Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - NYC Ticketing Bicyclists through Friday

Be on the lookout from the 20's through the 40's

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/107012853.html

I was riding against the flow of traffic for about half a block and got pulled over by a police car. This is my second ticket in one month (my first: running a red light in the 30s).

Does anyone know what this crackdown is about, and why the city seems to be on a mission to deter people from riding bikes in the city?

If we're talking about safety, how about we start ticketing all of the people who jaywalk without looking? How about ticketing taxis that stop in what few bike lanes cyclists have? How about ticketing cars that run red lights (I see at least a couple during my morning rides, every single day).

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/106981116.html

New York's Finest are swarming Sixth Avenue today handing out tickets to bikes. They'll get you for going the wrong way, riding without a bell, riding without reflectors, and their favorite, not riding in the bike lane.

Higest concentration is in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Every damn block, there they are. Bike cops and regular beefy beat cops. I saw at least 10 different groups of cops pulling people over.

I got a $30 citation for riding on the right side of the street and while I was waiting for my ticket, they pulled over two other guys. The cop told me it's an operation running through tomorrow (Friday).

If possible, stay the hell off Sixth Ave. If you must, be careful. Riding the wrong way is $150.

One cop made some cryptic comment about how if I didn't like a ticket, I should think about who to vote for next month. "I'm not telling you who to vote for, I'm just saying," the cop said. What, is Ferrer some big bike advocate? Strange.

no bell or reflectors... really? that's intense.

you can also fight the bike lane ticket because it's legal to ride outside the bike lane if it is obstructed or unfit for riding... and having traversed all of those bike lane's, i dont think a single one is fit for riding.

what a load of absolute horse****. not riding in the bikelane is NOT an offense, especially considering that for most of 6th ave. it's a great way to get doored. and while rules are rules, ticketing bikes for running red lights as opposed to cars (you'll see that happen at just about every red light sequence, at just about every light) is a total misordering of priorities.

this is where our precious tax money goes. what a waste.

i always wondered how they could enforce a ticket in that you don't have to carry a driver's liscence when you're not drivin'. why not just make up a name and address to give' 'em? how can they catch you for not paying the ticket?

Because you get in a whole hell of a lot more trouble for giving false information to the police if you get caught. The risk isn't worth the benefit to most people.

man, this is just infuriating. What a waste of resources.

Didn't they pass an act where you are required to show identification if asked? I know you didn't have to before, but now I think you must.

Weird. I just rode home from work for lunch, and saw cops sitting at lights at 26th and 6th and a couple more in the upper 20s on Madison. Being the law-abiding cyclist that I am, I didn't run any red lights, but still. Guess I won't be taking 6th home tonight.

I got a $30 citation for riding on the right side of the street

The right side of the street is considered the "wrong way" in NY???

and you can get a ticket for not having a bell? That is just plain nuts. I sincerely hope a significant number of people choose to contest those tickets.

I think legally, you need to have a bell.

my coworker got a $200 ticket in tribeca yesterday for running a red light.
And we're talkin slow dude on a granny 3 speed

i'm pretty sure you can buy a bell, show the judge your receipt and get out of the ticket. but yes, they can ticket you for that.


And we're talkin slow dude on a granny 3 speed Maybe that's why he got the ticket?

I think legally, you need to have a bell.

What could be the justification for such a law? Can't you just shout "ding ding!" if someone gets in your way? My voice is way louder than any bicycle bell I've ever seen, and I can operate it no handed.

from cl

re: WARNING ! LOOK OUT FOR COPS!! TICKETS ARE FLYING!!

Reply to: anon-107031176@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-10-27, 1:30PM EDT


The cops are cracking down in preparation for tomorrow's Critical Mass ride, which apparently is going to be an arrest-a-thon. Bloomberg and the NYPD have been consistently anti-bike, doing nothing to improve the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, and everything in their power to discourage cycling.

A word on "not riding in the bike lane"- the applicable regulation is 34 RCNY 4-12(p)
Whenever a *usable* bike lane has been provided, bicycle riders shall use such path or lane only except under any of the following situations:
-when preparing for a turn
-when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions including but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, pushcarts, animals, surface hazards, that make it unsafe to continue within such path or lane.

i.e. you don't have to ride in the bike lane if there's ANY reason not to.

So fight that ticket. Call Transportation Alternatives, 212-629-8080 (ask for Noah), email freewheels@bicycledefensefund.org, visit www.bicycledefensefund.org and write/call your city councilmember to complain.
no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

This is pretty serious.
A member of the nybma got two tickets today. Red Light & not being in bike lane. To the cops' credit, one did mention that if anything was wrong on the ticket, it was invalid - then intentionally misspelled her last name.

you should remove the name of the ticketed, just so that if this does get back to the city, they can't track the ticketing officer and peanlize him/her for doing the right thing.

I got a $30 citation for riding on the right side of the street

According to http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bikeped/bike-nyc.html, you are allowed to ride on the side opposite the bike lane on avenues:


¤ 4-12 (p) - Bicycles
1. Riders must use path if provided except for access, safety, turns, etc.; 2. Other vehicles must not drive across bike lane except for access, safety, turns, etc.; 3. Bicyclists may ride on either side of a 40-foot wide one-way roadway.

So it sounds like the cops are just making **** up at this point.

you should remove the name of the ticketed, just so that if this does get back to the city, they can't track the ticketing officer and peanlize him/her for doing the right thing.


thanks. good point. sorry for the faux pas. edited.

anyone have a link for the bike law sheet that you can print and carry? the fact that they are ticketing on one stretch of 6th ave means that this is likely just one precinct making all the trouble. most likely there was an incident or a vip called in a complaint. a cop told me that in brooklyn they only hassle cyclists for a week or so after a vip complains.

i can't understand the logic: let about a million (by some estimates) red lights be run a day without a crackdown, never write tickets for people who door bikers and hit them, and let basically everyone speed all the time..... but ticket bikes! unreal.

coming off the williamsburg bridge this morning at around 9:45, there was a police car and a group of cyclists standing around.

i rode right by. i wonder if that had anything to do with anything.

signed, a guy who does about 150 "illegal" things every hour he's on a bike.

Ocicat, I read (3) as being unrelated to bike lanes. It's a relaxation of the "keep right" rule but has no bearing on the mandatory bike lane rule.

While we're at it, (2) is incorrect from a traffic engineering perspective. Other vehicles should not be crossing the bike lane at all. They should be required to merge through it as they would with any travel lane. Driving across should only occur when the crossing vehicle is traveling perpendicular to the bike lane (ie, at an intersection). Otherwise that's how right (or left) hooks happen.

Crackin' down for Crit Mass is what I was thinkin'. Bloomberg and such must have seen too many "This Bike is a Pipe Bomb" stickers on bikes and took them seriously.

On a group ride last Saturday our very own HereNT (love the new avatar, buddy) got a verbal warning from one Minnepolis's finest for running a red.

It had just rained and the streets were wet downtown, so when the cop went after HNT he broke the back end of the car free and kinda fishtailed back and forth a bit. Just Smoky and the Bandit, Blues Brothers, Dukes of Hazard, Et al.

Hmm, it sounds like the cops aren't too enthusiastic about doing this--one misspelled a name, another bad-mouthed the mayor. At least they're not hatin'.

this is where our precious tax money goes. what a waste.

tax money goes into this, but instead of sitting around between calls, the cops are writing tickets for the city. Not everyone has the time to fight tickets and just end up paying them. Cyclists aren't going away and the city has a nice disorganized jumble of confusing laws. Have the cops crack down every once and awhile and they are generating revenue for the city.

deathintransit, there was a study i read a few months ago stating that on average cities lose money from every moving violation ticket they write. The only positive monetary influx was gained from parking tickets, which NYC is great at writing, and could help clear out those bike lanes too :)

i bought a bell yesterday, just to be in full f'ing compliance and the shop owner asked if I wanted an itemized reciept to show the cops. ( To then get the ticket thrown out) I had heard of this move before. Good luck and have fun 'storming the castle!'

Riding up sixth at 42nd I was flagged down and pulled over by two officers. They wanted to know why I was on the right side of the street instead of in the bike lane and I replied, "Because I'm about to take a right." One shrugged her shoulders, said "good enough" and the other said, "Sure, but where are your brakes?" and was given a "NO BRAKES" ticket. I tried the "coaster brake" excuse, but he actually lifted my rear wheel and pushed the pedals backwards squashing that one... I'll fight this one though, I did *stop* when I was asked to.

damn that suck i got the same ticket a few months back in the summer....thanks for the warning i was all over 6th ave today.....good looking out

Anyone actually going to ride during the mass? I haven't gone since last August, kinda curious what it'll be like.

i had my bike stolen once already this month. i'm not about to let the cops steal it again. really a pity, too, as i support CM in theory... but i don't have time to go to jail and have my work bike stolen. it just isn't worth it.

i had my bike stolen once already this month. i'm not about to let the cops steal it again. really a pity, too, as i support CM in theory... but i don't have time to go to jail and have my work bike stolen. it just isn't worth it.

Yeah, i'm in a similar boat. So to all who will be riding tommorow night, any requests to what you might want if you do get grabbed?? I'm gonna try and meet up with the freewheelers/bicycledefensefund later on with some warm drinks and snacks.

I'm just wondering, are you guys getting pulled over going 10mph or 30mph?
If I see any sign of a cop anywhere in manhattan, I'm gonna gun it. At least in brooklyn though, the traffic's fewer and faster but they leave you alone most of the time.

I'm just wondering, are you guys getting pulled over going 10mph or 30mph?
If I see any sign of a cop anywhere in manhattan, I'm gonna gun it. At least in brooklyn though, the traffic's fewer and faster but they leave you alone most of the time.

Keep in mind this happened on 6th at around 10 am so the channels are pretty limited for escape. You've got the couple of feet in between cars/buses/trucks in the middle and similar conditions on the bike lane. A cop has no difficulty whatsoever plugging that channel. My escape route, seriously, was limited to trying to run over the officers. That's a ticket I don't want to deal with.
You're right though, the brooklyn breed is a whole different animal. The last thing they want to deal with is a bike.

So a dude would literally get in front of you? Man they're swarming...

This is such a bum out. I just had to go to court for similar offenses. New York Police are issuing the stupidest tickets ever. I really don't understand why. Try and figure out who is killing the delivery guys in the Bronx, stop pulling over cyclists.

Crazy enforcement continues. Saw a cyclist pulled over by two cops in helmets at 36th and 5th, and two more cyclists getting ticketed at 28th and 7th on my way to work this morning. Be careful out there!

yeah, and warn the other cyclists who don't have access to the internets all day long.

Sorry to read about all of the NYC trouble. I live in DC, and the maxim bike fine is $5.00. Be careful and ride safe.

$5 even for riding the wrong way?

$5 even for riding the wrong way?

you mean like this?
http://maf22.angelcities.com/M2.jpg

i feel like there should be something else in your post mattface...

i'll ask again--what if you just say you don't have any "official" i.d. on ya and give 'em a false name and address? wouldn't this work? or is there a law here that says everyone has to carry official i.d. at all times even if you're a biker or a pedestrian? is there? what up??

Its not a good idea to be out there without ID.
(for instance....if you got hurt)

If you have ID they can write you a ticket and send you on your way.
With No ID I believe they can haul you in to try to figure out who you are if
they really wanted to.

Its not a good idea to be out there without ID.
(for instance....if you got hurt)

If you have ID they can write you a ticket and send you on your way.
With No ID I believe they can haul you in to try to figure out who you are if
they really wanted to.

Bingo.

They don't let you go if they don't know who you are.

They are not going to take your word for it.

Gawd, cops are pigs and this city is motherf*cking babylon

If you have ID they can write you a ticket and send you on your way.
With No ID I believe they can haul you in to try to figure out who you are if
they really wanted to.


yup. One time, I took the risk and showed the cop my college ID. He accepted it, but said he could've taken me in if I didn't show him a real ID. I figured I was scot-free since he didn't get any solid info from me, but two years later when my Drivers' Licence expired, I was faced with several red light tickets I thought I didn't have to worry about.

F*** Broomberg!

yea. my friend said he just got a 40ticket for blocking traffic (or something along those lines) and a 30 ticket for not having a bell.

The cop also told him that he needed to get a back brake and some other stupid things for his bike.

whats next.. we all need to get those stupid 10' orange flags for our bikes??

F*** Broomberg!

by the ballot or by the bullet.

Alas, I was not so lucky as I first thought: I got the "out of the bike lane" ticket I avoided yesterday, today. I tried the "need to take a right" excuse again but they didn't bite. To continue with the ID thread, I presented my courier ID but was told it wasn't a valid form of ID (it's been good enough for the airport) and he then gave me instructions on how to get an offical ID card. He also explained that if he had "more time" he would've taken me in to find out the correct information but for now he'd have to take my word for it.
Anyway, as I was being written up ONE OF THE OTHER COURIERS (3 total) grabbed in ten seconds along with me said he got a ticket yesterday for running a red light. Read: he stopped at the light but in the crosswalk, which counts as running the light. Be careful.
When are they going to release 6th ave?

yea. my friend said he just got a 40ticket for blocking traffic (or something along those lines) and a 30 ticket for not having a bell.

The cop also told him that he needed to get a back brake and some other stupid things for his bike.

whats next.. we all need to get those stupid 10' orange flags for our bikes??

If you're ticketed for not having a bell or lights, and you "correct the problem" within 24 hours, you can get the ticket voided.

How To Void Bell and Light Tickets (http://www.transalt.org/features/lights.html)