disorderlyvision
06-11-2009, 10:12 AM
http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2009/jun/11/safety-issue-officers-poor-form-cyclists/
More than 700 cyclists were on the roads of Loudoun County over the weekend, some pedaling up to 150 miles, trying to raise money for a debilitating disease, multiple sclerosis.
But as they made their way Sunday in the untimed event, several rolled into an obstacle few foresaw: the long arm of the law.
According to cyclists and Loudoun authorities, several cyclists failed to come to complete stops at some intersections, and a county sheriff's deputy was waiting to pounce. Eight cyclists were ticketed for running stop signs that day in the Lovettsville and Purcellville areas, authorities said.
To several who took part in the annual event — which is estimated to have raised more than $700,000 for research and assistance for those with the incurable illness — the tickets were poor form, even if cyclists had rolled through the signs. To authorities, who said they received numerous complaints from motorists about cyclists crowding the roads and running stop signs, the citations were necessary to ensure safety on the roads.
"After I picked my jaw up off the ground, my feeling was, 'You've got nothing better to do at 10 o'clock on a Sunday morning than sit there and wait for people to run a stop sign?' " said David Jennings, 47, of Vienna, a cyclist who did not ride for charity but was ticketed in Lovettsville while out with his biking club.
Jennings said he and another cyclist, a charity participant, slowed to about 1 mph before proceeding through a stop sign in Lovettsville, only to find a sheriff's deputy nearby, who flagged them down.
"What was amazing to me was it seemed to me they were there because of the MS ride," Jennings said. "They've donated their time and all their money, and they've donated to a charity, and you've got the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office just sitting there waiting to hand them a ticket. It didn't seem right."
Loudoun Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson said raising revenue had nothing to do with the citations. He mentioned two cyclists who were killed within days of each other in summer 2005 and said rolling through a stop sign on a bike can have the same consequences as doing so in a car.
"They forget the fact that they're sharing that road with motor vehicles, and by not respecting the rule of the road, they're putting themselves in huge danger," Simpson said. "They get into a collision with a motor vehicle, they're going to come out the loser in that deal."
"Bike MS: Beyond the Beltway" was organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's National Capital Chapter and took place mostly in Loudoun on Saturday and Sunday, said chapter President Chris Broullire. The two-day course totaled 150 miles, but not everyone rode the entire length, he said.
Broullire said safety precautions were taken, including motorcycle escorts and reminding riders to obey traffic rules. He declined to comment on the citations, saying he was looking into them.
Cyclist Bill Dwyer, who received a ticket near a square in Lovettsville, said he thinks the citations were emblematic of a larger tension between motorists and cyclists.
"The fact that there were people in that square running stop signs isn't the problem," said Dwyer, 53, of Alexandria. "The finger was unfairly pointed at the MS bike riders and myself in particular. . . . But I got a ticket. It's not a big deal. I'll pay it."
Another ticketed charity rider, Charles Rothrock of Oakton, said he agrees that safety is paramount but that authorities could have taken better steps to "proactively warn cyclists" to obey road signs.
The tickets carry a prepayable $30 fine and a $61 fee. If someone chooses to fight the charge, a judge can raise the fine to as much as $250.
More than 700 cyclists were on the roads of Loudoun County over the weekend, some pedaling up to 150 miles, trying to raise money for a debilitating disease, multiple sclerosis.
But as they made their way Sunday in the untimed event, several rolled into an obstacle few foresaw: the long arm of the law.
According to cyclists and Loudoun authorities, several cyclists failed to come to complete stops at some intersections, and a county sheriff's deputy was waiting to pounce. Eight cyclists were ticketed for running stop signs that day in the Lovettsville and Purcellville areas, authorities said.
To several who took part in the annual event — which is estimated to have raised more than $700,000 for research and assistance for those with the incurable illness — the tickets were poor form, even if cyclists had rolled through the signs. To authorities, who said they received numerous complaints from motorists about cyclists crowding the roads and running stop signs, the citations were necessary to ensure safety on the roads.
"After I picked my jaw up off the ground, my feeling was, 'You've got nothing better to do at 10 o'clock on a Sunday morning than sit there and wait for people to run a stop sign?' " said David Jennings, 47, of Vienna, a cyclist who did not ride for charity but was ticketed in Lovettsville while out with his biking club.
Jennings said he and another cyclist, a charity participant, slowed to about 1 mph before proceeding through a stop sign in Lovettsville, only to find a sheriff's deputy nearby, who flagged them down.
"What was amazing to me was it seemed to me they were there because of the MS ride," Jennings said. "They've donated their time and all their money, and they've donated to a charity, and you've got the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office just sitting there waiting to hand them a ticket. It didn't seem right."
Loudoun Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson said raising revenue had nothing to do with the citations. He mentioned two cyclists who were killed within days of each other in summer 2005 and said rolling through a stop sign on a bike can have the same consequences as doing so in a car.
"They forget the fact that they're sharing that road with motor vehicles, and by not respecting the rule of the road, they're putting themselves in huge danger," Simpson said. "They get into a collision with a motor vehicle, they're going to come out the loser in that deal."
"Bike MS: Beyond the Beltway" was organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's National Capital Chapter and took place mostly in Loudoun on Saturday and Sunday, said chapter President Chris Broullire. The two-day course totaled 150 miles, but not everyone rode the entire length, he said.
Broullire said safety precautions were taken, including motorcycle escorts and reminding riders to obey traffic rules. He declined to comment on the citations, saying he was looking into them.
Cyclist Bill Dwyer, who received a ticket near a square in Lovettsville, said he thinks the citations were emblematic of a larger tension between motorists and cyclists.
"The fact that there were people in that square running stop signs isn't the problem," said Dwyer, 53, of Alexandria. "The finger was unfairly pointed at the MS bike riders and myself in particular. . . . But I got a ticket. It's not a big deal. I'll pay it."
Another ticketed charity rider, Charles Rothrock of Oakton, said he agrees that safety is paramount but that authorities could have taken better steps to "proactively warn cyclists" to obey road signs.
The tickets carry a prepayable $30 fine and a $61 fee. If someone chooses to fight the charge, a judge can raise the fine to as much as $250.