Via YouTube and Kactapuss today:
On my ride to work I see the police light up a woman who biked past the crosswalk to the corner. They gave her a red light ticket even though she did not cross through the intersection.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Citi Bike rider gets a ticket for not stopping at the crosswalk on 14th Street and 1st Avenue
Via YouTube and Kactapuss today:
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59 comments:
Too bad we can't ticket cops who roll through red lights. Guess they are above the law
still waiting to see a motorist get a ticket for doing the same!
I bike a lot, and bikers who shoal up through the cross walk drive me crazy.
Some CitiBike dickwad almost ran me down on the sidewalk there yesterday and I thought to myself "There ought to be law".
Ah, that's a new one.
I really wish my fellow bikers would stop before the crosswalk, then pull up, so as to not scare the bejeezus out of crossing pedestrians. But I'm pretty sure it's not illegal to do so, and the DOT actually encourages cyclists to pull up as they need to in order to remain visible to motorists.
Meanwhile, cyclist deaths are on track to surpass last year's easily, NYPD enforcement against dangerous drivers continues to be near-nonexistent, and while biking my kid to school this morning, I had to go around a police van whose drivers had pointedly parked in the bike lane directly behind a truck illegally parked in the traffic lane, thus forcing me into oncoming traffic, while they got their coffee and donuts at 7-11.
Bravo to the police officer! Let's face it, many cyclists (residents and tourists) have little regard for the traffic rules which they are supposed to follow. I said "many" not all--"many". Yes, cyclists face dangers from cars, but that doesn't mean that they are exempt from following the rules.
You can't cross into the crosswalk PIN A MEDAL ON HIM. It's about time the bike-Nazi are stopped!!
Clearly very arbitrarily legalistic behavior but I think I am okay with it. Cyclists are out of control here and I say that as a avid cyclist. Cyclists tend to ignore the rights of way of pedestrians and in my experience as an everyday rider Citibikers are the worst offenders. I realize this is highly subjective and informed by my own biases but the least conscientious riders tend to be Citibikers, that is very clear in my view.
I have no ethical problems with sensible breaking of traffic rules here and there but when people en masse ride their bikes without regard for basic rights of way, it increases disorder for all. Great example: when cars make left turns across protected bike lanes such as 1st or 2nd avenue. Bikes are supposed to merge into the turn lane and take their place in line if there are cars ahead of them trying to turn. Instead, novice riders refuse to wait their turn and then sneak in and cut ahead of the turning cars. Besides the huge blind spot danger, this is very entitled behavior.
Already I am seeing car drivers' behavior influenced by this: now they EXPECT cyclists to sneak in on that left side blind spot. So now they leave room for them by making a very wide berth before turning. Which then creates added danger for any cyclist who tries to correctly merge and pass on the car's right side. (I keep getting into retarded standoffs with drivers who try to wave me through their blind spot. I just wait behind them until they give up and turn.)
Cyclists running reds WHILE cutting off pedestrians who have the light is also a serious nagging problem. Again, just adds to the overall disorder. Ticketing is an annoyance for those who get pinched but I do believe as a regular practice it would lead to some reforms in the way people ride, and that ultimately benefits the community. Jesus Christ what a concept.
The cameraman is a huge dork, thinking this is his great viral moment of documenting some great injustice. Maybe he's just trying to white-knight for the damsel in distress. I am no fan of cops but there is really nothing to see here. The law is clear and while it tends to be irrelevant, this is a busy intersection with a ton of pedestrian traffic. There is no practical reason for the lady to pull up in or past the crosswalk. Especially since there is a dedicated bike signal light, i.e. there is no need for a bike to get out ahead of the car traffic in this instance. Her doing that just creates a nuisance for those trying to cross 1st ave. Stop your bike before the crosswalk and wait your turn, very simple.
Who likes it when bikes are in the crosswalk when you're trying to cross a busy intersection?
Rules are rules.
I don't know about the specifics here but as someone who bikes a lot myself, I'm okay with the idea that bikers can be ticketed too. The operative word is "too" -- I'd like to see some real enforcement of the cars that run red lights and park in bike lanes. But many of my friends who don't bike (or drive) hate bicyclists for not respecting pedestrians. We cyclists need friends and allies in this hostile street environment and we won't get them by scaring pedestrians or denying them access to crosswalks.
Props to videographer who wouldn't let smartass cop manipulate him.
I wish the NYPD would ticket the delivery guys on those souped-up bikes. I was nearly hit by one on 5th Street. He was riding on the sidewalk.
I was there. The same cop stopped a guy earlier on 1st Av and 13th St by veering into the bike lane an then blocking the left turn lane from 1st to 13 St, thus endangering the lives of all the people who walked and biked through the intersection without being able to see if there are moving vehicles approaching them. After idling their vehicle (we are talking about THREE officers who were handling this job for ten minutes there the police car then moved to a center lane on 1st Av and 14 St, idling, completely blocking it for moving vehicles for another 5 minutes, creating unnecessary congestion. This is 8:45 AM, Rush hour. In every light cycle we have around 20 people who cross the intersection. Then they found this lady who stopped her bike few inches north of the stop line. 3 Officers jump at her, started lecturing, full of themselves they surround her and intimidate her. While doing that they first completely block the bike lane (which is heavily used and where there is a split traffic light for turning vehicles), forcing bikers into the 14th St crosswalk or into the turn left lane. After that he moves his vehicle to the crosswalk. Blocking it completely. The preschool at the 14th St Y is at 9AM, every family that crosses 14th St is now being blocked by a police car, IN THE CROSSWALK, for another 5 minutes, till the police officers decide to move the vehicle west of the crosswalk, where there was an empty parking spot for them all this time. Again, the woman was not even crossing the intersection. When they kept here there at least to taxi drivers ignored the left lane red light and turn left on red, when people cross, and bikers have the right to go straight.
NYPD 9th Prescient: Total disregard to humans life, pure oppression, random harassment.
How about people on bicycles, mesmerized by their smartphones instead of paying attention to the busy intersection they're pedaling through?
I wish the nypd would send 3 cops through Tompkins when junkies are shooting up or taking a shit on the lawn. Glad their priorities are stopping office workers on Citibikes.
Remember:
Bikes pulled over by cops for "disregarding a red" (even in this case) get a $210 ticket
Drivers who blow through a red light governed by automated enforcement get a $50 ticket in the mail with no points!
Drivers are the true victims
(Also, there is case law that declares the "crosswalk shoal" as not illegal, and it's not expressly forbidden either if the cyclist is dismounting. So this is an unenforceable ticket. But the nice lady will burn up a vacation day worth more than the ticket to address the charges in criminal court - not traffic court! That's totally fair, ain't it, to impose some vicarious justice against a long-gone messenger who once brushed by you too closely)
This is DeBlasio and his Vision Zero sending a firm message to the . . . wait. Oh, yeah. Sorry. Wrong script.
People who complain about cyclist (like those above), I guess, havent been run down yet by motorist. It's just a matter of time. And when you are run down by a vehicle, all three tons will make sure you do not get up.
Get your outrage focused. A gal on a Citibike going 5 mph is not.
As a regular Citibike rider, I always stop before the pedestrian crosswalk.
According to the law, the intersection begins at the crosswalk line.
According to the law a driver must not enter the intersection with a Red light. Let's enforce the law against drivers first. The law was written to address Motor Vehicles. If you get hit by a bicycle you'll be scratched or wounded. If you get hit by a person driving a vehicle you'll die. on the spot. that's it.
Good on the police. Cyclists - as well as motorists - are not supposed to block the crosswalk.
She wasn't blocking the crosswalk
Officer with tatoos was no doubt a wiseass in high school. HOPE he matures as a cop. I would like to see tickets to cyclists blithely talking on their phones. Or cyclists with no lights. True safety hazards. Also don't like it when cops brazenly and unnecessarily break traffic laws as they are enforcing them.
Well if eyewitness reports are credible then too bad for the woman. Mostly-innocent victim caught up in a semi-politicized/show of force situation.
HOWEVER doesn't mean that unlawful/me-first bicycle riding is not a problem. Or that unlawful driving somehow negates unlawful bike riding.
NYPD doing its job. The lawless cyclists are narcissistic followers of "TA's dictum "We want it both ways."
The public has TA to blame in part for congestion glut. The public has TA to thank for the lawless cycling-as it
prevailed on Bloomberg to withhold enforcement.Citibike has unleashed another horde of lawless cyclists-who cares
you don;t own the bike-also often inexperienced. Oh yes these Vision Zero visionaries are disruptive-anti cop-anti Robert Moses-but they are also anti public. Taken everyone for a ride.
This is pretty absurd.
There are plenty of no gray area intersections with red lights that bikers just blow through on the regular at fast speeds. I'd have no problem if they were ticketing there.
They always try all this cheap shit for ticketing bikers, when there are TONS of bikers who are blatant in their disregard for traffic devices.
What about cyclists who go the wrong way?
New York has a lot of asshole bikers, asshole drivers and asshole pedestrians. It's not like this everywhere in the world but entitled is the theme in NY late in the age. Saw a biker texting almost hit a jaywalking texting pedestrian. That would have been youtube gold.
I wonder if the cyclists-can-do-no-wrong posters harangue the police when they arrest burglars because murder is worse than burglary. More enforcement against drivers can go hand-in-hand with more enforcement against cyclists. The problem with cyclists in the city - and I think this is why one poster noticed citibikers as the worst culprits - is that they import suburban norms of space into an urban environment. Out in the burbs, you can run reds and salmon because there isn't a ton of traffic or pedestrians. Not the case in the city. Clearly, cars are a larger physical danger to pedestrians (and cyclists). However, city drivers are very aware of and cater to pedestrians who can dart out into traffic at any moment. Cyclists who think there's nothing wrong with running a light, salmoning, blocking the crosswalk etc have a larger adverse impact on the walkability of the city, and they should be ticketed. To be clear, I don't drive, supported congestion pricing, and would even support banning cars entirely from Manhattan save for taxis, delivery vehicles, exemptions for the elderly and disabled etc...but in the day-to-day commute, cyclists are the bigger problem.
Bike rider here: cars and bikes have to stop at the thick white line per traffic regulations. You can see it here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7313879,-73.9826825,3a,75y,292.33h,79.6t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sG5KitQTAPpUAQq70Nstu1w!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DG5KitQTAPpUAQq70Nstu1w%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D76.647942%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656
Although I'm a bike rider, too many of us don't follow basic traffic rules, and I'm sick and tired of it.
2;26
Ask the people who have been killed, K-I-L-L-E-D by bike riders if getting hit by a moving bike doesn't hurt... Oh, wait you can't. They're dead.
"However, city drivers are very aware of and cater to pedestrians who can dart out into traffic at any moment."
Except when they're not, and then you get hit badly. Again, if you get hit by a Citi Bike biker that has to go really slow because that is the way the bike is designed. After you sort the problem of dangerous reckless driving - start dealing with cyclists who are annoying but do not pose such a risk as a driver of a motor vehicle.
cmartyy: The people who got killed were in Central Park which is wrongly designed in a way that enables people to ride on their bikes way to fast . That is not the case on City streets. No one has died in the last 10 years from a biker on the street.
NYPD does not target people who ride Electric Bikes the wrong way. They only target people who ride slow and pose no harm.
People bitch when cops don't ticket and then they bitch when cops ticket. Like stfu.
I don't quite understand the arguments of the form:
"The police should not enforce laws against crime X when crime Y is still happening".
By that logic, since murders and rapes are still happening, then the police should not enforce laws against any other crimes in the meanwhile.
It's not a zero-sum game. In fact, if "broken windows" evidence is at all accurate, enforcing laws against relatively minor infractions also reduces the incidence of more serious crimes.
- East Villager
September 16, 2016 at 3:52 PM wrote:
"Saw a biker texting almost hit a jaywalking texting pedestrian. That would have been youtube gold."
They would have both just gotten up and continued texting without acknowledging one another's existence.
- East Villager
@2:25pm: "You'll get scratched or wounded"? Is that b/c being knocked over by a bike & falling so you hit your head on the pavement & end up in the ER with a concussion (or worse) is really no big whoop according to you? I'm guessing you've never been hit by a bike rider going fast/not caring.
My spouse came within a split-second of being *severely* injured by a bike rider a few months ago - spouse had the light & looked BOTH ways on a one-way street and was STILL hit by the bike rider (who was going wrong way on one-way street). Bike rider took off like a bat out of hell, turning INTO oncoming traffic on an avenue, as my spouse called out that he was injured. But hey, as long as the bike rider is OK, who cares if my spouse needed medical care or lost his income b/c he was injured?
And THAT is why people hate bike riders in NYC.
The Bicyclists are out-of-control and dangerous to the vast majority of City Dwellers, the Pedestrians. License these bastards already and ticket them to death.
In the bad old days, you looked out for the car that would not stop or the bike going the wrong way as you crossed the street. Live and live days are over, and everyone now seems so self–righteous.
@2:07---you're an asshole. So a pedestrian has to get hit by a 3 ton car FIRST and only THEN is allowed to complain about a cyclist's recklessness? Excuse me, but if a cyclist hits a pedestrian straight on, that person could potentially get injured enough to have go to the hospital. But to you, it's no big deal, right? They have to be mangled with their guts all over the road, dead or paralyzed for life maybe. You're cold.
I once saw an old lady midtown squarely get hit by this cyclist, he just kept going, turned around briefly and gave the finger. People were screaming for him to stop. In the meantime, she was lying on the street in pain, her glasses knocked off, he hit her that hard.
5mph indeed.
On the flip side, it's heartening to see so many self-aware bikers here, who obey the laws and yeah, have to contend with horrible drivers on a daily basis and even pedestrians who are not paying attention if they have right of way.
@8:56pm: Totally agree with you!
I'm with -----m at 11:45 AM: still waiting to see a motorist get a ticket for doing the same!
I am on the fence with this. Most cyclist in the city are very agressive with how they ride, always running red lights, swerving through cars and crowds of people. Also it is hard to respect officers who break the law that they are trying to enforce. But this intersection is known to be very dangerous, there have been plenty of accidents here. The light on the east side of 1st ave is not timed correctly and a lot of cars seem to run the light.
I had a patient who was hit and wounded by a biker who did not stop at the crosswalk. 16 and first... Walking out of the hospital. Good for the cop in enforcing the law!
Let's face it, NYC bike riders and Citibikers collectively need to be put in their place a little bit. Sucks that it has to be NYPD doing it but then who else?
In my whole life I've never once seen a motorist get a ticket for not stopping behind the crosswalk line. If cops are giving tickets to cyclist, why aren't they giving tickets to motorists? The same law applies.
I defy anyone to stand at a corner for 1/2 hour, say 8th Street and Broadway, and objectively come back with the number of cars going through the light (yes some cars over shoot the beginning of the white lines for the crosswalk). Do the same thing for cyclists--come back and honestly report on how many actually come to a full stop for the light and remain at a full stop. Pick your intersection. Pedestrians are more in danger from cyclists than from cars I'm willing to bet. Cyclists know what the rules are (and now I know I am in for it--just as pet owners know the rules about bringing dogs into food shops), they choose to ignore the rules because they feel in some ways superior--they are on a bicycle--better for the environment--easier to maneuver. The rules exist because of a basic social compact which involves everyone--including those who don't cycle and don't have pets. Let's face it, many people know what the rules are, they just don't make the connection that they apply to them. Yes, keep going with targeted ticketing. Get the word out. The people most in danger are pedestrians.
I am glad the cops are ticketing these entitled cyclists. I love cycling, but thanks to CitiBike and the bike lanes you have lots of people riding who don't know what they are doing or don't follow the rules. It's out of control.
@ 4:24 pm. I agree that some cyclists ignore lights and crosswalks and are a menace. But cars are FAR more dangerous. From 2000 to 2014 there were 10 pedestrians killed by bicycles in the city while 2418 were killed by cars. Almost 250x as fatal.
Bike riders are out of control.
The vast majority do not respect the law.
Riding the wrong way on a one way street, not stopping at red lights and blocking the walk way
And the morons without helmets
Shedding no tears here
@4:24pm: You are right and thank you for saying it so thoroughly.
@7:35pm: You're only right in the short run - when more & more bikes are on the streets in ALL 5 BOROS then we'll see the numbers of pedestrian injuries go up massively. The disparity between the # of cars vs. # of bikes is the ONLY reason for these stats at the moment. And you ignore what is worst about the bikers (other than their sense of entitlement and complete lack of respect for pedestrians AND the law): bikes are silent, so while I will hear a truck or car, I *won't* hear a bike that's about to hit me.
PS: I would like to see the stats for cars vs. bikes shown as follows: there are xxx cars/taxis/trucks/buses in NYC, and XXX pedestrians were struck by one in a year, VERSUS: there are xxx bikes being ridden in NYC, and XXX pedestrians were struck by a bike rider in a year. I think it would provide a very interesting ratio.
@2:18 AM: Has there been a surge in pedestrian fatalities from being hit by Citibike riders? If bicycles were so dangerous, that's what you would expect. It defies common sense and available statistics to suggest bicycles are more of a threat than cars and trucks. That being said, cyclists, PUT YOUR PHONES AWAY. When you are texting or talking or even listening to music with two earbuds stuck in your ears you are not paying attention to your surroundings, and I get the feeling that you don't care about ANYONE'S safety.
I just came in from the West Side Market. I stood in front of the market at 12th Street for a few minutes observing car and bike traffic (thinking about the back and forth on EVG). Funny, I didn't see any cars going against their flow of traffic--no one going the wrong way on 12th Street when I started home. But people on bicycles--not to smack them down--little observance of any rules of traffic. No all, but most seem not to care. We all live in this city, and to make it livable and, less dangerous, we need to follow some basic rules of civic behavior. As loud as cyclists protest, they are the least likely citizens to feel that rules of traffic apply to them.
Entering the crosswalk with a bike is a ticketable offense, deal with it and don't do it again unless you want to be ticketed again.
I bet if she wasn't a white millenial hipster transplant who thinks NYC is Portland or whatever city she moved from because it wasn't "cool" anymore we wouldn't see all the outrage over her being ticketed.
Cyclists should be treated like jaywalkers. - given a fair amount of latitude when not acting reckless. Strict enforcement of laws for cars being applied to bikes makes no sense. That's reality. Granted many of you don't want to accept reality but thankfully you don't enforce the law or we would live in a police state
I found out today that a family friend, a woman in her late 60's whose lived in he neighborhood for 40+ years was hit and injored by a citibike rider going THE WRONG WAY in the 1st Ave bike lane the day before this ticketiing incident occurred.
She has a broken bone and will need surgery. The citibiker stopped, asked her if she was OK. She sat on he curb and said she was in a lot of pain. Guy said, "I'm sorry", and took off.
Ambulance came, police report filed. Coincidence?
I've said it once and I'll say it again:
ALL bikes need to be licensed and ALL bike riders should have bike licenses.
Every day I bike 10 miles in NYC. Car drivers do not make it dangerous. Other bikers and pedestrians do. Bikers need to behave like cars. Ticket them all if they jump a light or ride the wrong way down the streets.
Pedestrians need to park their arses on the sidewalk until it is time to cross; standing 3 feet into the road will not get you to work any quicker. I have taken to slapping people's phones out of their hands as they cross in front of me with their heads down looking at their screens.
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