Twenty five cyclists were cited for failure to stop at a stop sign on the Shootout bike ride Saturday morning.
Officers were stationed at Mission Road and Duval Mine Road. One officer shot the video you see above of the group approaching the stop sign.
The group of between 30-40 riders were participating in the “Old Man Shootout” which is a version of the original shootout that leaves 15 minutes earlier and is generally a little slower and smaller.
The video shows the front of the group stopping and cyclists toward the back slowing and rolling through as a group. At one point a vehicle approaches and several cyclists stop and wait for it to clear before proceeding. The video is shot from a distance that makes it impossible to see faces.
Jonathan McClaren was on the ride and emailed this account of the stop.
I was in the very front when we came to the stop sign on Duval Mine, and as usual the first few of us stopped, checked traffic, yelled out that it was clear, and carried on. The rest of the group, presumably, rolled through. No sight of the cops. Then as we came up on Continental there was a Sheriff’s deputy waiting that flagged us all down. Another deputy came down Duval from where we were, and at some point a third deputy showed up. The deputy, last name Pearson, instructed us all to pull off the road. He then informed us that we would all be receiving citations, some 40 of us, for failure to stop at a stop sign.
McClaren said it took about 40 minutes for the Sheriffs to process all of the riders.
Sheriffs stopped the group several weeks ago saying they had received “numerous 911 calls” about the group.
Check back for more when we get more information from participants and the Sheriff’s Department.
I wonder if they team up to target motorists who do the same thing? At any rate, I believe that Arizona has proposed the “Idaho Stop” which is a common sense law that would eliminate this waste of time.
In Europe, cyclist run red lights if it’s clear without hesitation. I’ve seen in done right in front of the law, and they couldn’t care less.
why arent people calling 911 on the speeding cars?
Good. At some point, maybe the elitist attitude of these sorts of cyclists will change. You are an ambassador for cycling EVERY TIME you clip in. Why would you give motorists even MORE reason to dislike us? Do you think THEY like stopping for stupid signs and lights? It’s a simple thing to do, and to disregard it, in the name of training, or peer pressure, is just complete BS. If you think you have a valid argument against simple safety and respect for other road users, you don’t.
EjInigo you are a moron
Wait, it said that ALL of them received citations for failing to stop, BUT the ones at the front DID stop! Can the sheriffs prove who did NOT stop?
Every single one of those cyclists must set their case for trial. NEVER hand your money over to the Kangaroo municipal courts.
EjInigo I agree totally. The sign says stop. Everyone stops. It is that simple. Bit over the top of the sherrif’s department though.
JimCanady Is that anything like the California stop?
[…] stop sign violation tickets issued during last week’s ride were a result of a what the Sheriff’s Department calls Mission Oriented Policing according to […]
Hmm, cameras
to catch speeders, cameras to catch red light runners, cameras to catch stop
sign runners. Why should it matter who the camera catches?
[…] Toronto points out a design flaw in a new protected bike lane that has drivers invading the space. Tucson Velo reports that 25 local cyclists were ticketed en masse for allegedly running a stop sign during a […]
EjInigo
EjInigo Exactly. STOP at EVERY SIGN. SINGLE FILE. Now with a line of 30 riders it’s gonna really hold up traffic, they will honk at you and may assault you, so be ready for that. But at least when it happens you can say you were following the law.
EjInigo If I were a motorist behind the group (in a huge rush to get somewhere at 7AM on a saturday morning), and I had to wait for every single cyclist to roll up to the sign, stop, put his foot down, and then go… it would slow me down a lot more than what they did in this video
I can’t understand why the entire group of cyclists received citations. That video clearly shows a number of cyclists stopping at the intersection.
I think if I had received a ticket as part of that group, I would contest it without hesitation.
Those cyclists were following an informal rule that most police subscribe to. That its safer for a group to roll a stop sign, once it has been determined to be clear, than it is to have everyone stop individually. Ludicrous.
@nick EjInigo Is there a law in Arizona that you are required to put your foot down at a stop sign? There is NOT in California. If you get ticketed for it, have your day in court. Be ready to show that there is NOTHING in the vehicle code requiring a cyclist to put a foot down at a stop.
[…] And for every group-riding cyclist who ever said they can’t ticket us all, a Tucson cop would beg to differ. […]
@synthetic
Yes you’ve hit the nail on the head. I can ride down my local main road and 99% are speeding and many are following each other 1 car length back at 55+ mph. This is a form of harassment when the police target one group of road users for something less dangerous than other infractions which are ignored. 35 000 deaths a year by motorized vehicles is consistent with a lack of adherence to traffic laws and driving safety.
@synthetic
Yes you’ve hit the nail on the head. I can ride down my local main road and 99% are speeding and many are following each other 1 car length back at 55+ mph. This is a form of harassment when the police target one group of road users for something less dangerous than other infractions which are ignored. 35 000 deaths a year by motorized vehicles is consistent with a lack of adherence to traffic laws and driving safety.