{"id":311,"date":"2012-12-19T08:10:48","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T14:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamtraffic.org\/?p=311"},"modified":"2013-06-26T06:37:41","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T12:37:41","slug":"the-enforcement-of-imaginary-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamtraffic.org\/enforcement\/the-enforcement-of-imaginary-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enforcement of Imaginary Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chance_gotojail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was <\/em>originally published<\/a> on CommuteOrlando, January 26, 2010. It has been updated here.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Judge Mirandizes<\/strong>\u00a0us as a group, then brings us forward one at a time to hear our plea, and the setting of a bond, etc. Those of us waiting are close enough to hear most of what is said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I approach his raised dais, he opens a folder, and then looks up in surprise. He says, \u201cAre they serious? Operating a bicycle on the roadway?\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And as absurd as it sounds, my friend ChipSeal went back to jail that same night, arrested\u00a0again<\/em>\u00a0on his way home from jail for operating on the roadway. What an incorrigible scofflaw! Read his story, beginning with\u00a0While Minding My Own Business\u2026<\/em><\/a>\u00a0I have great admiration for his gracious attitude toward those who detained him unfairly.<\/p>\n

The right to travel by human power<\/h3>\n

ChipSeal\u2019s case is a clear violation of his civil rights. The charge is unsupported by TX statute, and yet he was convicted of reckless driving and sentenced to time served (20 days).<\/p>\n

When Eli Damon encountered an officer who didn\u2019t want him on the roadway, he found himself charged with disorderly conduct. Eli maintains that he was calm and courteous in the encounter, but the officer was angered by his assertion that he was riding legally. The charge was prosecuted for four months before the prosecutor dropped it a week before the scheduled trial.\u00a0\u00a0You can read Eli\u2019s story\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2009,\u00a0Bob Mionske covered<\/a>\u00a0the story of Tony Patrick, who was tasered and arrested for disorderly conduct in Chesapeake, OH for refusing an unlawful order to get off the road. His lawyer, Steve Magas, has more links to the story and the judge\u2019s dismissal of charges\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Being arrested for asserting your right to drive your bicycle on the road is an extreme violation of civil rights. But living under the specter of choosing between riding unsafely to avoid hassles and risking constant citations is also a violation of your right to travel by human power. In 2009, Fred U.\u00a0experienced this in Port Orange, FL. The harassment ended when his lawyer got pretrial dismissals of all of his citations. Fred provided documentation<\/a> for other cyclists who might face a similar predicament.<\/p>\n

Cultural bias can be blinding<\/h3>\n

Nowhere is the bias more glaring than when an officer pulls a cyclist over for using one lane on an empty six-lane road on a Sunday morning. Then, during the stop the officer repeatedly asserts that the cyclist is failing to share the road by not riding at the far right of that lane. This might raise the question, with whom exactly is he failing to share the road? (See Red & Blue in the Rear View\u2026 Again?<\/a>)<\/p>\n

A few months ago, Mighk<\/a> Wilson<\/a> was pulled over<\/a> for riding in one of three lanes on South Street. This is a one-way street, downtown, with a 30mph speed limit and plenty of traffic lights to prevent movement anywhere near that fast. Of course, when there are lots of motorists, traffic moves slower still. Agitated with Mighk\u2019s knowledge of traffic law, the officer huffed that he was \u201cone of those people who just doesn\u2019t care about others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bias denies basic human equity to its target. Bias is impervious to logic and reason. Bias is blind to its own absurdity, no matter how glaring. As much headway as we\u2019re making with law enforcement, stubborn anti-cycling bias can still be encountered among the ranks of the most enlightened department.<\/p>\n

These stories are infuriating to transportation cyclists in particular, but they cut even deeper for those who are car-free. When the cops are lying in wait for a cyclist who must pass through their jurisdiction, they are essentially violating that person\u2019s right to use a public utility. By insisting, under threat of arrest, that a cyclist ride in a place not required by statute, these officers are abusing their authority.<\/p>\n

Strategies for the chance encounter<\/h3>\n

Prompted by an\u00a0Ask Geo email<\/a>, I thought it might be a good idea to collect some wisdom on how to deal with uninformed police officers. I have not been pulled over or otherwise hassled by any of the many, many police officers who have passed me in my metro area travels. My interactions with them always consist of a friendly wave. But I know others who have been pulled over or ordered over the PA to ride far right. So I wondered, what\u2019s the best way to conduct myself in a traffic stop? And how would\/should I handle an officer giving me an unlawful order over his PA?<\/p>\n

The unwarranted traffic stop<\/h4>\n

I think\u00a0Richard Moeur\u2019s story<\/a>\u00a0is exemplary in both his handling and its outcome. I got several good take-aways from it:<\/p>\n