CYCLISTS AND THE LAW are not, in fact, direct opposites.
Officer Robert Pickett is a Portland bike cop who bikers love. The
Bicycle Transportation Alliance awarded him their highest honor this
year for his noble efforts to make peace between the wide rainbow of
people who share the road. Pickett also majored in political
philosophy, which means he is smarter than you. Glean his secrets or
pay the price.
1. Stay put! The overwhelming majority of traffic infractions
are violations (like running a stop sign or riding lightless at night)
that will get you a ticket at most. But a violation automatically turns
into an arrestable crime if you refuse to pull over or try to run. If
you want to pull off a busy street onto a quieter one (thanks for that,
by the way), indicate you’ve seen the officer. But not with a raised
middle finger.
2. Keep calm. Officers are always worried for their safety
and can put you in cuffs if they think you might lash out. A simple
please and thank you will help justice be served far faster than if you
attempt to negotiate via profanity.
3. Be normal. This is tough for Portlanders but try not to
act, well, weird. Keep your hands in sight so the cop knows you’re not
going to whip a knife out from your Spandex. Relax. Take a seat on the
sidewalk.
4. Don’t argue. People will be stopped for things they don’t
agree with and officers do make mistakes, but the place to hash that
out is in court, not on the curb.
5. Officers use their discretion in deciding whether you are
dangerous enough to warrant a ticket, so do not break the law in a
highly stupid way. Running a red light is bad, but it’s worse to run
one in the middle of a busy intersection, at night, drunk, only wearing
Elmo slippers.
6. Don’t be African-American.
7. Don’t be homeless, mentally ill, a college student, or a hippie.
8. Don’t try to exercise your First Amendment rights.
I guess it wouldn’t be Portland without a knee-jerk reaction to a fairly logical article, where law enforcement is involved.. or did you skip the part where it said the person who essentially authored the article is a friend of bikers and the BTA?
Why can Portland Clean & Safe ride bikes on sidewalks downtown, which is clearly against the law?