Police have been targeting bicyclists riding on roads in the city, and in some cases ticketing them, even though it’s legal. 

Detroit resident Zac Young filmed a Feb. 2 encounter with two officers where they flagged him down near Mack and Conner for riding on the main road instead of bike lanes along the route and asked to see his license. 

“You don’t need a license to ride a bicycle so I was really hesitant to do that for them,” Young said. “I was skeptical and suspicious of that, like, why were they asking me for my license?”

Young knew he was in the clear regardless: Under state law bikers are permitted to ride on the road, which he tried to explain. 

One of the officers told Young that he needed to ride in the bike lane, which, at that time, Young noted, was unplowed and unsafe. 

“I know my rights as a cyclist because I cycle commute all the time,” he said, “so I pulled out my phone and started recording.”

Other riders told BridgeDetroit they have faced similar issues, which underscores a larger problem with some police departments wrongfully applying laws to bicyclists. 

Detroit Police did not respond to a request for comment. 

In the 6-minute, two-part video posted to Young’s Instagram, officers could be heard saying the ticket was issued because Young was in the middle of the turn lane instead of the nearby bike lane.

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A post shared by Zac Young (@sloppyjoecombomeal)

“…the bicycle lanes are covered in snow, maybe the city can plow the bike lanes and then I can safely ride my bike where I need to go,” Young told the officers identified on their uniforms in the videos as T. Miller and D. Graves.

The officers issued a civil infraction with an unspecified fine for violating Michigan’s traffic code and ordered Young to appear in court in two weeks. In the video, Graves said, “the city is cracking down on it.” The footage ends with another bicyclist passing by and Officer Graves saying, “We’re going to get him too.”

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A post shared by Zac Young (@sloppyjoecombomeal)

Biking is a common mode of transportation in Detroit. One survey found that around 13% of Detroiters walk or bike every day. Biking has also been identified by global climate experts as an effective tool for cutting down on carbon emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change, which are worsening in Detroit. 

DPD declined to share the number of tickets issued to bicyclists in the last five years without a Freedom of Information Act request. BridgeDetroit submitted its request on Monday. 

Attorney Bryan Waldman, president of Sinas Dramis Law Firm and Michigan Bicycle Law, said he’s fought six similar tickets across the state in the last decade – all have been dismissed, including one issued because the bicycle didn’t have a bell. Some states require bicyclists to have a bell; Michigan does not. 

“The law is that bicycles are allowed to be in the street but they have to follow the same rules as motor vehicles have,” he said. “(Young) has the right to be in the left turn lane if he is preparing to turn left. The bike lane was covered with snow but even if it wasn’t covered in snow there’s nothing in the law that says you have to be in the bike lane because there is a bike lane.” 

Waldman explained that cycling tickets are tricky. They don’t add points to a driver’s license, but they do have a fee, so people often just pay the ticket to avoid lawyer costs. 

“In these cases, they have nothing lower to plead you down to so we end up having full-blown hearings,” he said. In one case, a judge ruled against a cyclist in Livingston County, he said. Waldman appealed to the Circuit Court, costing $25,000 to fight the $200 ticket.

Another resident, Hector Coronado, said while biking home from meeting up with friends about a month ago, a Detroit police officer in a car with its lights on yelled out to him to “get on the sidewalk.” 

Normally, Coronado said he would ride in the bike lane on Warren Avenue, but that day it was packed with snow, so he rode on Frankfort Street, which has less traffic. 

“I said, ‘The sidewalk that has ice and snow all over it?’ and then they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s the law.’” Coronado said he moved to the sidewalk and the police officer drove away. State law does not require cyclists to use the sidewalk.

Coronado said the incident was confusing and even more bothersome when he saw Young’s Instagram post a few weeks later. 

“Why are cops going after people [biking]? Why aren’t they focusing on the 5,000-pound vehicle that can seriously hurt somebody?” he said. 

The issue isn’t specific to Detroit police. Another Detroiter, Jack Van Dyke, was stopped by Grosse Pointe Woods police in October while biking on Mack Avenue and told to use the sidewalk. 

Van Dyke, who has never owned a car in the decades he’s lived in Detroit, was on his way to a dentist appointment with two of his children when he was pulled over. 

“My biggest challenge at the moment was trying to be like ‘no, I’m actually being safe,’” said Van Dyke, who is a former board member of the community bike shop Back Alley Bikes. “What you see as dangerous could in fact be safe. That misunderstanding is this crazy driving force behind bike policy right now.” 

For instance, bike lanes can actually be in spots of reduced visibility, making it more difficult for motorists to see them. And there’s some evidence that riding on sidewalks is actually more dangerous than riding on the road.

When Van Dyke declined to use the sidewalk, he said he was given a ticket for failing to use the sidewalk, a law that applies to pedestrians, not cyclists. Van Dyke requested a supervisor on the scene, who agreed with the initial officer. 

Later the same day, Van Dyke ran into the same officer who apologized after learning the laws and had the ticket voided. 

Know your biking rights 

Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, which advocates for better biking and greenways in Detroit, helped create the current biking laws in the early 2000s. 

Scott said he’s also been pulled over by police while biking in Ferndale and Highland Park. He said law enforcement doesn’t always understand traffic rules, echoing that DPD should focus on enforcing vehicular violations. 

“Why was this a priority, even if they didn’t know what the law was?” he said. “Why would it be a priority when clearly, in the video, there were very few cars on the road, and there’s not a chance that Zac was slowing anybody down or causing an issue?” 

For bikers who find themselves in a similar situation, Scott recommends recording the interaction, like Young did. Then reach out to the Detroit Greenways Coalition for help navigating the next steps to address the ticket. The League of Michigan Bicyclists can help also.

Scott said Council Member Latisha Johnson, who represents City Council District 4 where the incident happened, was helpful in setting up a meeting following the incident between the Greenways Coalition and DPD and getting Young’s ticket dismissed. 

Johnson told BridgeDetroit she’ll work to ensure DPD receives training related to biking. 

“I want to be sure officers are properly trained and fully aware of the law,” Johnson said by email. 

DPD training is also important to Young, who volunteers weekly to help fix bikes for community members and raises a few thousand dollars every year for Back Alley Bikes. 

He said he’s working with a lawyer to draft a list of demands to deliver to the police department that includes training for officers to prevent unnecessary stops of bicyclists. 

“It’s frustrating to know that every time I go out there on a bicycle there’s a potential that the police are gonna harass me just for riding my bike on the road which I’m totally allowed to do,” said Young.

To learn your biking rights, check out this compiled list at the Michigan League of Bicyclists website.