Wednesday, June 8, 2011

NYPD tries to ticket cyclist for riding without a bell

Jeez. Is it the heat? Blowing a red light is one thing...


Occurred on First Avenue at Fifth Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
NYPD slaps $270 ticket on East Village cyclist for running red light
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18 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 8, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    And yet they never ticket the people who walk in the bike path on the bridges. I find it offensive that its controlled ticketing. I have seen people on cell phones walking into the lanes without caring about cyclists. They have their own walking path but refuse to use it. Every day the same people. Where are the bridge tickets!!!!?????

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  2. chris flashJune 8, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    Either there's too many cops and not enough crime or bicyclists are easier targets, as they usually are not armed and dangerous....

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  3. Marty WombacherJune 8, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    @Anonymous 3:40 PM: Multiple exclamation point and question mark alert! Aaahhhh!

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  4. Richard D JamesJune 8, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    I am a polite bicyclist, I bike safely, and I follow many (definitely not all) of the rules, but in my opinion, I follow the right ones.

    That said - I agree with many people, many cyclists are rude, bike dangerously, etc, delivery bikers are even more dangerous, frequently biking the wrong way, or on sidewalks.

    All that said - even worse than the bicyclists are the largest gang in NYC, the NYPD. I seriously can't believe that as a bicyclist, we have to realistically fear getting a ticket or a summons for behavior that isn't technically against the law.

    Seems a bit like harassment doesn't it?

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  5. SpikeJune 8, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    Bells are great to have. And they typically last a week before getting stolen.

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  6. AnonymousJune 8, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    Actually, Richard, I think it IS against the law. http://bikingrules.org/rules/rulesoftheroad

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  7. Dan LDJune 8, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    I was walking by this morning when the cops stopped to ticket this poor guy. It's just so incredibly stupid that this is what they're spending their time doing.

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  8. EricJune 8, 2011 at 6:28 PM

    That's certainly a valid ticket. Mine's only been stolen once. I never use it. I prefer to keep both hands on my brakes and scream 'LOOK!' at oblivious jaywalkers as I commute home up 1st Ave. Hmmn, might need a Special at International Bar to calm my nerves on the way home today.

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  9. AnonymousJune 8, 2011 at 7:04 PM

    This is just completely out of control. I got a summons for being on a sidewalk for 2 seconds where no one was around at night near avenue D. I was trying to avoid getting hit by an oncoming car. I had to spend half my day in court yeterday and even the judge seemed to think it was ridiculous. I get ticketing the out of control bikers but stopping someone for a bell when it is actualy a lot quicker to yell. If bloomberg wants everyone to ride bikes why is he allowing this to happen? I don't get if it's about easy money, cops hating cyclists or what but it's only making me have harsh feelings towards the Nypd.

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  10. JulioJune 8, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    All this ticketing is scaring me from going to ride my bike from the bronx to manhattan like I use to do 2 years ago. :(

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  11. AnonymousJune 8, 2011 at 11:29 PM

    Bells are cheaper than tickets. I got a nice small one I mounted on the handlebars back in the late 90s when they were doing a similar "quality of life" (revenue generation) ticket blitz. You can get a nice little bell for about $5 and it is much cheaper than a ticket. Ignorance of the law is no defense.

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  12. AnonymousJune 9, 2011 at 12:33 AM

    Excellent! They damn well SHOULD be ticketed, and those people who walk obliviously in the wrong lanes too. I remember when I used to ride in Central Park, before Bloombugger took away the horses, and idiot mothers would be pushing prams full of their puling spawn in the middle of the bridle path. We'd just ride right at them like Cossacks...it was great! Then of course their brats would throw stones at the horses...well, that's what riding crops are for...

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  13. AnonymousJune 9, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    1) More tickets =

    2) Less asshole(ish) behavior on bikes.

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  14. blue glassJune 9, 2011 at 10:00 AM

    we walkers used to get tickets for jay walking. i think we still do (i admit to the crime and have not been ticketed for a while). and while i think traffic lanes/laws should be obeyed the police have a way of doing what is the easiest.
    if the city wants to generate income and the police have a mandate to ticket, let them at least ticket those bikers that are riding on the sidewalk or in the wrong lane going in the wrong direction. that might influence the dangerous bikers to pay more attention to traffic laws.
    i am constantly cursed at when i tell bikers to get off the sidewalk (even when they are coming almost directly at me).
    and remember - you won't have to go to the hospital if you are bumped into by a walker.

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  15. AntJune 9, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    STOP THIS MADNESS. Watch this video about getting a ticket while NOT riding in the bike lane. Pretty funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ&feature=share

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  16. MattJune 9, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    I've had DOT people tell me bells are the law (they were giving them out on First Ave. in the fall a couple evenings). So get one. Not a big deal.

    That said, yeah, there's a ticketing blitz underway, one prompted by political pressure resulting from a mostly media-generated fake backlash that's got Bloomberg's gutless minions sweating bullets. The cops don't know the laws and don't care. So cyclists should play by the rules, within reason (nobody's going to stop jaybiking, but hey, treat red lights as stop signs at least). Which they should do anyway.

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  17. blue glassJune 9, 2011 at 11:24 PM

    yes, the video was funny.
    and probably accurate about impediment to bike lanes.
    that does not mean bikers should not obey traffic laws.

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  18. AnonymousJune 14, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    "AC § 19-176 Bicycles ridden on sidewalks may be confiscated and riders may be subject to legal sanctions (see also: RCNY § 4-07(c)(3))."

    I'm so stealing the bike away from the next asshole riding their bike on the sidewalk, especially when they are riding on a sidewalk next to a bike lane. In the direction of traffic.

    FREE BIKES!

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