Cycling Citations on the Rise

June 04, 2011

Cycling Citations on the Rise

While New York City and the Bloomberg administration have been promoting more bicycling in the city by implementing more bicycle lanes as one way to reduce congestion, the city is also issuing more tickets to cyclists than ever before.

According to the statistics from the borough of Brooklyn, officers wrote about 695 bicycle summonses in February, nearly twice the total from February 2010. A bicycle advocacy group, Transportation Alternatives, estimated that there has been about a 28 percent increase in bicycling in all five boroughs over last year.

The increase in cyclists is not the sole reason for the increase in summonses. Law enforcement cites pedestrian safety as a major factor, due to the fact that many pedestrians now have to fight with cyclists as well as motorists over safe use of city streets.

Many cyclists are not happy. Some have commented that increased enforcement was unnecessary and that they are being targeted as a revenue source. They point out that the city has not released any data indicating that enforcement has led to safer streets or any other tangible benefits. Further, cycling advocates feel that an outreach or education campaign would have been more effective, although ticketing with hefty fines will always catch anyone's attention.

Bicyclists, however, are not considered pedestrians and are subject to the motor vehicle laws. They cannot run red lights or stop signs and cannot ride on sidewalks. Running a red light on a bicycle subjects the offender to the same substantial traffic fine as a motorist. Keeping sidewalks free of bicycles and educating cyclists about the need to obey the traffic laws can only result in safer streets for everyone.

Even though law enforcement would like to crack down on bicyclists who break the law, restraint would be good for public relations. Most bicyclists would be hard pressed to say that they never went through a red light or stop sign or rode on a sidewalk, but most would probably argue that no one was put in jeopardy and that they conducted themselves with safety in mind.

Pedestrians and motorists need to be aware of each other and to communicate by signaling their intentions well ahead of time. If bicycle lanes are present, motorists should carefully observe the presence of cyclists and should always look before turning, especially at intersections where the majority of all accidents occur.

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