My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
Hi, I was recently a part of a Critical Mass bike ride event. I was in a peloton of several hundred riders. We were being escorted by police along the way. Police officers were escorting us through many red lights, particularly in the downtown San Diego area. At one of the lights, as it was turning red, I ran it due to my momentum in trying to stay with the group being escorted by an officer a few bike-lengths diagonally to my left. It should be noted that there was a trolley waiting to depart at that light. Upon rolling through the red light, a bike officer came up from behind me and ordered me to pull over. He ended up ticketing me for running a red light on my bicycle. My question is: since the entire peloton had ran the previous 50 or so red lights under police escort, what makes this one any different? Is it because Simon didn't say? Do I have a valid defense, since we were escorted through many red lights, and even the officer who was ahead of me ran the red light along with several others? I would also like to note that traffic school is not available to me as an option, even though I haven't been cited for a vehicle infraction in over 6 years, and even then, it was only a fix-it ticket. I'm also puzzled as to why I will have to incur points on my driving record and higher insurance premiums for an infraction on a non-motorized bicycle. If I can't go on the freeway, and I don't need a license nor insurance to operate my bike, why should I be penalized as if I were driving a car? Any input is highly appreciated. Thanks.

