Last week, in Grosse Pointe Farms, the Bike Law Defense League recorded another win for Michigan bicyclists.
Joe McCormack, an avid cyclist, was ticketed for riding his bicycle on Mack Avenue at the end of a long ride on a cold day. The officer claimed Joe wasn’t following Michigan law which requires cyclists to ride as “far to the right edge of the road as is practicable” because he chose to ride in the right lane, rather than the parking lane (as demonstrated by this video which was mounted on Joe’s bike at the time of the incident.)
Joe was clearly in the right and should not have been ticketed for simply riding his bike where he had a legal right to do so. The prosecutor initially commented that he couldn’t believe Michigan law allowed a bicyclist to slow him down on his way to work. However, after learning of the Bike Law Defense League’s victory for Tim Panagis, who was ticketed by an officer who thought the law required Tim to ride on the shoulder, the prosecutor agreed to voluntarily dismiss the charges against Joe.
Michigan bicyclists owe Joe McCormick a big thank you for his willingness to fight this ticket, which required him to make two trips to court and take two days off work, in order to stand up for all cyclists right to use Michigan’s roads. Thanks, Joe!