A ticket for talking on Mobile Phone on a bike!?
It’s bad enough that California now has a law that prohibits talking on a mobile phone without a bluetooth device, but you won’t believe what my daughter just got a ticket for! She was riding her bicycle on a downtown street, cruising along slowly, talking on her cell phone. Next she knows, she’s pulled over and given a $92 ticket. Now, I’ve got tremendous respect for the police and give them my full support, but this was over the line. Not only does the law he cited not apply to a bicycle (some argue bicycles must follow those laws, but that was not this law’s intent), the fine was not even close to the $20 first offense fine that is supposed to be attached to it. And this was during the first month of the new law when you’d think they should be concentrating on extracting money from drivers of cars. Instead, this idiot of an officer, pulls over a respectable looking college student on her bike.
So, angered, my daughter makes an appointment at the court to contest it. I went with her to watch the proceedings. We arrived there for our “appointment” and see that there are about 80 others lining the hallways with the same appointment. At 9:00 a.m., an officer came out of the court and said it is so full that no companions are allowed in. That’s fine since I was not going to interfere and let her present her case, but I was interested in seeing “justice at work.”
A couple hours later she called me to report that the judge was rude, not in interested in really looking at the law and simply reduced the fee to $25, still above a first offense fee, if she had in fact been driving a car in the first place. She told me the deadline to pay was that day and asked if she should pay it. In the interest, of time and our sanity, there was not really any rational choice other than to pay it, so she did.
Look, before you get all over me about how it’s stupid to talk on the phone while riding a bike, I agree, and I’ve told her. But, it’s not like she committed a real crime. The higher offense was the overreaching police officer out for blood. And I was happy she wanted to fight it.
Don’t get me started about this stupid law. I predict more people will get in accidents trying to get those damn bluetooth devices to work each and every time. They are a pain in the ass. I can certainly drive just fine holding the phone in one hand and voice dialing. It’s safer than fumbling around the car trying to make the not-ready-for-primetime gadgets work, or trying to sneak in a speaker phone call when the bluetooth battery is dead. Another “good intention” from Big Brother that will have the reverse effect.
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[...] Now listen to this! Not only are they citing those criminals using their cell phones in their cars, but they are even citing people talking on a mobile phone while riding bicycles. [...]
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Great information! Thanks for the post.
The $20 that you spoke up was suppose to be the baseline of the ticket. The price can vary from city to city depending on county and city taxes. I’ve known someone who gotten a ticket over $150 because of the city he was in, in regards to driving a car of course. You can even get a ticket for holding a mobile phone now as well, not just talking/texting.
The internal problem has been indeed lack of funds and the season is upon us for students, thus the SLOPD is generating funds to help the budget, hoping the families will just pay the child’s fines. However one thing was uncovered by several officers that one Rouge officer Scott Crammer who has a history of violence on and off the job, and has deep personal anger issues, keep an eye on his name he is a deeply distressed officer, with Maladaptive Behavior issues and is prone to attack you.
Indeed this Officer Crammer is a very disturbed person, the SLOPD has had several issues with him, he does have a history of violence and mental illness. One would hope he would either get help or resign before some one gets killed by him.
Rouge is a good term for him several of his co-workers prefer not to work the same shift with him for fear of getting in his sites. He has a long history of lying and taping you in his private voice activated personal recorder, he then attempts to alter the tape to his benefit. So if your ever stopped by him have an open tape so he can see your taping his lies.
Are you an idiot or something?
No not a real crime. When she shows up in the hospital with head trama you won’t feel the same, or maybe when someone gets killed while trying to avoid her dumb a$$. What do you care, it’s convenient to talk on the phone right?
I’ve seen people endo right over their handlebars when they run into curbs will talking on their cell phone while riding a bike.
I think this should be treated as a drunk driving IMO. That or we should just legalize drinking and driving as it’s the fair thing to do. Your just a dangerous talking on the phone is you are as a drunk driver.