We reported last week that California's handheld cell phone ban does not apply to bicyclists. The bill's author and the CHP say so.
Then we got a message from a police officer, who didn't leave a name, saying he has ticketed some cell-talking cyclists under a more general state Vehicle Code section that says a cyclist "is subject to all (laws) applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
He mentioned he hasn't been challenged in court yet, so doesn't know how that would play out.
We checked with police in Sacramento, Roseville and Elk Grove. None cites cyclists for talking on cell phones.
But a leading bike-law attorney, Gary Brustin, says he thinks a judge just might agree with the officer, if the judge were to rule on the side of safety.
What do you think? Tell us at the Back-seat Driver reader's forum at sacbee.com/forums
Costly carpool lesson
Just so you don't suffer an untimely dent in your wallet during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, reader Steven Payne offers this alert:
"I found out the hard way that the carpool lane is not excluded on weekday holidays," he said.
He was ticketed for driving solo in the freeway carpool lane on Labor Day, a Monday.
The ticket cost him $436.
"An expensive lesson," he Paynefully reports.
Joggers in bike lanes?
Is it legal for joggers to be out in the bike lane? That's what Chris Somers asks after almost hitting a jogger on Pleasant Grove Boulevard in Roseville. The jogger was in a bike lane, which was to the left of the right turn lane. Yes, there's a sidewalk there.
"It sure doesn't seem smart," Somers said.
Nor is it legal. State law says if there is an adequate sidewalk nearby, pedestrians – that means joggers – are supposed to use it.
If there's no sidewalk, they can use the street, on the left side, facing traffic.
Roseville police say they haven't cited joggers in the road. But, if there's a crash, the jogger could be at fault.
TMI on road signs?
Do road officials jam too much information onto flashing construction warning signs?
Reader Joe Chasko of Sacramento thinks so. Some screens flash through three sets of info – times, dates, details.
Staring at them makes for distracted drivers, Chasko says. Can't they edit these down? Little things, like 8 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m.
The state Transportation Department's Rochelle Jenkins said the agency tries to do that. But she gets complaints at times from drivers when there isn't enough information on some signs.
One recent "oops": A sign said lanes would be closed on a given day but failed to mention the closure was for just two hours.
Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.
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