I was riding my bike home from North 3rd last night. I'm a slow, fairly conservative rider, I wasn't doing anything illegal...
Ahead of me a police car had pulled over 2 bicycles and then they rode on... when I passed the car, the officer waved me down, I stopped, and he informed me that I was riding illegally because I had no reflectors on my bike.
Well, that was odd, I thought, and I looked and I had 4 reflectors on my bike; front, rear, and wheels. I showed them to him and he said they weren't working and I had to buy the battery-operated type. I asked if he was joking and he pretty much read me the riot act. Not wanting to get into trouble, I quickly submitted and said I would get new reflectors immediately.
For the record, this was not a friendly request, he was unhinged. I still don't know what to think of it other than odd harassment.

You weren't "BWB", were you?

NOW I KNOW THE LAW
{but I don't know what BWB means}

Section 3507. Lamps or other equipment on pedalcycles.
(a) Lamps and reflectors. -- Every pedalcycle when in use between sunset and sunrise shall be equipped on the front with a lamp which emits a beam of white light intended to illuminate the pedalcycle operator's path and visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front, a red reflector facing to the rear which shall be visible at least 500 feet to the rear, and an amber reflector on each side. Operators of pedalcycles may supplement the required front lamp with a white flashing lamp, light-emitting diode or similar device to enhance their visibility to other traffic and with a lamp emitting a red flashing lamp, light emitting diode or similar device visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear. A lamp or lamps worn by the operator of a pedalcycle shall comply with the requirements of this subsection if the lamp or lamps can be seen at the distances specified.

Biking while black

I thought Biking While Boozing.
I wasn't BWB in either case.

people get shot every day and THIS is what he was concerned with?

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"i live my life in the city"

LOL!

Cyclist get seriously messed up every day or worse on Philly's streets too. And let's not pretend it's always the motorist at fault.

Who knows, maybe he was given "bike enforcement duty" as a punitive measure and was part irritated being stuck on what he saw as a b.s. detail. Or maybe there had been neighborhood complaints about bicycle's causing traffic safety patterns. Or maybe there has been a rash of bike accidents in the area. Yeah the officer really ought to work on his tact when dealing with this sort of contact. That said, had his tone been a bit more civil I'd welcome more community engagement like that from the police. Anyone remember the G.I. Joe "Knowing is half the battle" segments? It'd be like that.

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Cheesesteak the Impaler
http://bostodelphia.blogspot.com

It sucks how you were treated but it's probably not a bad idea for you to illuminate yourself more on a bike. If I could, I'd add side illumination to my car...it sometimes seems my car is invisible to other drivers which is kind of why I wouldn't DARE bike around here!

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

Get the lights to keep safe, not because of the man.