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From: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: bicycle patrol
Message-ID: <1312@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Jul-85 12:41:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1312
Posted: Mon Jul 22 12:41:55 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Jul-85 07:18:33 EDT
References: <1016@noscvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious oyster)
Distribution: net
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 33

In article <1016@noscvax.UUCP> powers@noscvax.UUCP (William J. Powers) writes:
> What I'm wondering is whether anyone knows of any cities
>where there are volunteer bicycle patrols.  These patrols would
>probably be trained by the police and have the authority to ticket
>other bicyclists for traffic violations.  The ticket would essentially
>be the same now administered to any other vehicle using the roadway.

   We have just the kind of "bicycle monitors" that you describe here in
Madison.  I'm one of the few bicyclists I know of who thinks they're a 
good idea, but even I have some reservations.  The problem is that they
seem to "catch" good cyclists who do things illegally (e.g. don't put
both feet on the ground at stop signs... I don't even put *one* down,
although I come to a stop), rather than getting "bad" cyclists.  Also,
since they are there to make it safer for cyclists, I think they should
also be empowered to ticket idiotic pedestrians.  In my experience, it's
the ignorant (not necessarily stupid) pedestrian who's more dangerous than
other cyclists.
   Another thing which I'd like to see from the law-enforcement side of things
is for police to stop and at least warn motorists who make things dangerous for
cyclists.  For example, something which I see many times each day here is cars
making right turns *across* bike/right-turn-only lanes, rather than letting us
cyclists know they are turning by getting into the lane.  I've seen a couple of
accidents, and too many close calls to remember, just from this single 
maneuver.
   Well, I'll get off of my soap-box, leaving behind an opinion I've expressed
here before:  if cyclists *and* motorists made the small effort required to be
more considerate and predictable (i.e. SIGNAL!), things would be much better.
-- 
 - joel "vo" plutchak
{allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster

"Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is
all confusion."