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April 28, 2006

Guess which law fluffy broke! ()

by fluffy at 6:59 PM
hint sheet

More hints:

  • The cop either didn't see or didn't care to pull over any of the other bicyclists in front of me who had just egregiously broken the law (I was aware I may have been doing it but I made entirely sure that I wasn't putting myself or others in danger and I couldn't see the aspect of the street which made it possible to tell if I was breaking it or not)
  • The cop definitely had a chip on his shoulder, as he was practically bragging about how often he wrote up cyclists for this infraction (whereas other officers have actually encouraged me to do this in this same situation and said "No, don't worry about it" when I asked)
  • The ticket: $81.
  • Personally I'm actually glad there are officers cracking down on this infraction (as it does often pose a hazard) but it's annoying that I got singled out in a situation that it didn't pose a hazard
On the other hand:
  • I did a lot better at the ride (taking a day off really helped me to recuperate my stamina)
  • I didn't even bother to keep track of time
  • My ass isn't very sore at all!

Comments

#7356 04/28/2006 11:57 pm
(the answer: I ran a red light)
#7359 04/30/2006 10:15 pm
Selective enforcement is a favourite of our local cops. Don't question it. It makes no sense whatsoever, and that's exactly the point. They do it because they can.

That said, if I had a badge and a gun, I'd be out rounding up all the assholes who cruise at 45km in the left lane on the highway instead of the speeders who are usually ticketed(speeders generate more revenue). Those people are responsible for the majority of accidents around here. In fact, the reason people speed is to get away from the more dangerous drivers in the first place. ;p

/rant over

But yeah, running a read is pretty dangerous. A first, I thought you were riding against traffic or something. You don't seem like a red light kind of person. Wink
#7360 04/30/2006 10:20 pm
Well, at some intersections it just feels stupid to hang around waiting for the light to change, especially when I need to crane my neck funny to see the light. This was at one of the many strange five-way intersections near downtown Seattle.
#7361 04/30/2006 10:27 pm
Was this one of those situations where there was no one around so you figured you would go for it, or is it a fairly well-traveled intersection?

There's always a cop hiding behind a bush when you're least expecting it. Wink
#7362 04/30/2006 10:29 pm
It's a fairly well-travelled intersection with a very bursty traffic pattern, like most of the weird intersections just outside of the downtown area.