Bicyclists fined $195 for stop sign violations

[timhisu]

I dont think enough people are reading the article. Of course a biker should get a ticket if they ride through a stop sign/signal on a street. The 'stop' signs referred to in this article are rural crossings on the Raccoon River Valley Trail.

Secondly, a vast majority of these crossings are in areas where you could see on-coming traffic literally a mile away. I'm not stopping if I can clearly see in both directions and nothing is there. Most of these crossings are still loose gravel as well which, on a road bike with 23mm tires, are no joke when traversing slowly.

This guy is a jerk. For all intents and purposes, cyclists treat THESE stop signs for what they really are, yield signs.

 

[arganbright2]

I'm not against people riding their bike to work at all. There are several trails in Des Moines you can take that get you downtown and out west for work and several bike lanes on the streets. I don't understand the need to drive ON the streets without bike lanes. The commute times this time of year get darker by the day and even if they have a light on their bike, it still isn't safe.

 

[c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s]

I'm OK with the slow roll through for bikes as well. I'm not expecting them to put both feet on the ground, look both ways, and then start pedaling again. That is a little extreme.

I also realize college towns are little different, but I've been at the 4 way stop in Ames on Hyland Ave, where the barber shop is located. It's my turn to go and a kid on a bike shoots right through the intersection. If I hadn't seen him coming, he would have smashed right in my driver's side.

It's hard to tell from this article if the bikes were actually slowing down at the stop sign. The board guy says they slowed down, looked and listened, but then the officer says they told him they didn't see the stop sign.

This quote seems to suggest that he would have let them go if they had made a real effort to slow down. The article also says that 21 out of 29 bicyclists did not stop at the first stop sign but he didn't give them a ticket. He only ticketed 11 of them when they didn't bother to stop at a second stop sign. Sounds like he was being fairly lenient.

“Since I'm a bike rider myself, I understand that a lot of people have their shoes clipped into their pedals, and it breaks up all your momentum to stop," King said. "If there's no traffic, I don't really need to see somebody come to a complete stop with their foot down on the trail, but I expect to see them slow way down and get a real good look before they proceed. Some of these crossings don't have completely clear views in both directions. If we're not all more careful out there, we're going to be dealing with some tragic situations."

 

[madguy30]

As someone who just got back from Eurobike convention, this is the biggest difference between cycling in the US and EU. Less cars on the road to ease traffic is good for everyone and the environment. I dont know how anybody can be against biking to work.

'Murica.

A while I ago I recall seeing someone put up a picture on FB of a bicyclist using one of the county highways (legally) in the Cedar Rapids area, chastising the biker and making comments about running them over, etc. since they weren't using the bike path (there are very few that lead out of CR and connect to other areas, I believe). Following was a bunch of comments in agreement.

The amount of stupid it takes to celebrate someone taking a picture while driving (illegal) and then posting it on FB was astounding.

 

[arganbright2]

This is simply out of touch with reality.

If I have offended you, I apologize. I sincerely do but wouldn't the safest place for a person on a bicycle be on a trail or a bike lane designed for a bike? I don't think that is out of touch with reality, just common sense.

 

[timhisu]

This quote seems to suggest that he would have let them go if they had made a real effort to slow down. The article also says that 21 out of 29 bicyclists did not stop at the first stop sign but he didn't give them a ticket. He only ticketed 11 of them when they didn't bother to stop at a second stop sign. Sounds like he was being fairly lenient.

I wonder what constitutes a 'real effort'?

 

[timhisu]

I'm going to guess this is the area in question also:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/G...87d4a5a73f:0xc3a4986d59fe1ec0!5m1!1e3!6m1!1e1

As you can see, we are not talking about the intersection of Lincoln Way and Duff here.

There is another double-crossing nearer to Adel:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/G...87d4a5a73f:0xc3a4986d59fe1ec0!5m1!1e3!6m1!1e1

In this case, the NE crossing is paved and does have some auto traffic. However, you can see any potential traffic a long ways off. The second SW crossing is a very tricky loose gravel crossing.

 

[DurangoCy]

I have heard of bikes getting tickets in the past. what drives me nuts is when you are at a stop light or sitting in road construction and a bike or motorcycle flies by between the cars. that is wrong!

I assume you were in Iowa when this happened, but in some places it's legal. Incredibly Crazy, but legal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_splitting

 

[VeloClone]

It is not illegal in Iowa to ride a Bike on a sidewalk. Some city's may prohibit it, but it is not a state law. Ames disallows riding on the sidewalk in certain areas (ie Welch Ave between Knapp and Lincoln Way.. http://www.cityofames.org/index.aspx?page=939). Also, IMO, it is much safer for a bike to be on the sidewalk then it is in a street, and most cities have 6'-8' sidewalks/paths along busy corridors to encourage bikes to use sidewalks in a completely safe environment.

I use trails and bike lanes for most of my commute but the sidewalks you suggest are not a completely safe environment. On one stretch I have had so many close calls that I will take the sidewalk/trail only in one direction. When approaching all of the cross streets from the driver's right I find that the drivers pull up to the stop sign and only look for traffic from their left and then turn right without ever looking to their right. I have been nearly hit at these intersections many more times than I have had an on street incident on this stretch of road.

You are deluding yourself if you think that sidewalk/trails are completely safe.

 

[ianoconnor]

If I have offended you, I apologize. I sincerely do but wouldn't the safest place for a person on a bicycle be on a trail or a bike lane designed for a bike? I don't think that is out of touch with reality, just common sense.

No offense taken. Of course a bike trail is safer, nobody is arguing that. You said you think cyclists "should have to ride on bike trails only unless a street has a bike lane"... but bike trails don't go everywhere people need to be & not all streets have bike lanes. And to imply that every city in the US has adequate public transportation is ludicrous.

 

[cyhawkdmb]

Explain to me how it is different? For those that say they can't afford a car, that is why there is public transportation in every city in America. Buses, trains, subways, etc.

I ride all the time but I would never do it on a busy street for several reasons.

This might be one of the most ignorant posts I have seen in a while.

 

[Tornado man]

Secondly, a vast majority of these crossings are in areas where you could see on-coming traffic literally a mile away. I'm not stopping if I can clearly see in both directions and nothing is there. Most of these crossings are still loose gravel as well which, on a road bike with 23mm tires, are no joke when traversing slowly.

This guy is a jerk. For all intents and purposes, cyclists treat THESE stop signs for what they really are, yield signs.

No, cyclists treat stop signs like "yield signs" (or more often ignore them) because they're lazy - they don't want to slow (or stop) because they don't want to put forth the physical effort to start up again...

 

[00clone]

As a biker, it sounds like the tickets are warranted with going thru multiple stop signs in a row. I wonder if the officer is cracking down everywhere then, like making sure no vehicle pulling a boat out of a lake has an impaired driver, making sure everyone walking in ditches in the fall has a pheasant hunting permit, etc.

Uhh, yeah...they are, and have been for years. I would argue that drivers and hunters are subjected to orders of magnitude more enforcement than bicyclists, and you sound whiny.

 

[timhisu]

No, cyclists treat stop signs everywhere because they're lazy - they don't want to slow (or stop) because they don't want to put forth the physical effort to start up again...

Ok, if you want to use this story about crossing rural (mostly un-paved) roads without stopping to push your generic narrative that bicyclists treat all stop signs this way because they're lazy, go ahead.

 

[dmclone]

I never seem to have problems with motorcyclists, walkers, runners, etc. but a month doesn't go by that a bicyclist doesn't so something stupid in front of me.

I won't even go into my annoyances with bikers visiting breweries.

 

[Tornado man]

Ok, if you want to use this story about crossing rural (mostly un-paved) roads without stopping to push your generic narrative that bicyclists treat all stop signs this way because they're lazy, go ahead.

That's exactly what it is - sorry if the truth hurts. You just don't want to stop. It's "hard" to get going again.
I ride a bike. If I don't stop or slow at a stop sign, it's because I'm lazy.

 

[Farnsworth]

Man being new to Des Moines and also a biker, this thread worries me. I feel like there are a whole lot of laws/unwritten rules/etc that I'm unaware of, hope I haven't been ******* people off.

I stick to trail riding mainly however, and don't use it to commute. I'm also not a hardcore biker like a lot in Des Moines. Some of them even **** me off on the trails.

 

[JP4CY]

Uhh, yeah...they are, and have been for years. I would argue that drivers and hunters are subjected to orders of magnitude more enforcement than bicyclists, and you sound whiny.

I have friends that for YEARS that have crushed 12 packs of beer every time they go boat or ice fishing, and never once have they been checked.
I have pheasant hunted for YEARS in ditches and on bike trails, and have never been approached by the DNR.

It's not being whiny but if the officer is going to set up for hours to check stop signs, I hope he treats other outdoor activities the same.

 

[VeloClone]

Several years ago I was riding the trail through Sheldahl once and we got a warning from oncoming cyclists that there was a deputy handing out tickets to riders who didn't stop before crossing streets in town. The impression we got was that he handed out a ticket if the rider didn't come to a complete stop - complete with a foot on the ground. I've often wondered what a judge would do if a rider fought a ticket for not stopping because s/he did not put their foot down and the rider proceeded to do a track stand on their bike through the whole court proceeding. In that case another rider who had spoken to the deputy said that he was there because of complaints he had gotten from people in Sheldahl.

 

[00clone]

I have friends that for YEARS that have crushed 12 packs of beer every time they go boat or ice fishing, and never once have they been checked.
I have pheasant hunted for YEARS in ditches and on bike trails, and have never been approached by the DNR.

It's not being whiny but if the officer is going to set up for hours to check stop signs, I hope he treats other outdoor activities the same.

That's a $*** argument. There are bicyclists that haven't stopped at a stop sign in YEARS, yet they've never gotten a ticket.

And it is being whiny if you actually think that police never sit for hours and watch traffic for drunk drivers, or DNR officers don't sit for hours and look for poachers. Again...orders of magnitude more time than spent on bikers. It really is that attitude why people hate bicyclists. 11 people in the state of Iowa (OK, maybe 20, there might have been 9 more across the state) got a ticket while bicycling, and you're all whining about it.