The cost of enforcing traffic safety regulations is worth it as long as it stops self-righteous bike douches from endangering themselves and others. I'd say the $287 this person is paying probably more than covers it.

Look, I'm not usually on the side of the cops, but cyclists in Portland just blow right out in front of traffic against stops signs more often than not in my experience, creating a situation in which drivers are possibly liable and the cyclists themselves are in greater danger, and then all we hear about is cyclists complaining or pressing charges when they get hit.

I'm all for enforcing bike and traffic safety. Enforcement is there for for those who don't care about their fellow citizens enough to obey the rules.

Dang that is SO infuriating!! I hope you go fight it in court. At the very least they will reduce the fine for you. It's annoying but it allows you to put off paying the fine and also they may decide to throw it away and have you take that bicycle safety class instead. A similar thing happened to me once but I got let off with a warning luckily. I was biking home through the irvington neighborhood on a residential street in the middle of the night... looked both ways, no signs of life... no cars... I had a helmet and lights on. BUT that didn't stop the cop from going on a power trip and giving me a stern tongue-lashing about the "dangers" of yielding instead of coming to a full stop at a stop sign when there's NO ONE ON THE F*CKING ROAD!!! Thanks for the heads up... and sorry that happened. serious waste of police resources.

And yet another person in Portland who hates bikes and bikers speaks up. Only online though. Ever notice how it's only online?

The fact is, the way this person operated is how bikes, traffic laws, and stop signs SHOULD work. But it isn't how it actually works. Assuming everything is all clear, and this person isn't lying, the cop is the one being a jerk. But they are enforcing the law as written. Moral of the story, don't do it if you can't pay. It sucks, but there's nothing you can do about it.

I walk across this intersection 2 times a day, 5 days a week. i almost get hit by impatient cyclists and car drivers all the time!!! glad to see they are policing it a bit more, but they really should focus on the car drivers as getting hit by a car is more likely to kill a person.

Is there something on stop signs that reads:

STOP*

*Unless your a person on a bike, look both ways and keep going.

I don't think any stop sign says that. Fucking douche got what you deserved. Be accountable for your actions and pay the fine asshat!

Oh, no, trust me, I certainly am not speaking up online only about this as you claim. Funny, seems like that's supposed to be some sort of intimidation, as if any member of the Portland cyclists club has ever intimidated anyone. When bikers act like douches, I tell them. Just about everyone I know feels the same way, and does the same. Trust me, cyclists aren't the ones that stand up for their behaviors. They never fail to ignore the criticism, act self-righteously, and speed off. And where do you get the idea that I "hate" bikers? I hate people that act like morons and blame others when they get hurt. Strange thing is, I live off of NE 7th and see it about 10-15 times a week; people dart out on a busy thoroughfare and nearly get mowed down. It's no different than drivers behaving erratically and ignoring rules, except that when bikers dart out, it's a lot more likely that they're going to get hurt, and no one wants that.

I have a good number of friends who are avid cyclists, and I don't think I've ever coddled them in this respect when they complain about getting in mishaps with cars.

And hey, if cyclists are able to get rules changed to allow them to do this, more power to them. I don't drive, and it makes no difference to me. I'm just pretty sick of all the whining when people find out that actions have consequences.

I was driving yesterday and even though I had a red light, I could clearly see nobody was coming so I just kept going, and would you believe it, I got a ticket!! This enfuriates me! Some people have been talking about possibly making this legal in the indeterminate future so I just assumed it was ok. It is a waste of gas and causes unneeded wear and tear on my brakes to come to a complete stop. Do you think if I tell the judge that I think the law is stupid, they'll let me off??

Waaaah you got a fine for breaking the law.

If it wasn't whining about stop signs, it would be something else.

@Punky: You're right; they'd probably have someone proofread it before they put up such a sign.

@theterminizer Thanks - you did a good job illustrating how idiotic this rant would sound if you replaced "bike" with "car". But still, what's your point?

Jesus this is such a boring argument (that I'm contributing to): Cops are being douches enforcing this to the letter, bikers are often stupid and vehicle drivers are often stupid, and many are stupid on both.

So:
1) No one has a monopoly on stupidity.
2) The fine is appropriate - a fine should cost enough that you will think twice about doing it again. Ever since my (wonderful) bike safety class, I'm reeeeeal careful about blowing lights or signs.
3) Cops set speed traps for drivers, too. We all get fucked with and shaken down.

Moral: BE CAREFUL OUT THERE, and if you're a knee-jerk douche on either "side," go fuck yourself.

I'm just happy to hear that the police are finally enforcing the same laws for bikes that they enforce for cars.

I have great respect for bicyclists who follow the law. And for those of you that don't, who think that you rule the road and can do whatever you want just because you're on a bike, I hope you all get nailed with expensive fines until you learn to stop. You are a menace.

You got caught. Suck it up buttercup.

Whether the law is just or not (or the cop was a power hungry jerk, or whatever) really isn't the question. If we choose to break the law, seems to me that we ought to realize that we're choosing to accept the consequences of our actions. If you ride in traffic, you ARE traffic; and traffic laws apply to you.
You played the game and lost this round.

The only thing that bothers me about the story is that the dumbass bicyclist STILL doesn't seem to have learned anything. Do we have to rub his nose on the stop sign, like a bad puppy?

Marjorie, what happened to making it legal is there was a hearing in 2009 and the committee didn't move on it.

In short, there aren't enough legislators who bike and understand the basic laws of bike physics. Therefore there aren't enough people willing to change the traffic law to conform with laws of physics.

And 29 years of data and experience from Idaho isn't apparently enough to convince the safety-worriers about the safety.

Two quick links:
Video explaining the issue:
http://vimeo.com/4140910

And an explanation of the physics of bikes and why stop signs are a mismatch designed for cars:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~fajans/Teach…

I just wish that officer would hang out at the left-turn light by my bus stop every morning between 7:30 and 8:30. The City would make a lot more money there...

If you run a stop sign, you should get a ticket. That includes bikes AND cars. I can't remember the last time I saw every car come to a complete stop at a stop sign when there's nothing else coming.

Of course, given that pretty much everyone - whether on a bike or in a car - does a California stop anyway, it's probably time they turned them all into Yield signs.

And yeah, when the cops do 'selective' stings, it's asinine. Start ticketing non-stopping cars already!

we need stop sign cameras so our cops can get back to their real jobs - killing people. win, and win.

Bikes are powered by human muscles (starting up from a dead stop takes WORK), and they barely hurt jack when you run into things with them.

Fuck this stupid law. And this comment thread smells like smelly bacon.

It sounds like this douche-bag didn't do a California rolling stop. They "braked a bit" and "stopped pedaling" while going downhill. Um....

They flat out blew a stop sign.

ROM for CotW.

@Graham NGL, I scrolled through to find you. You hotpink sexay thing you.

Wahhh, I broke the law and now some meanie butt police officer fined me. Wahhh.

Ugh, get over it bike douche. The amount of times you assholes try and run me over while I'm crossing streets doing this exact same fucking thing well exceeds how often cars try it.

I'm also a "cyclist." If having a blue cruiser with stars on it counts as a bike. But I still stop for fucking stop signs.

Ever notice how many cops flip the lights on and "whoop whoop" twice just to get through the intersection to their donut emergency?

Bikes are not cars, and should not be treated as such. Bikes should have the right to treat stop signs like yield signs, because that's basically what we already do.

Rolling stops on clear streets are entirely reasonable, and this cyclist has my utter and complete sympathy.

Everyone rolls stop signs bikes and cars. bikes break some rules cars break others. Sorry you got caught, the police are out there to enforce laws, but also to make money! I got a ticket for running a red light once, I still do it on occasion but I always look for the coppers first. Hey all you "bikes never follow the rules" folks when was the last time you got a ticket in residential area for speeding? Talk about an unenforced law..............

@Oregometry: Big deal it's the Phuking Porkland Murcury. Go back to twitter asshat!

-punky

I also walk through this intersection twice a day five days a week and my guess is the cop was there to stop cars, who often roll right through that stop sign. And good on the cop for doing it because I've almost been hit there many times. It's bad luck for the bicyclist that he got caught and the fine is so large, but sometimes that's what happens when you break the law.
I ride a bike too and I understand that it's sometimes annoying to come to a full and complete stop, but I can't understand people who use that to argue that you shouldn't have to. It's one thing to get going really fast and not want to brake when you're on a trail or bike path, but when you're just one mode of transportation among many you should just suck it up and follow the rules.

Given their respective differences in weight, horsepower, and general capacity for mayhem and violence, I'd take ten bike riders being jackasses at a stop sign over a single car doing the same, any old time. Up around 20 bike riders, and you might approach the weight of a single car, but still not the force it can produce. So still nowhere near the potential for destruction.

Luckily people in cars tend not to blow through stops as egregiously as people on bikes do. Drivers blow through stops of course, and on a regular basis; I see plenty of cars blowing past stops and their drivers not bothering to stop until they're all the way past the actual sign. And then not bothering to look both ways until they're well into the intersection. Heavens to Betsy, they're breaking the law. The letter of the law, anyway. Bending the law, basically. Just like people on bikes do. And apparently, in the course of bending the law, making a judgement call that takes into account how much damage they're capable of doing to others. Kind of like people on bikes do.

You'd hope the laws would, in the same way, take the potential for damage into account. But bikes and cars are ticketed for the same amount. It's not making anyone safer, it's not making Portland a better place to live, it's just a police fundraising exercise.

Bikes have to follow the same rules as cars. Any car that went through that stop sign would have been given a ticket too.

Don't be a dick because you got busted for not following the law. If you're going to break the law, at least be able to man up when you get caught.

Dangerous driving (bike or car) is still dangerous driving.

If you could see so well in every direction, how'd you miss seeing that cop who gave you the ticket?

Maybe it was at night in the dark. He or she couldn't have seen the cop. I bike every day to work and I admit I don't always come to a full stop at a stop sign, unless I see an approaching vehicle. It is unfair to pick on this cyclist, he or she is being cautious, and it is unfortunate that the police gave him or her a ticket instead of a warning. But I'm sure everyone who drives here can admit that they never come to a full stop at a stop sign. The major difference here is, a car can kill anyone in sight, a cyclist, most unlikely to kill anyone unless it was going 20mph plus.
It is just too bad he was given a ticket, just be more cautious next time Anonymous cyclist. And make that full stop at the stop sign.

Bikes shouldn't have to follow the same rules as cars. It's a dumb rule that says they should. And if you think they should, you are dumb too. Or maybe you just haven't ridden a bicycle very much so you don't know how pointless it is to actually stop at every stop sign when you are riding one.

If I'm reading this correctly- you blew a stop sign & pulled out in front of a cop car. There is no way you checked both ways for traffic if you PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF A MARKED COP CAR. What if the car had been driving? Splat- biker crepe.

Wow - lots of angry motorists here. Your real enemies are other motorists, however, not cyclists (like me) who get away with blowing stop signs and red lights 99.9% of the time.

Don't like it? Leave your earth/people-killing machines at home and join the club.

I didn't care very much either way about cyclists until I started reading their whining on this site.

Apparently, cyclists feel they're better than drivers because they care about the environment and drivers don't, and cyclists should be rewarded for their awesomeness by getting to ignore road laws.

Every now and again a cyclist will call out another one here, but mostly it's a bunch of the same shit on THIS page: here come those driving bullies again.. why don't they SEEEE that we're amazing and applaud us as we do whatever the hell we want?

I care about cyclists now.. way to be ambassadors for something you care about.

I was driving my car, I stopped at a stop sign, where there was a cross rods and a 4 ways stop. I had stopped. I saw no one else, car or bike. I proceded, and a bike came FLYING in front of me, easily doing 25. yes, that's flying if it just shows up. I broke, hard. My daughter in the backseat screamed, and the biker...oh the biker who had run a stop sign, almost harmed themself, me, my daughter (had we collided, we'd all have been injured I'm sure) gave me the finger, screamed an obscenity and rode on. Yes, they blew a stop sign. yes they are an asshole, yes, it was illegal. That's them. you, ticketted biker, I'm sad for you and a stff fine. I believe that you are NOT an ass, as your writing reflects a sane, reasonable response to a set-up... Why can't the cops write a warning? And if the hotheaded, self-righteous, foul-mouthed, shit-for-brains-biker from the other night is reading...become a smear on the road if you want to drive like that, but leave me and my child the right to follow the rules in peace. Please. You've just convinced a 5 year old that riding a bike like that is OK. It's not.