pull over

[undercover bluebird]

so i got pulled over today here in Illinois, the cop was cool he just told me he stopped me because i was going over the "legal limit" of 20mph and i was going 33. anyone else got stop for speeding

 

[butre]

I got stopped for 45 in a 35 once. he just let me off with a warning and asked the regular questions about my bike.

 

[Wolfshoes]

A central Illinois appellate court made a ruling; the 20 mph begins when the motor takes over from the pedal start. If you pedal to 13 mph, you are allowed a 20 mph boost to 33 mph in my opinion of the ruling. There are 5 appellate districts in Illinois and this ruling only clearly applies to the Decatur district. However this could be a strong enough argument to be accepted by other areas in Illinois. I have talked to my town police chief in northern Illinois and without reviewing the ruling, accepted it as a local rule of law. I ride down main street in the lane of traffic at over 20 mph without any problem. My bike only goes 25-28 mph and the speed limit through town is 30 mph. I would rather be riding at 30 mph and keep up with traffic. In Illinois, in my opinion, it is important that the bike be seen pedaled from a dead stop without help from the motor to be safe from licensing and insurance issues. I use both dual pull c brakes and the coaster brake at the same time to stop the beach cruiser. Riding over 20 mph could be a local privilege that may be gone if something is hit with the bike. I am attempting to post the pdf of the Decatur Appellate ruling 2012 4110593_R23 as posted in the Laws and Legislation section of Motorbicycling.com; but the attached file or link are not appearing in this preview. I carry a copy of this ruling when I ride to make this argument if I am stopped; which has not happened yet.

 

[undercover bluebird]

thanks wolf imma read it and use it to my to protect me if i get stopped again
i top out around 35mph and the limit here is usually 30 and i too like to flow with traffic rather than be riding slow and have them fly by me .and they them i mean the people in cars the seem not to care about us guys on bikes

 

[johnsteve]

I am from Illinios and its interesting. I have gone 60 on my bicycle downhill and would do 30 no problem on the straight aways in my younger years. I am not really sure I would want to go 90 or 60 on my motorized bicycle though. I would be intereted to see if that appelate court has any sway in any other counties.

for the record I try not to do above 20mph. I am just parinoid I guess

 

[undercover bluebird]

the problem is that 20 for me seem dangerous just for the sole purpose that when your on the the street going with traffic i find it to be an issue when cars fly by you with no respect. while when i go 30 witch is usually the main speed limit it my area i stay with the flow and have no problem or feel like im in danger

 

[DJS]

You're absolutely right bluebird. When a you're on a bike and going slower than traffic, drivers tend to get impatient and start to do crap like pulling in front of you when they want to turn right. Then you're forced to either break very fast or do a barrel role over the top of the car when you crash into it. But when you're going with the flow of traffic it seems to buy you a measure of respect from the drivers and they will usually fall back and stay behind you until they reach the street they want to turn on.

Now the next fear that you must endure when you are going fast enough to keep up with traffic are the morons quickly pulling out of driveways into moving traffic without even looking for someone on a bike. So now you're going too fast to break or get out of their way when they dart out in front of you without looking. In this case if you don't have lightening fast reflexes and you're not 100% aware of what's going on in front and around you at all times, the possibility of that barrel role over the top of a car becomes all too real.

 

[JunkyardDog]

Here in AZ the speed limit for a MB is 20 mph, regardless of the speed limit for any other type of vehicle. 20 mph is already way too fast for the single speed coaster brake Walmart bikes most people build motorized bikes out of. MBs are NOT designed to keep up with traffic. They are intended to be ridden to the far right, same as a pedal bike. We are in danger of losing the great MB laws we have because we have so many irresponsible riders here. And every time one has an accident, or is stopped by a cop, they become another piece of ammunition for politicians who would love to make motorized bikes completely illegal.

 

[undercover bluebird]

i understand that its still a bike and yes i do have a cranbrook frame but i have replace the hubs to better suit my speeds. its just hard to stay going at 20 mph when you have car who don't even acknowledge you on the road. why do you think most people who ride regular bike are always on the side walk instead on the road off to the side . Cause cars think they are the only one who are allowed on it. That is why i prefer exceeding the 20 mph limit and travel with the flow of traffic . because at least they feel like im not "slowing them down " and make them feel the need to just cut me off and pass me with less than a foot of space . i haven't ridden a mb for long maybe about 5 months now and i have read and studied about everything i could to prepare my bike and my self for the use of it. now that being said i have ridden a normal bike for a long time and i think we all have but even on a bike cruising on a bike on the side of the road like how your suppose to its just as dangerous. just the other day i came up on an accident where a person got hit by a careless car when they were on their way home and they were on the side of the road travailing with traffic and not on the side walk because it was filled with pedestrians. so my argument is not on how fast you can go on the motorbike its just how dangerous it is period being on a mb or a normal bike you can still fall get hit or any of the numerous thing that could happen . and i just think that law maker are just mad that people found a way to not pay for insurance , tags, title ,and or any other means or paper works that would line their pockets with money. i believe that its all about money and little to do with safety .now there a few politicians out there that care but its very few out there

 

[Timbone]

I have been riding a bicycle all my life, and I still log several thousands of miles each year pedalling. I can witness that I am treated much better on a motorbike than on a roadbike. There's no substitute for experience. Take the lane when you have to (which is about half the time) and yield space when it works for you. Don't hug the edge of the roadway on any bicycle, motored or not, and yield to cars (move farther to the right) and motion to them when a safe pass is possible. I guess I am proposing a kind of control of traffic. The more you can control the traffic around you, the safer you will be.