benajah

Hell I almost got a DUI in college. Went to a party on my bike, had absolutely no idea you were in the wrong riding a bike drunk. Got lit up on my way home, wasn't totally wasted, but was certainly over the legal limit. I had no idea and was shocked when the cop pulled me over and asked me if I had been drinking. I'm like "of course officer, I rode my bike to the party so I'd not be breaking any laws." he says something to the effect of "you're under the same laws as a motorist, riding a bike will get you popped just the same".
Nice guy, he let me off with a warning and a promise to walk my bike home, this was in NC but the point is, if you're on the road you're subject to the same laws, regardless. Yeah this cop shouldn't have let him run the lights and wait, but the guy shouldn't have been running the lights in the first place.

MikeyBoyAz

This happens quite regularly here in AZ, sometimes the officer then just drives on, others he pulls you over. I was once pulled over for this and set free after a short discussion (likely to check for the scent of alcohol etc) and once deemed I was just driving poorly [I reacted politely (and honestly) to his questioning] he sent me on my way.

I think it is justifiable for this officer to wait for as many as 3 violations. It likely showed to the officer a pattern of reckless behavior that required intervention and as far as escalation is concerned I believe it fits Very well: The cyclists did NOT regard the fine for red light running as unacceptable, and did it 3 times therefore requiring a stiff penalty to dissuade him from running 3 lights consecutively in the future.

Noize4

How does a cop give you a ticket on a bicycle? You can't get moving violations/points on your license for something you did on a bike, as a driver's license isn't required to ride a bike. Heck, I'd say a good number of road cyclists don't carry anything more than a cell phone when riding, so how do they identify you to write a citation?

How does a speeding ticket on a bicycle work?

I pass through neighborhood stop signs without coming to a complete stop when traffic is clear on my bike without thinking about it. I'd never do that in a car!

benajah

A pretty good point. All cyclists run the occasional red light, in some spots you have to if you ever want to move forward.

jmX

They give you the ticket by asking you who you are. You are required to tell them. If you lie and they figure out you're not telling the truth (after punching some keys on their computer) you're in deep doo doo.

Rowan

There is always a backstory to these sorts of things. I would venture to say the guy had been warned previously for running red lights and let off. He repeated the offence, and the cops just gave him extra rope to hang himself with.

It's not unusual for multiple offences to come from one interaction with a cop. A car may be followed for having a malfunctioning taillight, and the driver may commit several other moving offences before being pulled over -- failing to give way, failing to indicate, running a redlight.

It's funny, though, most people way overestimate their driving ability and awareness of the laws, and a cop following just about anyone would have the opportunity within two minutes to pull them over for an infringement.

We rode bikes in Paris last week. It was organised mayhem in some locations -- the Bastille and Concorde -- but when it came to stopping at red lights, our hosts (on bikes) were right on it. And we saw several bicycle riders being written tickets by the police.

We aren't immune from the law.

patentcad

Completely and utterly incorrect Fredly. You get some NYPD flatfoot with nothing better to do and the same behavior they routinely ignore 99.9% of the time (which would included cyclists running red lights in the 5 boroughs) becomes a ticketfest. Happens often enough in NYC, trust me. Some of these cops can be profound aholes.

Rowan

Like I said, there is likely a backstory. Maybe the cop got cut off by a scofflaw cyclist earlier in the day. Maybe someone actually did complain about the cyclists running lights.

Anyway, aren't you still in pain-in-the-arse recovery mode?

patentcad

I started seeing a guy who does Rolfing a month ago. That's a cross between massage and chiropractic. I was back on my bike two days after the first treatment, bunghole pain was essentially gone, never returned (it turned out to be a muscle pull just above my left hamstring). Kept seeing him weekly. Then the pain in my pelvis/lumbar spine that I've had EVERY DAY FOR THIRTEEN YEARS started receeding. Now that pain is essentially GONE. This after every doctor, physical therapist, pain management specialist and chiropractor I saw since 1999 failed to treat these symptoms.

Here's an article about Rolfing, it seems to help people who can't get fixed any other way. I am still astonished:

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/fa...07rolfing.html

I really didn't expect this to work.

AdelaaR

Well ... the "law" could be unfair, for instance.
In Belgium we now have rules that cyclists can cross red lights in specific situations where they're not hindering traffic.
Personally I don't care much for this law ... I have been doing whatever I like for as long as I live and bike and have never been caught ... I'm just good at spotting cops and being aware

Rowan

Well, that's good news. Sometimes unconventional wisdom is what works best.

DaveWC

So in your case it seems that all laws regarding cycling are deemed unfair. Putting the "I" in cycling I see.

AdelaaR

I see a law as "unfair" when a cyclist has to stand there ... possibly in the rain ... waiting for a red light ... when common sense says he can just make a right turn or whatever the case is ... without even crossing traffic and without ever being dangerous.
Laws are there to make sure fools can be stopped from endangering themselves or others ... they shouldn't be there to harras good people with common sense ... and that's exactly the reason why I have never ever stopped for (only) a red light while cycling.
I haven't had any accident or endangered others while cycling ... ever ... so my premise of "laws shoudn't be there to harras good people with common sense" is valid.

fly:yes/land:no

this is true. there are many, many excellent nypd out there. i would actually say the majority. the problem is that, for at least the past 5 years, there has been profoundly inconsistent application of the laws as it pertains to cyclists. from the central park bottom of the hill speed trap to little stories like this.

with such a vast police force and vast cycling population, there are going to be mistakes. maybe the cop knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to give this kid the biggest fine he could, instead of actually stopping the dangerous act when he first was able to do so. for reasons i stated above, i find this deplorable. or maybe, the cyclist had on headphones and didn't hear the siren until the third light.

patentcad

You run a red light in the city in front of the wrong cop on the wrong day and you are effed. Oh well. They have really been busting cyclist balls in Manhattan lately. Ticketing cyclists all over the place for running red lights in Central Park on a roadway closed to motorists that cyclists have been turning laps on for 40+ years. The one we race on. That's really stupid. That's an orchestrated crack-down. What the eff they are cracking down on eludes everyone of course. Maybe Bloomberg understands it. If that's his Guiliani imitation, it's Utter Fail.

Burton

According to the article the cyclist was riding in traffic with headphones on - which is both illegal and stupid. And they were cited for it. The cyclist was also running red lights in traffic while wearing headphone which isn't just stupid - it approachs suicidal. And they were cited for that on multiple infractions.

So whats the problem? I haven't had a bike / car accident myself where I got away with less than $1,000 worth of damage. Does it make more sense for the cop to wait for an accident and then just pick up the pieces? We had an 18yr old boy killed here a short while back. He was the only one with the stop sign and ignored it. At this point I'm sure his mother would have preferred to live with a $1,500 fine.

Nachoman

Rather than ticketing a cyclist, I wish that cop was out doing more important things like catching some guy smoking pot.

IthaDan 

Or policing zombie threads.