NYPD Cracking Down on Brooklyn Bikers
The Brooklyn Paper reports that the NYPD will begin a borough-wide bike crackdown in a few weeks. More moving violations will be issued for the the failure to obey traffic signs and signals, surpassing the speed limit, tailgating, and failure to signal before turning. While the numbers of bicyclists is growing and the bike lanes…
The Brooklyn Paper reports that the NYPD will begin a borough-wide bike crackdown in a few weeks. More moving violations will be issued for the the failure to obey traffic signs and signals, surpassing the speed limit, tailgating, and failure to signal before turning. While the numbers of bicyclists is growing and the bike lanes on Prospect Park West have caused controversy, cops claim the reason for the crackdown is because bike accidents have been up. Some bikers aren’t convinced. Rider Lacy Tauber think cops should “focus on drivers,” while bike advocate Baruch Herzfeld thinks this could further strain the relationship between bikers and cops.
Bikelash! Cops to Crack Down on 2-Wheelers [Brooklyn Paper]
“Not true randi. there have been pedestrians killed by bikers- as well as being badly injured.”
I want proof- I believe you I just have never heard of such a thing. link me to an article….
quotes:
it is important to remember that while bikers may be annoying and rude, CARS KILL PEOPLE.
cars are WAY easy to avoid. bikes are not unfortunately. of course cars are more dangerous, but that isnt the point. as a pedestrian my quality of life is compromised when crossing many streets, more moreso due to bikes and cars. people are tired of having to look in 40 different directions to avoid bikes who dont follow the red light rule.
*rob*
dibs, although obviously it’s hard to ticket every biker who goes through a red light (and they haven’t prioritized that), there’s actually been a LOT of police enforcement against bikes in some circumstances, esp. organized bike groups.
from the NYTimes:
“Two days before a [bike] ride in October 2004, for instance, the [NYPD] response plan included 547 officers, 81 sergeants, 29 lieutenants and a dozen captains. To track the fast-moving ride, the department employed a helicopter and more than 100 scooters and bicycles. Some of the officers were organized into arrest teams, according to the documents, which outline preparations for mass arrests that included 20 buses “to transport prisoners and property.—
Bikers going over 30 mph should be getting tickets.
oh i forgot to add to my first post- TICKETS FOR PEDESTRIANS for things like littering and J walking.
i mean if you are going to ticket a bike rider for running a red light (even if from a stop which would be slower than someone jogging through a red light) then you MUST give tickets to people on foot doing the same thing.
Not true randi. there have been pedestrians killed by bikers- as well as being badly injured. Anything going that fast, weighing at least 100+ pounds can pack quite a wallop. I am glad they are cracking down. The other day, driving under the BQE to Costco,on a street plowed just enough for one lane of cars we saw a biker riding the wrong way up the street, zigzagging in and out of the cars. Incredibly stupid- especially since the street going in the opposite direction was also plowed and right next to the one we were on.
I really wish they would enforce traffic laws in general.
I think it’s possible to say that bikers need to obey the obey the law but that a crackdown on cyclists seems disproportionate, given the number of traffic violations committed by drivers on any given day.
It’s not that cops shouldn’t ticket “scofflaw” cyclists, but simply that there should be a better sense of priorities at the NYPD.
It doesn’t have to be either/or, but some balance may be in order.
how pissed would you be if you were stuck in traffic on your bike and got pulled over for “tailgating”… like it’s not already hard enough to coexist with cars on the road–especially when they are in your bike lane!