wild how anti cop this website is until it's directed at a group of people that personally annoys them. read the fucking article, cyclists court summons higher than they ever have been in 7 years should be a HUGE red flag, and the punishment, again if anyone actually read the article, is far more strict than if you were in a vehicle doing the same thing. this is bullshit to pad out NYC's court docket
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2025
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New Yorker here.
It's to target the immigrate population of delivery cyclists, thus triggering deportation due to "criminal conviction"
It has nothing to do with court docket numbers, everything to do with Trump's crackdown.
Adams golfs with the Mustard Mussolini, they're tight. Share a background in shady political shit.
I've regularly commuted by bicycle for almost 2 decade in 3 different countries.
I'm sorry but if you're cycling (or using an e-bike) on the sidewalk you deserved to get punished for it. Same if you cross a red-light when pedestrians are crossing. (I'm so so about crossing a red-light when there are no traffic or pedestrians crossing: I won't do it myself but if you're not endangering others it's no big deal in my book if other cyclists do it).
Lack of infrastructure as cited by cyclists in the article is no excuse to put pedestrians at risk for the convenience of the cyclist.
Lack of infrastructure as cited by cyclists in the article is no excuse to put pedestrians at risk for the convenience of the cyclist.
100% but then cars and trucks parked on the cycling lanes, road work without a new bike lane, etc (impossible to have an exhaustive list but I bet you've seen countless video of cyclists everywhere unable to have a single ride on the actual cycling lane) ALSO must get punished because they are the ones prompting dangerous cycling too. There is no justification for putting others in danger but then it has to actually be applied to all otherwise it feels arbitrary.
There is no justification for putting others in danger ~~but then~~. It has to actually be applied to all otherwise it feels arbitrary.
Fixed it for ya.
There is no justification to put others in danger, period. That applies as much to drivers as to cyclists.
The unjust and an uneven application of the Law is an unrelated affair.
I've cycled in places like London, back when few people did it and the cycling infrastructure was basically non-existent and what little there was, were mostly tiny lanes painted blue on the side of the road with no actual safety from the cars and which tended to have cars parked on top.
People still didn't cycle on the sidewalk there back then, even in places without cycling lanes.
The sidewalk is not a place for cyclists: it's filled with people who don't expect cyclists and fragile and highly unpredictable pedestrians like children and dogs.
The unjust and an uneven application of the Law is an unrelated affair.
Well then you didn't fix anything for me as that was precisely my point. You might not understand or agree with what I wrote but based on upvotes, others do.
PS: FWIW and to step back a bit cyclists actually rarely do put others and themselves in actual danger even when they do break the law https://daily.jstor.org/are-cyclists-reckless-lawbreakers/
Look up the psychology of using "but" - in that sentence structure you were justifying the former with the latter, hence why felt the need to emphasized that those two things are separate and one does not justify the other.
As for cyclists being or not reckless lawbreakers, my experience of almost 2 decades in 3 different countries and about 5 cities is that most are not. However there are a few cunts out there spreading a bad impression on the general population about the rest of us by being reckless, so I am totally in favor that those cunts get cracked-down on hard, even if they're not as dangerous as equally reckless drivers because they're not riding anywhere near the same weight of metal at anywhere near the same speed - simple Physics dictates that a reckless cyclist is much less likely to kill somebody than a reckless driver.
Besides, cyclists who couldn't care less about endangering others behave exactly the same behind the wheel of a car and at least in the West most cyclists are also drivers (and we're all pedestrians too) so in general, that kind of person needs to be convinced to behave differently.
This isn't the fucking "thin blue line" and frankly any moron supporting those cunts just because "we're all cyclists" needs to sit down and have a really hard think about what they're actually achieving with it.
the sidewalk things applies to proper cities where sidewalks are actually used by pedestrians and the road can be used by cyclists. actual streets
there are lots of suburbs where that's not the case - 80km/h traffic on a two lane each way, separated center, grass boulevard between the pavement and the sidewalk etc, and a sidewalk used by nobody because it doesn't connect to anything for over a km.
that's the one time sidewalks are okay to cycle on. and even then, better not be going the wrong way at intersections or going too fast at intersections, nobody expects that
Fair enough.
This article, however, is about New York, were none of that applies.
Yeah, should be an option to pay the fine online. No court summons needed (waste of taxpayer money).
"If a 4,000-pound SUV runs a red light, they get a ticket and you pay it online. You're done with it in a matter of minutes. But if a 60-pound bicycle runs a red light, then they can get a criminal summons, which means you have to take a day off of work, go to court, probably you should hire a lawyer. And if you are an immigrant, then that can put you at risk of deportation," Berlanga said.
I'm in California, not in New York City, but I have to say that while I have seen cars run red lights, it is exceedingly rare, whereas I see bicyclists doing it all the time. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if New York City has a similar situation. Whether-or-not the current situation is a good one, I do think that there's a lack of deterrence as things stand.
EDIT: And while that's the most egregious issue, I also see:
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People riding their bikes on the street at night without a light, which they are required to have here. This one boggles me, because I've almost been hit on a number of occasions while bicycling with a light at night, and now use both a regular headlight and a flashing headlight and a flashing taillight to increase visibility. People who bicycle in black clothes with no lights at night are crazy, even issues of illegality aside, and I see those every night.
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Not nearly as common, but bicyclists cycling the wrong way down roads. Automobiles don't do this.
I've commuted by bicycle regularly for almost 2 decades in 3 different countries and whenever I bought a new bicycle (well, I usually got them used), I would always make sure to have a forward and a back facing light as well as a bell.
The lights are almost self-explanatory, as you pointed out, but the bell is for the kind of pedestrians who don't properly look to both sides before crossing a road (they rely on hearing and peripheral vision, both of which don't work with bicycles which are silent and have a far narrower profile than a car), as well as drivers who will do the same in intersections (these are people who literally don't turn their heads fully to look at possible incoming traffic but instead only turn it just enough to have the intersecting road on the corner of their eye) - they're to warn then when I notice they're not looking suspect they might be about to just cross in front of me.
My ass has been saved multiple times by keeping a weary eye on people on sidewalks that looked like they were about to turn and cross the street and warning them of my presence with the bell.
Also works well in places were the cycle path and the footpath are shared (like often in Berlin) to notify pedestrians that you're coming to avoid situations were they do sudden moves to the side without looking.
Even in places with proper infrastructure (like The Netherlands), it pays to be defensive in your cycling, but that's even more the case in places like Berlin (were the infrastructures is mainly decent and people are used to cyclists, but sometimes it's kinda crap) and more so in places with almost no cycling infrastructure like London.
Alright, I hear you, but I think the point is that a cyclist running a red light mostly endangers themselves, while a car running a red light endangers others. Here in Colorado, we changed the laws such that a red light is a stop sign for bicycles, and a stop sign a yield, in recognition of the differences in risk. (Edit: cars -> bicycles)
In my experience cyclists are more likely to run red-lights in pedestrian crossings than in junctions and intersections, so they're not endangering themselves, they're endangering pedestrians.
a red light is a stop sign for cars
I assume you mean “…for cyclists”?
Yes, that is correct. Thanks for pointing out, I'll edit to avoid confusion.
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That's assuming that an oncoming car wouldn't swerve at all if a cyclist entered their path. Dangerous or unpredictable behavior by anyone on a road puts everyone in the area at risk.
Yes, and nobody disputes that some bicyclists put everyone at risk. The point of the article, though, is that drivers are handed a fine, while bicyclists are handed criminal charges. Pointing out that bicyclists are given harsher treatment for a less dangerous offense is, I think, fair in this case.
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Imagine being ticketed for walking the wrong way down a sidewalk or crossing the street. At intersections pedestrians generally have the right of way unless it's signalized (or a car is already inside the intersection).
Cyclist are pedestrians.
These kind of stories almost read as "car is king" and all other modes of travel (walking, running, cycling) are required to conform around the car. Next thing you know grandma will get a ticket for riding her mobility scooter the wrong way down a sidewalk.
The main issue is improper Infrastructure. Streets are destinations and Roads are throughways. Street are multi-use and should be designed as such.
This is a street. It's a destination where local pedestrians have the right of way.
This is a "strode" its a neither a street or a road. Car rule and use these as throughways.
This is a road. It's a proper throughway with no street parking or driveways. Reduced conflict zones such as no intersections or left turn.
Also obligatory:
Emotos, ie. "Self powered" high speed electric motorcycles should be treated similar to regular motorcycles or cars.
Ebikes ie. "Pedal assist" or "human-powered" bicycles are low speed and similar in nature to regular bicycles or in some cases "mobility devices" like grandmas mobility scooter.
Down voted for this:
Cyclist are pedestrians.
But want to say thanks for the explanations. Regardless of whether I agree with your opinions.
Cyclist are pedestrians.
Unless you mean this in some very unconventional way — absolutely not. Bicycles are vehicles.
Which is why some of those 6k citations are for riding on the sidewalk
I would agree any item that is used to transport goods or people in any way is considered a vehicle, but i would add the term "vehicle" is somewhat loose in meaning or interpretation.
There are two distinct classes of vehicles though. Self-powered and Human-powered.
Self-powered vehicles. Example, an aircraft, car, tank, truck, motorcycle, scooter.
Human-powered vehicles. Example, a bicycle, unicycle, balance bicycles, scooter, dandy horse, handcar, draisine, shoping cart, and maybe even shoes?
Now the reason I believe classifying cyclists as pedestrians, is because it would require a "shift" in how infrastructure is designed within our towns and cities.
The city "strode" is a unsafe place for a pedestrian or people in general to be (as it's currently designed). Classifying a cyclist as a pedestrian would highlight the need that the equivalent of "sidewalk infrastructure" is required for the well-being of people on a bicycle.
Now imagine yourself walking (in your shoes) on a city "strode" in the middle of a lane, it feels "wrong". So why do we force all ages of people on a bicycle to do this?
I saw this same story from another source in a different post (https://archive.is/sZYDO).
There’s one specific paragraph in that article that is not covered in this one:
New York City has begun a crackdown on e-bikes and scooters riders. It follows actions by city officials from Paris to Honolulu to Hoboken, N.J., who are responding to residents angry about zippy vehicles with silent electric motors zooming down sidewalks and streets, often startling people, and occasionally hitting pedestrians.
Now the reason I believe classifying cyclists as pedestrians, is because it would require a "shift" in how infrastructure is designed within our towns and cities.
Nah, classifying bicycles as pedestrians would be the worst of all worlds and result in the elimination of all considerations for bicycles just like we’ve been working on for pedestrians over the past hundred years.
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not even close, people are pedestrians, ive encountered more often than not that bicycles ignore pedestratians when they are crossing the streets, or if they are behind a person, sorry but they act like they are in cars themselves.
What about a person on rollerblades?
By definition they are a vehicle, but are they a car?
Keep riding your ebikes. Please slow down and make noise when you ride past me on the sidewalk. I swear somebody almost hits every day In out walking around. A simple "Honk honk, coming through", please.
here in the west, they lobbied/bullied enough to the governments now they act like douches all the time. its a double edeged sword. most of them have no respect for pedestrians.
"If a 4,000-pound SUV runs a red light, they get a ticket and you pay it online. You're done with it in a matter of minutes. But if a 60-pound bicycle runs a red light, then they can get a criminal summons..." A 60lb bicycle with a 120-190lb adult meat crayon riding it. That's 250lbs of meat and metal getting slammed by a 4000lb SUV that had the green.
"You stop and double park while you're doing DoorDash or Uber, and you get a ticket for double parking, and there is no consideration for a working man who's trying to do his living,"
Peak NYC... "Yeah, uh, I broke a well known and established law, but I'm working here! Gimme a break!"
"It's because the design and the infrastructure is not there to protect the people who are the most vulnerable..."
Pedestrian and traffic laws exist as a deterrent to keep people from doing stupid and dangerous things. Bike lanes and greenways exist. That's the infrastructure! You're a pedestrian breaking a law that's been implemented because it makes something unsafe for everyone. Maybe don't do the thing that makes things unsafe!?
I bike a lot in San Diego, which has a decent amount of bike lanes. Not a ride goes by without me having to leave the bike lane to go around someone parked in the bike lane. A law is only effective if it is enforced.
Parking in a designated bike lane should be treated like the equivalent of mounting the curb and parking on a sidewalk.
All ages of people use bike-lanes just like all ages of people use sidewalks.
Forcing people onto a full lane of potential deadly traffic should not be taken so lightly.
Being keyed every time they park in a bike lane might change their habbits.
wont that make things worst, since it will cause increased resentment and road rage against bikers.
*Hobbits
You're not wrong, but I wonder how many people are stopping to actually take a pic and notify the police so they can enforce the law. I've never seen it done in my area. I'm sure it happens, but any time I see a cyclist pull into traffic from a bike lane because some idiot's parked illegally, they just go around and ride on. That's part of the problem of enforcement too...
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