1nterceptor

The NYPD's citywide cyclist ticket blitz has yielded a record-breaking number of summonses so far this year, according to a report in the Post. The NYPD has issued 13,843 tickets to cyclists in 2011, up from 9,345 tickets written over the same period in 2010, and 3,708 for the same period of 2009. The tickets are for such offenses as running red lights, running stop signs, biking on sidewalks, speeding, not wearing a helmet, and hanging tote bags on their handlebars. Fun fact: only some of those things are actually violations in NYC! And that's why a group of cyclists are suing.
Within a couple of months, the law firms of Oliver and Oliver Law and Rankin & Taylor expect to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of cyclists who've been ticketed. Attorney David Rankin tells us, "We believe there's a viable claim because officers are being improperly trained and issuing tickets for violations that don't apply in NYC." In fact, Streetsblog recently obtained an internal NYPD memo instructing officers to ticket cyclists for a variety of violations—three of which are not actually illegal in New York City! Rankin says that memo is part of their case, and his firm's website has a great summary of how NYPD's attitude toward cyclists has worsened over the years.

For the complete article:
https://gothamist.com/2011/05/25/cycl...uit_expect.php