[*BCM*] Bicycling Enforcement and MassBike

[Paul Schimek]

Hi Boston CMers,

I'm a former MassBike board member and board president. I drafted the Bicyclists Bill of Rights & Responsibilities (see http://www.massbike.org/projects/legislation.htm), and I was one of the primary authors of the curriculum to train police officers in the laws applying to bicyclists (see www.massbike.org/police). (I also was Bicycle Program Manager for Boston for a while, but you can't blame me for the potholes or any of the other crap the city gives to bicyclists. You can blame me for the rusty racks, though.)

I just want to clarify some points of fact:

* The Bicyclists Bill of Rights has not yet been enacted into law. It is about to make it through the first committee for the 3rd time (we've been working on this for about 5 years now).

* Much of the text of this bill is currently the law. Part of the goal of the bill is to rewrite the statutes so they are readable and understandable, even by police officers.

* The basic traffic rules in Mass. state laws were not written for bikes -- or for cars. They were written for horse-drawn vehicles. The courts later decided that the word "vehicle" in these statutes applies to bicycles and, later, to automobiles. See The Law of the Road: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/gl-89-toc.htm

* The Cambridge Police Department began ticketing bicyclists in May 1997, with no particular prompting from MassBike. In fact, the main force behind it was pedestrians who were complaining about bicyclists on sidewalks. They did some education of officers, but it's not clear if this is a continuing program. 

* Mass. laws currently mandated a separate ticket book for bicyclist violations (the one used for municipal violations such as leash laws). This is one reason most officers don't know how to give tickets to bicyclists and don't actually have the ticket books. Cambridge changed its municipal ticket book to include specific bicycle offenses. It includes 3 different types of bicycling on sidewalk offenses, but not a single one for wrong-way riding, for example, except for an "other" category. Not surprisingly, most Cambridge tickets are written for sidewalk or red light violations, although they also do lights at night (as some readers of this list have noticed).

*The current procedure for ticketing bicyclists does not require violators to show ID, but it does require them to state a true name and address (see http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/85-11c.htm). The failure to do so is an arrestable offense. Thus if you are stopped by an officer, it is perfectly OK to say that you don't have an ID, but you must give your name & address.

* There a strong theoretical explanation and plenty of statistical evidence as to why bicycling at night without lights, going on the sidewalk, or riding the wrong way seriously increases the crash risk. This theory & evidence is a major component of the police education training. Since these facts are not obvious to all bicyclists, having the police stop violators (whether they give a fine or not) is a way to provide this information. Many people genuinely do not know that bicyclists are required to use lights at night.

* By state law, fines collected from bicyclists "shall be used by the respective cities and towns for the development and implementation of bicycle programs" (last sentence of http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/85-11c.htm). Last time I checked, it was the position of the CPD that it was ok to put fines into general revenues as long as the City of Cambridge spent more on bicycle programs than in collected in fines.

* If you are looking for a headlight, consider also the Cateye EL-300, now marked down to $20 (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=101&subcategory=1067&sku=7916). It's very bright with fresh batteries and it can last up to 100 hrs on 4 AAs. Plus, here's a coupon code for another 15% off: UBCK63.

* If you are ever caught after dark without a headlight, you can go to CVS and buy a flashlight (with batteries) for $4 and some packing tape for $2. That will work fine to meet the state law for headlights and also get you home safely.

* One of the purposes of training police officers in the laws applying to bicycling is to prevent them from stopping or harassing bicyclists who are obeying the law. We have had several cases of bicyclists stopped or even arrested for the alleged crime of riding on a road with busy traffic, or for being in the middle of the road, when in fact the law does not prohibit and in some cases requires these things.

* As Turil said, MassBike policies are on line. I call your attention to  #3, Traffic Enforcement:
  "MassBike encourages police to enforce the rules of the road evenhandedly, with the goal of improving public safety through better compliance with the law. Police and prosecutors should protect cyclists under the law by treating cyclists equitably in cases of collision and by prosecuting those motorists who threaten or attack cyclists. Police officer training should include knowledge of the rules of the road with respect to bicycling. MassBike defends cyclists who are prosecuted for lawful use of the road."

--Paul Schimek
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