Cops Prey on Market Street Cyclists

We need to be directing scarce enforcement resources towards interventions that have proven nexus to increased public safety.  The DPH should inform SFPD enforcement and then enforcement should be evaluated against public health outcomes. 

This anecdotal crap has no place in this debate, nor does inflexible adherence to the letter of the law.  The last thing that will make the streets safer is the approach of the stern father that so many conservatives seek.

If the data show that bicycle violations are leading to injuries and deaths, then they should be enforced.  But I think that we all know that the data will show that motorist violations are those most closely related to injury and death.  The SFPD avoids allowing observed, empirical reality to dictate its work plan, preferring to rely on anecdote and prejudice as usual.

We can't afford to allow the mostly suburban commuter and conservative SFPD to call its own work plan without civilian, political oversight.  And the last thing that cyclists need is for the SFBC to be calling for increased enforcement against cyclists without any basis on DPH data.  Let the SF Car Coalition make that case, not the SF Bicycle Coalition,okay?

heres the thing. lots of cars dont allow cyclists to take up the full lane. this is neccesary, no debate there- parked cars open their doors which can be lethal. the problem is, many cars are idiots, and they beep or tailgate a cyclist. at a red light, if a cyclist wants to avoid being chased down by cars hellbent on getting to work 10 seconds earlier, they should run the red light if safe after looking both ways to give themselves a headstart.

Both earbuds? Do cops know that the IPhone's headset has two earbuds?

and how many of these entitled punks have no health insurance so when they get hit the public has to pick up their medical care costs?

i'd venture 80 percent or so

Cops "prey" on cyclists? Give me a break. They cited cyclists who broke the law. That's a good thing and makes the streets safer for all of us.

While spending 2 weeks in Europe this summer (London. Belgium and Paris) I learned that the majority of things that people hate cyclists for doing here, are the things they encourage cyclists to do there.  The exception being, running red lights.   One way street?  Bicycles excepted.  Too much traffic?  Just hop your bike up on the sidewalk, no problem.  On Market St. cyclists shouldn't be running red lights.  But there are way too many instances around the bay area where cars and pedestrians can change traffic lights in an instant, either by just showing up, or by pressing a button.  Cyclists can either wait for a car to show up beside them, or dismount and become a pedestrian.... or, "run a red light" which wouldn't exist if they were a car or a pedestrian.   I wonder why they run so many red lights??

Does anyone here know if there is a bicycle ticket diversion program in SF, similar to the one that is just about to be implemented by the UC Berkeley PD? It allows ticketed cyclists to take a safety class and have their fine reduced to just $50. I think this is a great idea, as it provides an opportunity to educate and inform the cyclists about their rights and responsibilities on the road, without taking too much money out of their pockets and discouraging them from biking altogether.

Bikes, pedestrians, cars, buses, cabs and shopping cart purshers all share the streets so we all need to follow the rules.

Sorry but no one is getting "preyed" on.  Just recently, a woman died after a cyclist hit her. Asking cyclists to observe a basic safety law is not "preying" on them. I bike in the streets all the time and only a fool takes chances with red lights.  My skin and bones vs. 3000 lbs of moving metal is no match.

SFPD please come to the lower haight and keep the wigglers in check

Sweet!  I just wished I was there to enjoy the sight, it would've gone well with my cup of peets!

As a resident of SF of 15+ yrs, I experience constant threats from CARS, not bicycles. The cyclist who caused the death of a pedestrian deserves admonishment/punishment. I drive and bicycle in SF and the worst offenders on the road are car drivers... admittedly most of those cars don't have SF parking permits on their bumper. Why don't the police ticket cars that don't give cyclists use of the full lane? Why don't police ticket cars that take right turns at red lights even though there are pedestrians present? Why don't police/dpt ticket the vehicles parked (illegally btw) IN the bicycle lane? For all you haters in cars, I brake for bicyclists and motorcyclists and will use my car to protect them from your hateful disrespectful driving.

The other violations.....Well....The reason I don't have a driver's license is too many failures to appear....I can add a few more onto those...If SFPD wants me to.

i don't have to worry about the earbuds in both ears violation....i'm deaf in one ear

How can I get a targeted enforcement for cars running the stop signs at 24th/Douglass - right next to a playground for 2-5 year old kids....

Good, I'm glad they are cracking down.  I ride a motorcycle and the bicycles are supposed to share the road, which also means follow the road rules.  You wanna share the road, stop at the lights and stop signs.  Can''t have it both ways.