Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - NYC Traffic Ticketing

I just thought I would give a little heads up to those interested... I have witnessed more than one and heard of a few other cyclists getting pulled over (and getting a $200 ticket) for running red lights, especially in the morningside heights area on riverside drive in manhattan.

I am as guilty as all when it comes to this, but $200 flushed down the tube would certainly ruin my day...

Happy riding...

yikes! that's where i ride to get to work.. thx for the heads up.

don't run red lights. durrrrrrrr

cue the 70 year olds who will argue, from their rocking-chair-bikes, that "sonny, bikers should not only follow the law, but calmly sit behind diesel trucks until some friendly driver lets them pass. oh, and fu55 you critical mass people, advocating "rights" for bicyclists"...

3...2...

I just thought I would give a little heads up to those interested... I have witnessed more than one and heard of a few other cyclists getting pulled over (and getting a $200 ticket) for running red lights, especially in the morningside heights area on riverside drive in manhattan.

I am as guilty as all when it comes to this, but $200 flushed down the tube would certainly ruin my day...

Happy riding...

I hope that's not true. I run every light from the gw to 120th twice a day. Yesterday in the 140's I ran a light with a cop sitting in the left lane going the other way. I thought that might have been the end of my luck, but nothing.

Don't get caught. Unless a cop is on a bike or a scooter, how on earth do you get caught? Just run. There is NO WAY a cop in a car or on foot can catch you (way too much traffic). Hell, I ran from cops on scooters while I was on foot (yeah, highschool days were fun). After a few blocks they just give up.

It's almost impossible for a cop on a scooter to catch you. If you ride on the sidewalks and go down the wrong way on one way streets or ride the wrong way in 2 way traffic, I doubt the cop on the scooter will continue the chase....to dangerous.

Not for nothing, but cops have much much much more to worry about in the City than giving cyclists tickets. Some of them even look the other way when you're smoking pot on the street. :rolleyes:

This is from craigslist the other day... I saw a female cop yesterday at the same place ticketing a group of three cyclists... I presume it was the same cop...

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hi, sorry this isnt an ad for a bike but i'd have better luck posting here than in the general forum. i was riding my bike southbound on riverside drive last night (my birthday!) when an ugly ugly little thing of a policewoman, a ms. hartigan, did a u-turn and pulled me over (on a bike) for riding through the 112th st (eastbound) light. this is an intersection with no cross traffic and which all the pedestrian signals were displaying the walking guy. so i can ride my bike onto the sidewalk and off on the other side or get off my bike and walk it through and both are perfectly legal but riding it costs $200. i'm a grad student with no other means of transportation and she gave me a $200 ticket on my birthday! the mind reels. anyway, i was just writing to see if anyone had experience fighting these tickets in court. i'm definitely going to court, just to get my $200 worth if the city is going to stand firm on this. i've seen more cars run red lights than i've seen bicyclists stop.. this is just so surreal. anyway, its not the end of the world but god damn it bugs the **** out of me. thanks for any advice/tips.


john



this is in or around columbia

no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests


96181851
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The cycle cops in the Square Mile (City of London) have started offering couriers the chance to attend a short cycle proficiency course, in lieu of paying a £30 fine for jumping lights etc. Needless to say, the course is pretty popular.

dear john,

I went to court. For a different bike infraction. It's not going to work. You're screwed. Sorry. You'll have to sit there for like 2 hours with a room full of pissed off people waiting your turn anyway. Don't go. Join bikeforums instead.

ugh. ugh. ugh. I hope this isn't really happening. I run about 60 red lights a day. If I were to wait for each one my 28 min commute would be about 55 minutes.

If they start doing this they really need to start ticketing speeders. It is just crazy what motorists do here right in front of cops with no penalty.

If they start doing this they really need to start ticketing speeders. It is just crazy what motorists do here right in front of cops with no penalty.

Not to mention that a lot of motorists run the reds on Riverside Dr. as well. Whenever I ride there I usually see at least one car run a red (and sometimes it's not even the it-was-yellow-but-now-red thing but full on red).

i just want common sense, that's all. i hate sharing the earth with all these people who live and die by what other people are doing. really, so freaking what if a bike rider goes through a red light when there is no oncoming traffic? what does it matter? i should just move to italy, where red lights are more of a guide than a hard and fast rule. and it works fine over there.

The cops were staking out a 4 way stop on my route today...it is a well known "rolling stop" intersection, and I usually blast thru when the coast is clear. I spotted them parked across the intersection way before I got there...so I pulled a sweet one handed trackstand and picked my nose with the other. As I zipped by the cruiser I heard an audible under the breath "Ass".

did you pick your nose with your middle finger? that should be the new universal sign.

That's awesome man. Even the cop's gotta love that

did you pick your nose with your middle finger? that should be the new universal sign.
I'm cocky but not that dumb...the police around here have a chip on their shoulder and would happily pummel a hipster doofus.

Make sure you don't get more than one. $200 is for the first red light, I think the 2nd(within a year or so) is $300, and everyone after that is $500. This was a couple years back, but I doubt the laws have changed that much, just depends upon whether or not they want to enforce them.

Oh, and don't even bother wasting your time fighting it. If it's a "sting" then those cops are just sitting there giving people the same tickets all day with the same court date, meaning they will show up. And it's your word against a cop's.

Wow, that's rough. I saw cops at 4 lights in a row last night, all red. I stopped at each one and we just looked at each other. The last one I just dismounted, walked through the crosswalk and hopped on again. I might be paranoid but 4 in a row was weird.

i live on 113th/riverside and the nypd patrol cars like to hang out in the shadow of the ukranian memorial just outside my building, it's a good spot to catch motorists who're speeding northbound on riverside...

heads up.

hmm, the cyclists must be an easier catch. are these moving violations? how serious is the violation, i mean, the amount of the fine is ridiculous...

I just moved to bkln from philly and got my first ticket. I went up a corner wheelchair ramp and down another going about 7 feet on the sidewalk. I cruiser stopped me and gave me a "warning" ticket just to serve as an inconvenience to me. I went to court yesterday and the judge yelled at me that this was his courtroom and there are no warnings!! He also said that the cop lied to me. I had to pay the reduced fine of $50.

The cop also said that unless he knows I am a local hustler, he will not stop me for going the wrong way on a one-way street or going through a red.

he said "local hustler?" i love that.

I just moved to bkln from philly and got my first ticket. I went up a corner wheelchair ramp and down another going about 7 feet on the sidewalk. I cruiser stopped me and gave me a "warning" ticket just to serve as an inconvenience to me. I went to court yesterday and the judge yelled at me that this was his courtroom and there are no warnings!! He also said that the cop lied to me. I had to pay the reduced fine of $50.

The cop also said that unless he knows I am a local hustler, he will not stop me for going the wrong way on a one-way street or going through a red.
Let me ask the question again....why are people stopping? I mean, he's in a damn car. Just ride away. He's not going to chase you.

How fast can you go? I hear radio waves are pretty zippy.

Trust me, you can get far. Have you ever been to Manhattan before? You just get lost in a crowd.

Manhattan? Hmm.. Is that a place?

Give it a shot. Let me know how that works out for ya.

It worked for me in the past. They just give up.

I assume the cops ask for ID. What if you say that you don't have ID. Rehearse a prior scenario about who you are...blah blah blah.
They probably won't bring you down to the station for fingerprinting?> Am I right or am I naive?
Hide your ID...anywhere.

be crafty. you should use hand signals for one way and go the other way...

ill be damned if that works

I assume the cops ask for ID. What if you say that you don't have ID. Rehearse a prior scenario about who you are...blah blah blah.
They probably won't bring you down to the station for fingerprinting?> Am I right or am I naive?
Hide your ID...anywhere.

Not a great idea...

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/8843.0.html

I gotta say... in a crowded city, you can probably get away with it. On riverside dr. where it's relatively open road, I think they might have a chance.
OTOH, I sometimes sneak by red lights but most times, I take my chances and blow by them at 15-20mph. I'll be damned if some fat a$$ cop on a mtb can even react in time to chase my ass down for running a light, they'll probably give up and just ticket someone else. I run about 30-40 lights every day on my way to work, if I didn't, it'll be one slow ride.
Getting back to the issue, how does a fat bike cop on a mtb pull a u-turn and catch 3 cyclists? Seriously, when you're blowing by her at like 20mph, by the time she even realizes (oh $hit, the dude just ran the light), you're about 2 blocks away and pulling away fast. (The whole point of running a light is cause you're in a hurry right?)

it's not too hard to outrun a cop and avoid a ticket -- continue riding like you never heard or saw them, let some adrenaline kick in, turn left across traffic, go the wrong way down a one way street, don't stop riding, repeat. or just be smart and look out for cops the way you look out for cars and pedestrians.

Not a great idea...

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/8843.0.html

Or just don't carry bags of crank while you're riding the wrong way without id?

if you're paying enough attention to keep yourself from blowing into crosstraffic, then you should also be able to look out for cops...

don't be a goober- don't run a red in front of a cop...

also, many (most?) states require anyone over 18 to carry valid, state issued ID...

aaaaaalso, many larger cities (san francisco, oakland, and berkeley i know for sure) have a no pursuit policy... meaning if they're chasing a vehicle and that vehicle, say, goes the wrong way up a one-way street, they have to end the pursuit...

if they're chasing a vehicle and that vehicle, say, goes the wrong way up a one-way street, they have to end the pursuit...

Yeah, and cops are so good at playing by the book, haha. They probably do abide by that law if it was a car, but it might just piss them off if you're on a bike and try to run. Like someone else mentioned you can't ride faster than a radio signal...

Not a great idea...
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/8843.0.html
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Yes. That is informatitive./// ^But^ that only brushes (crappy word) on the notion of playing out a scenario. "I am Antonious Block. I am from Sweden. I ride bicycle...and play chess" .../// Unless you are suspicious I doubt they will waste their time with you. (again I may just be naive...but if you can, please persuade me)
Become a smooth talker...and learn chess.

I'll be damned if some fat a$$ cop on a mtb can even react in time to chase my ass down for running a light, they'll probably give up and just ticket someone else. I run about 30-40 lights every day on my way to work, if I didn't, it'll be one slow ride.
Getting back to the issue, how does a fat bike cop on a mtb pull a u-turn and catch 3 cyclists? Seriously, when you're blowing by her at like 20mph, by the time she even realizes (oh $hit, the dude just ran the light), you're about 2 blocks away and pulling away fast.

Perhaps true, but this lady-cop was not so much riding a bike as a big, fast police car.

Riverside drive is another story altogether at that section of the road, as you can only exit every 8 blocks or so, and by that time, your face may be against the pavement with your arms behind your back... :rolleyes:

Don't run from cops. It is a really bad idea. You'll get saddled with >$10,000 in legal costs and still prolly go to jail. At the very least you'll spend the night in the tombs and have your bike impounded (and damaged) until your court date (which could mean months later.) NYC cops are not to be messed with.

also, many (most?) states require anyone over 18 to carry valid, state issued ID...
Not yet, thank God. The Federal ID act was passed this summer, but that only holds state ID's up to a national standard and consolidates all the information. You don't have to carry ID in order to leave the house.

On the off-chance that I'm wrong, God help this country. Citizen, show us your papers!

Don't run from cops. It is a really bad idea. You'll get saddled with >$10,000 in legal costs and still prolly go to jail. At the very least you'll spend the night in the tombs and have your bike impounded (and damaged) until your court date (which could mean months later.) NYC cops are not to be messed with.

Running from the cops is a generally bad choice. On occasion though, I experience hearing loss which prevents me from understanding direct commands ("You ran a red light! STOP! #$@!*!"). So I just continue riding at a quick speed, turn left across traffic, turn into a oneway street, repeat.

It may be stupid, but, like I said -- my hearing is pretty bad.


NYC cops are not to be messed with.

I'll repeat this one -- over the winter a cop intentionally rammed me with his motorcycle while I was riding down fifth ave. He was not playing around.

I got stopped by a cop (another pathetic story altogether) and didn't have ID. I don't think you have to carry it. I really hope not anyway. BUT cops being cops can get around that and waste your time and screw you up anyway.

I was stopped about midnight on a friday, the cop said that since I didn't have ID a Judge was going to have to issue the ticket, and I wasn't going to see a judge till early Sunday morning.

Also what's the famous cop line? "You can't outrun Motorola!" I think there's deafness then there is failure to stop.