Cities, especially in the West, are not very friendly to alternative modes of transportation other than buses or cars, which sometimes puts others at risk. However, this doesn’t mean that alternative means of transportation are exempt from complying with the rules. Like many cyclists who believe they can do whatever they want. That is why, in San Francisco, the police took a hard line and started a program to issue tickets to cyclists who violate traffic laws. For this reason, many citizens are applauding the police.
Reddit user sassafrassloo shared that, during their walk through downtown San Francisco, they saw the police stop and ticket several cyclists. According to the OP’s photo, the reason for this penalty is that these cyclists ran a stop sign at Fillmore and Page. In addition to this specific case, OP mentioned that they saw three others detained earlier on that same walk. In response, many citizens began celebrating and congratulating the San Francisco police for their work.
“And they should ticket motorbikes that use bicycle lanes,” commented Pfojes.
“Finally! I’ve had so many bikers almost hit me in crosswalks because they’ve blasted through stop signs. I’d love to see more be ticketed,” added soccergurl122000.
“The Police should start ticketing e-bikes and scooters on sidewalks as well!!” said Spider-Go.
Other users complained that, in addition to bicycles, drivers on skateboards or electric scooters also tend to ignore the rules. Also, more than one person has had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over or hit by a scooter riding on the sidewalk surrounded by more pedestrians. And some more said, skateboarders can also be very reckless.
Yet, among the comments, there was also a debate that at least this is in California law and that other states are unlikely to have the same penalties, at least for now. In addition, there are discrepancies within California’s own traffic laws. For example, cyclists must follow street signs and traffic signals, but they can cross an intersection alongside pedestrians when the signal is on “Walk.”
Therefore, drivers, cyclists, and even pedestrians should be alert at all times. At least California citizens can rest a little easier knowing that police officers will no longer overlook misconduct, at least by cyclists. Perhaps over time, this will expand to include other modes of transportation, as many people in the comments section stated and wished. After all, it’s for everyone’s safety.
