Ever since the bicycle ticket incident, the four hapless riders have been trying to decide how to deal with their citations.

Pippa (“I shall go to court because I’m British and like a good argument” – gotta love her) filled in a form stating that she wished to contest the fine and mailed it in. She should hear from them within 30 days regarding the next step.

Bob is mulling it over. He wanted to go to deferred adjudication or take a bicycle safety class (similar to a defensive driving class) to reduce or eliminate the fine, but those are not options. Another blog quotes a local judge as saying a bicycle violation will not affect your driving record, and since that’s the most important outcome Bob is seeking, he might pay the fine. But he hasn’t decided.

Judy is going to fight it. She thinks $217 is excessive, and the way the ticket is written it looks like she ran a red light (she turned right without stopping, but after slowing).

And Penny, seen getting the ticket in the original post, decided to just pay the fine and get it over with. But she found it’s just not that easy. Penny tells the story from here:

It’s funny how a society will create its own rules in the absence of structure. Daughter Emily and I arrived at the Manchaca municipal court substation to find a line out the door. But these folks weren’t standing. They were sitting in a row of chairs lined up along a wall. It was apparent that we would be in for a long wait. So we took our place in line.

As each person was called to the service counter, the whole row of people would get up and move one chair down. Everyone understood the implied order — everyone moved.

When we reached the counter, I presented my ticket, explained that it was for running a red light (on my bicycle) and asked if it would reflect on my insurance. This discourse on my part was met with a blank stare. The clerk didn’t know so she offered to let me speak with a prosecutor. No thanks, I told her. I wanted to pay and do whatever I needed to do to keep this off my record. Bicycle traffic offenders are not offered the deferred adjudication or defensive driving options.

So, she tried to call a prosecutor to get the answer. Dial, busy signal, hang up, dial, busy signal, hang up — this went on for awhile. I watched mesmerized as the partially-painted fingernail punched relentlessly at the telephone keys.

No answer in the prosecutor’s office so she called the judge. Well, actually, she called his office. They didn’t know but said they would ask the judge when he got out of court. They would call back.

Waiting, waiting, waiting…

In the meantime, Bubba next to me gets his call to the counter. He peels off $168 in small bills and hands it to the clerk.

“Well, how ‘bout that,” he muses. “I still have enough for a beer.”

The clerk thinks this is a great idea and comments that she would go with him if she didn’t have to work.

“Oh, you don’t wanna go with me,” he exclaimed. “I go to Expose’.”

I could see my daughter’s face — giving some thought to this.

“What’s Expose’?” she asked as she watched me roll my eyes. “Oh, I get it…Mom, can you do that with your eyes again?” Bubba is still talking to the clerk. He doesn’t have a clue.

Finally, the judge returns the call. If the ticket is coded properly for bicycle violation it does not go against insurance.

I pay my ticket — $217. Bubba pays his ticket, and we walk out together. How special. Bubba comments that he’s just wasted $168. We’re thinking he must have been fined for “child riding in bed of truck,” or “too many people in vehicle.”

I looked at Emily. She looked at me.

“I guess that means he doesn’t have enough money for a lap dance tonight,” I said.

She rolled her eyes.

I missed our Sunday ride two weekends in a row while on vacation, and it turned out that the first weekend  was much more eventful than usual.

The B ride took a loop route that included some moderately challenging hills. Everything was going well, until the group reached an intersection just two miles from the finish. It’s a stoplighted intersection, with a right turn to a southbound road with a bike lane at that point.

The light was red for the bikers. They rode up to the intersection, and turned right without coming to a complete stop at the light. Next thing you know, an Austin Police car was pulling them over.

Penny gets her ticket while two other club members stand by in disbelief.

The officer issued tickets to four riders for failing to come to a complete stop. Each ticket carries a fine of $217. Meanwhile, one of the riders saw three cars roll through the same red light while making a right turn onto the same street, and wondered why the officer wasn’t ticketing them, since a two-ton automobile is a greater hazard than a 20-pound bike.

The officer told the group he was issuing citations because of the grief the Austin Police Department has been getting over cyclists breaking traffic laws. Letters to the editor in the newspaper seem to be getting more vociferous lately over cyclists, but I don’t think it’s any different here than in any other city.

The recipients of the tickets agree that they did not follow the letter of the law — they did not come to a complete stop — but they also think that since no safety issue was involved, the officer should have let them off with warnings instead. Now, they’re faced with paying a large fine. Pippa, the ride leader for the week, said, “I shall go to Court just because I’m British and like a good argument.” The others are still debating whether to join her.

One benefit of the incident has been increased discussion within the club about obeying traffic laws more strictly. The B ride this past weekend was led by a club member who is a League Certified Instructor, and required stops at all lights and signs. He said there was not a single instance of a rider rolling through a stop sign, and called it an “impressive” sight.

In the end, I suppose the ticket episode will be beneficial (although those who got the tickets will have a bad taste in their mouths for some time to come) because of the new emphasis on obeying laws within the club. It seems like a tough way to learn the lesson, though. Have any readers run into similar police enforcement crackdowns in your areas?