In a show of force unseen before, the MDPD is ticketing cyclists for not coming to a complete stop at the turn around before the toll plaza as one heads back to Key Biscayne. Tickets are running between $79-$179.
Although I do agree that there are plenty of irresponsible bicyclists on the Rickenbacker Causeway, the majority of us are not. For the most part we obey traffic laws, it behooves us to remain alive. It is the few large packs that give most of us a bad name.
That being said, I believe the MDPD is putting far too many of their valuable resources cracking down on cyclists, while the much larger problem of speeding is not being adequately addressed. Or rather it is not being given the priority that it deserves.
Yesterday, there were 6 police officers handing out tickets to cyclists. I’ve biked the Rickenbacker for the past ten years and have never seen such a concerted effort by the MDPD to ticket speeding motorists. In all fairness to the MDPD I have seen increased enforcement during the past year, but nothing like I witnessed yesterday. I would like to see the same heavy-handed enforcement that is being applied to cyclists to speeding motorists.
The much larger problem on the Rickenbacker Causeway is and will continue to be speeding. Not one speed trap was set up yesterday to catch speeding cars, all the while I saw dozens of cars traveling in excess of 60 mph, particularly on the bridges where I have never seen a speed trap.
We need to focus our resources on ticketing irresponsible drivers, speed is the enemy and there should be zero-tolerance for speeding cars. One mph over the current speed limit should result in a ticket. I would like to see 6 MDPD officers handing out tickets on Saturday morning to motorists to show that speeding will not be tolerated.
All I’m asking is for equal treatment. If you believe speeding cars are not being adequately dealt with on the Rickenbacker Causeway, please send Commissioner Carlos Gimenez an email and tell him you want more enforcement of speeding vehicles.
6 Responses to Miami Dade Police Department Ticketing Cyclists on Rickenbacker
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Miami-Dade’s finest punishing all those dangerous scofflaw cyclists keeping the roads safe and open for drunken speeding motorists…YAY! Good work, guys.
Morons.
Now, now let’s be nice. I have personally worked with the MDPD on the Rickenbacker Causeway and they are good people. They were very accommodating to our needs during the memorial ride last year. That being said we will continue to have many other memorial rides if the County and the MDPD do not address the issue of speeding cars and the design of the Rickenbacker itself. We are coming up on a year since the last death on the Rickenbacker and we have not really seen any safety improvements.
I’m on the Rickenbacker a about 5 times a week. Almost everyday I’m there I get passed by the same Gallardo doing about 100 mph and swerving around cars. Not once have I seen the police stop it.
what I’m curious about is how were they handing out the tickets? Usually when the big pack comes up to the turn around, the lead stops and when it’s safe they cross and everyone continues behind them since traffic will see the large group. If they intend for every rider in a pack of 50 to come to a full stop and go, it’ll be many times more dangerous as each individual rider will have to cross the wide road solo, without the cars being stopped and waiting.
I don’t think you are being fair at all here. While cycling a few months ago, I got a flat tire near a cop that was monitoring speeding vehicles and we started talking (he had just finished giving out a ticket). They were there due to complaints from the cycling community. He had stopped and ticketed 10 vehicles in 45 minutes and of the 10 vehicles, 8 of them had a bicycle either inside or on a rack. We (cyclists / triathletes) are the first to complain but I have been passed by a speeding car or almost run off the road by a car with IM bumper stickers, bike racks etc one too many times. They are out there to make the roads safe for all. Let’s do our part when riding and when driving!
[...] 6, 2010 in Day In the Life | Tags: Rickenbacker Causeway This past weekend, eighteen bicyclists received tickets (at $176 a pop) for rolling through stop sig…. The South Florida Bike Coalition supports law enforcement of all traffic offenses but here we had [...]