, I just paid a nickel for every time I've used the GWb."
Still sucked tho.
Still sucked tho.
Dec 09, 2012 at 09:54 PM
Tito,
Got to chastise you for not preparing, part of this thread should have given you some tools for your defense.
Dec 10, 2012 at 02:15 PM
like JP says, you should have been in your drops during the hearing
Dec 10, 2012 at 05:30 PM
True that. And William should have prioitized traffic ticket info while breaking away--it would have kept his mind off the searing leg and lung pain and would have given him a 2w boost, which, when combined with being in the drops, would have won him that GT race.
Adding to traffic info when fighting a ticket, here is something called "The Only Good Cyclist..." It's a report on who is responsible for most traffic fatalities. While it was published in 2000, the basic premise probably holds true--and relevant to this thread, could sway a judge
Dec 10, 2012 at 05:53 PM
Here's the complete report
cars-suck.org/research/cyclists.pdf
Dec 10, 2012 at 09:54 PM
Yeah, I hadn't been following this thread until now - I was kicking myself when I read all the good defense testimonies. I was also thinking that I should've just thrown myself at the judge's mercy, saying that I'm a good kid, a broke student, a lonely pilgrim just trying to find his way to God in this urban wilderness.mugwump said:Tito,Got to chastise you for not preparing, part of this thread should have given you some tools for your defense.
Dec 10, 2012 at 11:52 PM
ugh
ew
i want to charge you $190 myself after hearing that defense
Dec 11, 2012 at 02:30 AM
That's because you're a heathen and your soul is as soft and rotten as an old Hot Pocket