Bicyclist outrage at UC Berkeley: $220 tickets for minor infractions

[Liberal_in_LA]

UC Berkeley crackdown has bicyclists fuming
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle December 13, 2010 04:00 AM

UC Berkeley freshman Devin Shoop got a $220 ticket in September. His crime: locking his bicycle to a railing instead of a bike rack.

He got another ticket two weeks later: $220 for rolling his bike through a stop sign instead of fully stopping. Now he has to go to traffic school to keep a moving violation off his driver's license.

Jorel Allegro, a junior, earned his $220 ticket in October for coasting through the campus dismount zone instead of walking his bike as required.

California's law requiring the same traffic fines for cars and bikes isn't new. But at UC Berkeley, where campus police have vigorously enforced the laws at a time of unprecedented tuition hikes, students are furious.

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"I was very, very angry," Allegro said. "I could have avoided that by being a strictly law-abiding citizen, but who would have thought? I assumed it'd be like $30. Or $50 max. I support myself with scholarships and financial aid, so $220 is food for two weeks."

It's also the same penalty as a speeding ticket,


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/12/BAV51GL1PU.DTL#ixzz181oJsbwu

[MrScorpio]

1. It's a revenue generator

Pure and simple.

[TexasObserver]

2. Apparently, they're not going to tolerate "King's X" attitudes.