From Courier-Life:The city has bent over backwards to give bicyclists room to ride safely all over Brooklyn streets, and now the police department is going to make sure pedalers do it by the book.
The NYPD is preparing a massive crackdown against renegade bicyclists, promising to ticket often-overlook “vehicular offenses” like failing to obey traffic signals and signs, breaking the speed limit, tailgating, and failure to signal before turning.
Several police sources told us Tuesday that the strict enforcement of safety and vehicle traffic laws regarding bicyclists will begin in a matter of weeks, and that bicyclists caught breaking those rules will be issued a moving violation.
Bicycle advocate groups have already begrudgingly endorsed the increased enforcement — as long as every driver, in car or on bike — is treated with an even hand by police.
Transportation Alternatives has already put together a handy “cheat sheet” for bicyclists. which includes a cornucopia of rules bicyclists have been known to break without consistent retribution, including:
• Failure to yield to pedestrians
• Changing lanes without signaling
• Riding outside a bike lane (where one exists)
• Speeding
• Tailgating
• Turning without signaling
Cops will also be clamping down on the infractions pedalers have been targeted in the past, like riding against traffic or on sidewalks, or not having a working white or red light on the vehicle while riding at night.
Photo from the NY Times
35 comments:
i hope that the n.y.p.d. targets the U.E.S. especially the commander and his bike delivery boys,with the hammer and sickle logos.
Sounds fair to me. They have the bike lanes now so they can be treated as cars were for years. No more riding on sidewalks, against traffic, through red lights, over walkers.
And it should be mandatory for them to wear bicycle helmets! If drivers have to wear safety belts for their safety, it is only right that we protect the bikers too. If a car hits them and they hit their heads, helmets could save their lives. I say make it a law!
And what will happen if bicyclists are given summonses? They'll stop riding. And then all those bikes lanes will have been a waste.
Just how will the NYPD enforce these laws, and where will they pull personnel for this enforcement. Once the bicyclists pull their ACT UP antics, and a few "police brutality" videos go onto You Tube, the enforcement will subsiode, and a few cops will be fighting off civilian complaints for their efforts.
Yeah this could happen, NOT. It won't work until bicycle riders are registered, with license plates etc. I don't see THAT coming down the bike lane anytime soon. More B.S. propaganda from the city
This could be a fantastic opportunity.
Since we are pulling riders over for legitimate offenses (and many are delivery bikes), we can then ask for ID, correct? And when all they have is a Ecuadorian passport, we can toss them out of the country, yes???
What an opportunity! Lets do this!
I don't see how they can make this stick. What if the person has no official identification on them? They don't need a license to ride a bike or plates. Unless they do that, this is just a bs political move to make it seem like they give a shit.
No ID and caught committing an offense - you go to Central Booking for a long time. I've covered it on the blog before.
Anon No. 1 -
English translation please?
A rule that would require everyone stopped for a summons to have a government-issued id on them, or go to the precinct for fingerprinting and warrants search would be a deterrent -- either to law-breaking on a bike, or riding a bike in general.
Not just riding a bike. There was a report of a guy who opened the handicapped gate at the subway to exit the station. He was stopped, had no ID, and it was central booking for him. Also if you put your feet up on the seats at 3am when the train is empty and it's ticket quota time. It sucks to get stopped and pulled off a train to be given a summons for something stupid. But it sucks worse to spend 24 hours in central booking. It's best to carry ID at all times.
"No ID and caught committing an offense - you go to Central Booking for a long time. I've covered it on the blog before."
Unless you happen to be Hasidic.
Not riding on a bike lane when one is provided is not an offense.
I'm happy cops are cracking down on (all?) street users, hopefully it will yield legitimacy to bicycling.
"What if the person has no official identification on them?"
Vagrancy applies in that situation and they can be arrested and detained.
If the bikers don't obey the law we can just put Patrick Pogan or his daddy to come and body slam bicyclists off the map. Then they can fabricate a story of how they were impeding traffic or some ridiculous and outlandish lie.
I hope they start in Central Park on weekends, where cyclists are a dangerous group, go over the posted speed limit, never stop for red lights, and often hog the whole road.
Ticketing bicycle riders for not signaling when they turn?
Absolutely none of them signal, how would they anyway?
You signal with your hands. Same as if you were in a car with malfunctioning directionals. Look it up.
Excellent idea. I hope this extends to all motorists who exceed the defacto 30 mph speed limits on most city streets.
Excellent idea. I hope this extends to all motorists who exceed the defacto 30 mph speed limits on most city streets.
"defacto" as oppossed to the "legal" speed limits?
no ID on the bike rider? confiscate or lock the wheel ,until the fine is paid.
where are the scooter and bike n.y.p.d.,when we need them ?
Seriously, the number of dangerous traffic infractions that occur daily by motorists is astounding, not to mention the regular occurrence of pedestrian and traffic fatalities. I'm not talking about technicalities, but careless and reckless moves by drivers; we all see them (sometimes we commit them), and it is rare for offenders to get caught.
To start ticketing cyclists for technicalities like not hand signaling and tailgating(?!) when there are so many more things to go after that are truly hazardous is ridiculous.
Seriously, hand signals!? Who here who has ever ridden a bike has used hand signals except for in occasional circumstances.
I don't like the new bike lanes either, and I understand the anti bike sentiment because of the inconveniences they cause us, but let's try not to be babies about it. Barreling through pedestrians in a crosswalk or blowing a light without slowing is dangerous and should be addressed. Ticketing technicalities is not an effective way to address those problems. It is just a way to further become a pussified, nanny state where common sense goes out the window for overzealous enforcement of trivial laws. Bloomberg must be smiling today.
-Not a bike advocate
Hammer them...........And make them wear reflective vests,assholes riding at night wearing all black!
I've been rammed and knocked to the ground by cyclists and they are certainly capable of breaking someone's hip or back and leaving them crippled or paralyzed, so why do we take this so lightly?
"assholes riding at night wearing all black!"
"So, if you're out tonight,
Don't forget, if you're on your bike, wear white."
Mick Jagger
"Something happened to Me Yesterday" song approximately 1965
What?! When drivers are getting away with murder, or at least vehicular homicide every other day, not to mention thousands of serious injuries per year, the NYPD decides to waste its limited manpower of bicyclists? Are you friggin' kidding me?! Where are the brains at NYPD?
When you get sent to a hospital by a bicycle, it is not any different than getting sent to the hospital by a car, except with the motorist, you have a prayer of getting a settlement.
Crazy stunts by bicyclists are certainly able to land said bicyclist in the morgue or contribute to accidents as cars veer to avoid them.
The bike people have the best champion they have had in many years. Now, use the bike lanes and obey the laws. You can't have it both ways: be a vehicle, but not be a vehicle.
How about a hefty fine for riding a bicycle on a sidewalk?
"hen you get sent to a hospital by a bicycle, it is not any different than getting sent to the hospital by a car, except with the motorist, you have a prayer of getting a settlement."
Well there you have it folks. If you're going to get run over better pray it's a big heavy car and not a bike. You'll be better off.
How many people in Queens commute to work by car? In NYC, 2.1 million of the 3.7 million workers work in Manhattan. Manhattan is only 23 square miles, and those miles include Harlem, Washington Heights, Central Park etc. Less than 18% of New Yorkers who work in Manhattan drive to work. Having been bumper-to-bumper on the LIE westbound or 59th Street (oops, I mean "Koch") bridge many times trying to go into Manhattan, and then forget about trying to find a parking spot (and how much does parking cost an hour?), I have to say this Queens Crap pro-car, anti-bike stance makes no sense. I get stuck driving on the LIE into Manhattan on a Friday night, forget about a commute.
I often ride my bicycle to Queens College. Moses's decision in the 1950s to ram the LIE through that area is what makes my commute a little more difficult, everyone is forced through 164th Street or Kissena Boulevard. It is easier for me to go by Kissena, but it is a little difficult, but it is difficult when I go through there by car as well.
If you want to drive to a big Wal-Mart parking lot to go shopping, and commute to an Office Space car parking lot to go to your work cubicle, then go move to fly-over country. Mass transit, bicycles etc. are essential to living in NYC, cars aren't.
How many people commute in Queens by bike? Bus? Train? Not as many as drive. That's because we were never given the mass transit options that Manhattan has. You can't compare apples and oranges and come up with a blanket statement that "You don't need a car in NYC."
Sounds good ticket them. Now if we can get th police to stop cars who run red lights every block in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Looks like the bicyclist share a lot in common with the drivers who dont know the speed limit and take right turns at 50 miles mph consistently every block. Does the world revolve around car drivers.
By all means though ticket bad cyclists.
What makes me laugh is that there are already tons of ticket blitzes on drivers, they get practically all the tickets. Now they want to expand this to bike riders and the tards don't think the rules should apply to them. "Ticket the drivers, ticket the drivers!" No, how about if you break any kind of traffic law, you get busted. No exemptions.
Widow applauds new bike safety crackdown
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