Legally Speaking: Impeding traffic?

On a wet, humid Sunday morning last August, while I puttered around his driveway on his fat bike, fellow bike attorney Bryan Waldman said:

“I have a story you might be interested in …”

Bryan went on to describe how a group of roadies were out for a ride earlier that June and were pulled over in a community outside of Ann Arbor for impeding traffic. As an attorney, he would be using the Michigan state trooper’s own dash cam as evidence. The cyclists were riding legally and tried to explain that, but the trooper wouldn’t hear it.

Yes, I was interested. My expectation was that the judge would review the law and then watch the video, and it would be a quick, just decision.

The cyclists said they had done nothing wrong, and one was being railroaded into paying a $200 ticket. He had approached Bryan for representation at trial.

On the day in question, earlier last June, four experienced riders were out for a training ride in rural Michigan and had been riding two abreast when the police cruiser came up from behind and on the PA, the officer said to the group:

“Ride single file.”

The cyclists complied and filed into a line upon and just to the right of the white painted fog line. Tim Panagis was the third rider in the line and gave a little wave, like roadies are known to do, as a way to let the officer know it was clear for the officer to pass. The cop took offense, pulled up to Tim and ordered him to pull over. The other cyclists were then coasting, so Tim decided to roll ahead of them to comply with the officer. This act was used as justification to give him an earful and a $200 ticket.

Of the four cyclists, only Panagis was charged, and it was because of his riding past the other riders to clear them in order to pull over. In other words, the ticket itself was based on acts he took after being ordered to pull over by a law enforcement officer.

I asked Bryan to update me on the trial’s outcome. When we saw each other next at the Bike Law Summit in Asheville, North Carolina, held during the U.S. National Cyclocross championships, Bryan said they had lost the trial — the video notwithstanding. What? How could that happen?!

Now watch the video for yourself >>

In the court room, as the trial was about to begin, the …

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