Reed Bates found Guilty of 'Reckless Driving'




Reed Bates (AKA ChipSeal) has been found guilty in Ellis County Court No. 2 on a charge of reckless driving for not riding as far right as possible (as stated by the prosecutor instead of the word 'practicable') in a 12' lane with 70 mph tractor-trailer trucks, and for not riding on an inconsistent, broken, and even nonexistent shoulder when directed to ride there by local law enforcement officers, contrary to the requirements of Sec. 551.103 of the Texas Transportation Code. Oddly, the fact that other vehicles were being allowed to exceed the posted speed limit was considered a reason to force a lawfully operating vehicle off the roadway.

Part of the case against Mr. Bates was that he was riding at dusk, even though police detained him for almost 40 minutes (from roughly 5 to 5:40 pm) before letting him proceed. He was then handcuffed and arrested.

In finding Mr. Bates guilty, the judge stated, "You may be right that it is safer to ride in the middle of the lane instead of the shoulder, but it is reckless of you to do so"... at which point a white rabbit was seen doing down the elevators at the Ellis County Courthouse.

Yes, Mr. Bates is appealing the conviction. Please donate.

Old Ellis County Courthouse in Waxahachie, Texas. Photo by Steve Averill, modified by PM Summer.
http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2010/08/reed-bates-found-guilty-of-reckless.html

Some more detail: http://dfwptp.blogspot.com/2010/08/people-versus-bates.html

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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