Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Bicycling

[Update: False] SFPD Cites Bike Rider for Driving With a Suspended License

2:57 PM PDT on September 19, 2013

Update 9/21: SFPD said on its Richmond Station Facebook page that the person cited was driving, contradicting the report printed in the Richmond Review which described a "bicycle rider": "The story is not correct. On the time and date indicated the only misdemeanor citation issued for that night was to the driver of an automobile."

A San Francisco police officer cited a bicycle rider for having a suspended or revoked automobile driver's license. You read that right -- even though no driver's license is required to ride a bicycle in California (or anywhere?), it happened.

From the SFPD Richmond Station police blotter, via the Richmond Review:

Driving with a Suspended License: Aug. 8, 2:42 a.m., Geary BoulevardAn officer on patrol noticed a bicycle rider making an unsafe lane change while riding eastbound on Geary Boulevard. The officer enacted a traffic stop and discovered the rider had a suspended/revoked driver's license.

The bicycle driver was cited for a misdemeanor offense of driving with a suspended license.

The officer's baffling application of the law is especially strange considering the fact that this person could have been riding a bicycle because they lost their driver's license.

Well, if that's the new order of things, police ought to start ticketing all children who ride bicycles on sight.

(H/T to Reddit user dxtr3265)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Active Towns: a Deep Dive into Bay Area Advocacy

Streetsblog San Francisco editor Roger Rudick and advocate Luke Bornheimer are guests on the latest "Active Towns" podcast with John Simmerman

December 6, 2023

Valencia Merchants Stage Protest in Center-Running Bike Lane

Remember when this bike lane was pitched as being more acceptable for small business owners?

December 6, 2023
See all posts