from AP news..Cycle power: Bikes emerge as a post-lockdown

Where I live here in the US, I haven't heard of anyone on a bike being stopped. The police are stopping cars with bikes on the back for violating the stay at home order though. I find this strange since most parks and bike trails remain open. It isn't clear how folks like me, who live a considerable distance away, are supposed to get there.
 
6zfshdb said:
Where I live here in the US, I haven't heard of anyone on a bike being stopped. The police are stopping cars with bikes on the back for violating the stay at home order though. I find this strange since most parks and bike trails remain open. It isn't clear how folks like me, who live a considerable distance away, are supposed to get there.
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How can they stop you?????
Officer I always leave my bike on there and I'm just out to buy toilet paper.
They could never prove you were actually going somewhere to ride it....unless they wanted to follow you and that seems like a waste of time.
 
ruffruff said:
How can they stop you?????
Officer I always leave my bike on there and I'm just out to buy toilet paper.
They could never prove you were actually going somewhere to ride it.
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They could take you to court and win, you know. Won't be easy to make a reasonable judge believe the story about "always" leaving bike on the rack.
That Spanish cop accusing a rider in breaking the lockdown regulations by "exercising in public" has a vivid imagination.
 
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They would have to prove it. You would have to be caught in the act. They can't say you ARE going to go riding.
They could arrest you because you ARE going to speed in your car.

I can drive around all day with my bike on my rack and never go riding.
 
ruffruff said:
They can't say you ARE going to go riding.
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But they can say that you were riding recently or will, in the near future. If the city is still in lockdown with no date on reopening yet, it won't matter that you are not going to ride right now. Like I said, it boils down to what the judge will decide. It will be your words against common sense.
 
Alex M said:
But they can say that you were riding recently or will, in the near future. If the city is still in lockdown with no date on reopening yet, it won't matter that you are not going to ride right now. Like I said, it boils down to what the judge will decide. It will be your words against common sense.
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Judges don’t make decisions based on circumstantial evidence or conjecture. There really is no way for the cop to prove that you were going to ride or not ride. The case wouldn’t go anywhere and would likely be dismissed.
 
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They would have to have evidence of you riding. Unless leaving your house or driving is illegal it's not illegal to drive around with a bike on your rack.
Can't I take it to the LBS to get tuned up?
 
ruffruff said:
Can't I take it to the LBS to get tuned up?
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Cops are not totally dumb. They are trained to ask questions and you are not trained to make up excuses on the fly, unless you've been through many encounters of this kind. I can think of at least 3 such questions about tune-up and LBS.
 
Come on now, you are just arguing to argue, It really doesn't work that way.
It doesn't even make sense.
If you can be arrested on presumed guilt why can't they arrest you for presuming you are going to do drugs? Beat people?
Speed? Blackmail people? Litter? Rob a store?

Sure cops can arrest for anything but pretty sure a judge wouldn't let it stand with no evidence.

And making up excuses to the cops, pretty sure I have the right to say nothing.
 
ruffruff said:
Come on now, you are just arguing to argue, It really doesn't work that way.
It doesn't even make sense.
If you can be arrested on presumed guilt why can't they arrest you for presuming you are going to do drugs? Beat people?
Speed? Blackmail people? Litter? Rob a store?

Sure cops can arrest for anything but pretty sure a judge wouldn't let it stand with no evidence.

And making up excuses to the cops, pretty sure I have the right to say nothing.
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Agreed. @alex M’s arguments are nonsense. I have friends who are police officers and none would stop someone just because of having bikes on their car racks. This is just plain silly. 🥴
 
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I can't decide if I'm disturbed or sad that if @AlexM is an American citizen he would even think this way.
 
It's easy to comment on what could or could not happen but the facts is, summons' are being issued for violations of the stay at home order. This could result in a court appearance and perhaps legal fees. Even if the judge throws it out, it's still going to cost you time and perhaps some $$.

The only incident I can attest to is from a fellow rider who claims he was stopped after leaving a trail head parking lot in New Jersey. That state has been hit hard by the virus and the police are cracking down. I haven't talked to him lately so I don't know the outcome.
 
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