[*BCM*] CM arrest today

[Adam Shoop]

I assume the following is applicable:

MGL Chapter 89: Section 9.

"The driver of a motor vehicle shall not cross or enter an  
intersection, which it is unable to proceed through, without stopping  
and thereby blocking vehicles from travelling in a free direction. A  
green light is no defense to blocking the intersection. The driver  
must wait another cycle of the signal light, if necessary.... Any  
person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by  
a fine not to exceed $150 for each offense."

It's not that the rider was simply blocking a lane of traffic behind  
him (outside of a bike lane) but that he was fully stopped  
("corking"), preventing cars behind him from moving forward so that  
the CM riders could stay together without car(s) in the mix.  I can't  
remember if it was in the middle of or before the intersection of  
Mass Ave. and Garden St. by the time I took notice.

Best,
Adam

On Apr 29, 2006, at 12:14 PM, turtle wrote:

> Just FYI, there is really no ticket for "blocking traffic" as such.
> Bicyclists have the same rights and laws on the roads as other
> vehicles, and thus cyclists are completely entitled to drive in any
> lane appropriate for travel (though not two abreast, oddly).
>
> -Turtle
>
> Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hey all,
>>
>>     I was wondering if there was some sort of (for lack of a better
>> phrase) Ticket Defense Fund for Critical Mass rides. Yesterday was my
>> first real ride with you all (awesome), and my general impression was
>> that you don't often get hassled by the cops. But in those cases  
>> where
>> someone does get ticketed for blocking traffic (or for whatever),  
>> which
>> is a service done for the group's safety, I was wondering if you  
>> maybe
>> had some kind of procedure for donations or whatever to defray the  
>> cost
>> of the ticket. A $100 ticket can be costly for one individual, but  
>> if we
>> have 100 riders on any one day, and we pass around a coffee can for
>> ticket costs at the next ride, that's only a buck each if everyone
>> decides to give, and we're spreading the incidental burdens of the  
>> ride
>> across all of us who benefit.
>>
>>              - John Hays
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>>
>
> ----------------------------------
> "One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant  
> goal we
> seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal.  We must
> pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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