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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Boston CMers,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm a former MassBike board member and board
president. I drafted the Bicyclists Bill of Rights & Responsibilities (see
<A
href="http://www.massbike.org/projects/legislation.htm">http://www.massbike.org/projects/legislation.htm</A>),
and I was one of the primary authors of the curriculum to train police officers
in the laws applying to bicyclists (see <A
href="http://www.massbike.org/police">www.massbike.org/police</A>). (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.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I just want to clarify some points of
fact:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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: <A
href="http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/gl-89-toc.htm">http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/gl-89-toc.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>*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 <A
href="http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/85-11c.htm">http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/85-11c.htm</A>).
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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* By state law, fines collected from bicyclists "<!--StartFragment --><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>shall be used by the
respective cities and towns for the development and implementation of bicycle
programs" (last sentence of <A
href="http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/85-11c.htm"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/85-11c.htm</FONT></A>). 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.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* If you are looking for a headlight, consider also
the Cateye EL-300, now marked down to $20 (<A
href="http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=101&subcategory=1067&sku=7916">http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=101&subcategory=1067&sku=7916</A>).
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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>* As Turil said, MassBike policies are on line. I
call your attention to <!--StartFragment --><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> #</FONT>3, Traffic Enforcement:
<DL>
<DD>"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."</DD></DL></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>--Paul Schimek</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>