Staying safe cycling San Francisco's Wiggle
02 Sep 2015
In the past year, untold numbers of cyclists have tragically lost $198 at the hands of the SFPD whilst rolling over stop signs along the Wiggle, a popoular San Francisco bike route .
There are cops ticketing cyclists on the wiggle *right now* @WiggParty unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/E4XpJ9hUae
— Jack (@WarrenMarcusson) August 8, 2015
Cops ticketing a cyclist for rolling a stop on The Wiggle. Subject of last week's protest: http://t.co/xq1euSM4QQ pic.twitter.com/rTovDhLp5d
— Kale Williams (@sfkale) August 5, 2015
***SF cyclists*** Cops are all of the Wiggle right now. Be careful.
— Marc O'Brien (@think5577) August 6, 2015
The SFPD is right - bikes and cars should be treated identically at stop signs. Cars weigh several tonnes, can travel arbitrarily fast as far as your skull is concerned and require a complex series of mirrors and blind spots to see their surroundings; exactly like bikes are also none of these things.
So please, educate yourselves and your loved ones with these 3 ways to stay safe:
-
Always be vigilant - patrol cars can come from any direction, no matter how hard you think you have checked. When going over a junction, devote a minimum of 50% of your attention to looking out for police vehicles, especially those behind you or several blocks away.
-
Check your visibility - wear dark clothing to make it harder for officers to see you.
-
Take safe routes - avoid quiet roads with clearly marked bike paths, like The Wiggle, since these are where the crackdowns happen. Prefer congested, car-heavy streets with no room for cyclists.
Together we can raise a new generation of cyclists, where no one has to know what it’s like to lose $198.
In the past year, untold numbers of cyclists have tragically lost $198 at the hands of the SFPD whilst rolling over stop signs along the Wiggle, a popoular San Francisco bike route .
There are cops ticketing cyclists on the wiggle *right now* @WiggParty unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/E4XpJ9hUae
— Jack (@WarrenMarcusson) August 8, 2015Cops ticketing a cyclist for rolling a stop on The Wiggle. Subject of last week's protest: http://t.co/xq1euSM4QQ pic.twitter.com/rTovDhLp5d
— Kale Williams (@sfkale) August 5, 2015***SF cyclists*** Cops are all of the Wiggle right now. Be careful.
— Marc O'Brien (@think5577) August 6, 2015The SFPD is right - bikes and cars should be treated identically at stop signs. Cars weigh several tonnes, can travel arbitrarily fast as far as your skull is concerned and require a complex series of mirrors and blind spots to see their surroundings; exactly like bikes are also none of these things.
So please, educate yourselves and your loved ones with these 3 ways to stay safe:
-
Always be vigilant - patrol cars can come from any direction, no matter how hard you think you have checked. When going over a junction, devote a minimum of 50% of your attention to looking out for police vehicles, especially those behind you or several blocks away.
-
Check your visibility - wear dark clothing to make it harder for officers to see you.
-
Take safe routes - avoid quiet roads with clearly marked bike paths, like The Wiggle, since these are where the crackdowns happen. Prefer congested, car-heavy streets with no room for cyclists.
Together we can raise a new generation of cyclists, where no one has to know what it’s like to lose $198.