Cyclist in Bethesda ticketed for transitioning from the sidewalk

Someone sent me this second hand, so I can't speak to the accuracy of it, but thought I would share. Discount accordingly.

I was "awarded" a $90 ticket today! Yay me! Right in my own neighborhood here in Bethesda, Md.

 

I was running an errand on my lunch break with my bicycle. I was on the sidewalk because I don't like riding in the streets. But it was lunch time so I was on and off to avoid large groups on the sidewalk.

 

Sirens turn on behind me. The police stop me.

 

Officer: He's say do I have a license?

 

Me: I do have a driver's license. I hand it over.

 

(He writes me a ticket, stating I made an illegal right turn on red. SMH.)

 

I said: There was no traffic and I wanted to avoid the people on the sidewalk so I went into the street.

 

He says: Riding your bike on the side walk is illegal too.

 

Me: I don't know any of these things. Thanks for warning me.

 

Officer: There have been studies to prove warnings don't work, so I write tickets.

 

During Ticketing Process: 5 white people ride by on their bikes with officer there. (I was thinking I guess the laws are different for them)

 

Witnesses including clients, gym members, neighbors, and random witnesses all stood around. They couldn't believe how petty this was. They all tried to talk to me during this process to keep me calm. If they didn't believe that Black men get treated differently they got to witness it in that moment.

 

The positive is: I'm still alive, and highly favored.

I can say this. Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is legal in Montgomery County, except where prohibited by the County Executive. I'm not sure how you'd know if the executive had prohibited it. I'd expect a sign.

 

Sec. 31-5. Driving over curbs, sidewalks or drainage structures. (b) Bicycles which are not motorized and special vehicles used by handicapped persons may be operated upon sidewalk areas and appurtenant drainage structures designed for pedestrian use except where, in the judgment of the county executive, it is necessary for the safety or control of vehicular and pedestrian traffic to prohibit riding of such vehicles.

 

What's not clear is whether or not he made an illegal right turn. Is the officer saying that transitioning from the sidewalk to the street or back (probably not a safe maneuver, IMO) is an illegal right turn? That would be a new reading of the law as far as I know. I also don't know what the fine is for this on a bicycle. In DC traffic fines for cyclists are capped at $25. I'd fight it - unless he actually made an illegal right turn.

Comments

[Zack Rules]

That is screwed up. Any chance could post a copy of the ticket (personal info of cyclist removed of course) or what regulations the officer cited this poor guy for? I am curious what exactly that moron actually cited because most police officers don't have a clue how to write cites for bikes, this clown already thought that riding on tge sidewalk is illegal.

I had a similar experience but didn't receive any cites because I was biking while white. An officer pulled me over for running a stop sign (right after he ran the stop sign) and he started shouting angrily about running the traffic light (no, lead pedestrian interval), stop sign (guilty), riding in the center of the lane (no DC rule requiring riding to the right), complaining about my full lane sign (the cite is right on the sign) and how they know about it. He ultimately gave up as I made these arguments and he drove off before I could point out that police officers ignore laws they think are dumb too, like not wearing his seatbelt or using his turn signal.

[SJE]

Sounds very bogus to me.

Sect 31-5 explicitly says that a bike may be operated on a sidewalk EXCEPT where the County Exec says otherwise. That is a recitation of a positive right.

and, here from the MoCo DOT
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dot-dte/bikeways/FAQ.html

"ARE BICYCLISTS ALLOWED TO RIDE ON SIDEWALKS?

Yes, in Montgomery County bicyclists are allowed to bike on sidewalks. However, bicyclists are required to yield to pedestrians and use a bicycle lane when one is available to them."

[Mbh20503]

I would really encourage you to connect the ticket, and then raise this issue with the DA. Racial discrimination or not, it's absurd that a coo would dish out a $90 ticket to a cyclist on the grounds that warnings don't work.

[Jonathan Krall]

If MoCo is anything like Virginia, or many other places, then that is probably a $25 ticket with a $65 admin fee attached to it.

These fees are how we fund government in the face of a public resistance to taxation. Through the magic of racial profiling, these fees disproportionately affect black and brown people. Not paying these fees can lead to suspension of a drivers license (much more readily than, say, crashing into people).

(Off topic: in Florida driving on a suspended license is a felony resulting in loss of voting rights; 25% of voting-age black people in Florida cannot vote because they are "felons.")

[SJE]

The admin fee is, IIRC, unconstitutional if applied to you when you win.

[SJE]

Also: don't just contest the ticket in court, but (after you win) write to MoCo police and the station where the ticket was issued, and the local media to complain. We should assume that the officer was merely ill informed. If they continue to issue tickets despite clear information to the contrary, then there are grounds to take the issue further.