NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths

[Tony T]

NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths

New York –

The NYPD has launched a crackdown on unsafe driving as the number of deaths involving bicyclists doubled this year.
Many of those crashes happened in Brooklyn, including a yeshiva bucher who was killed last month when riding his bike in Boro Park. The crackdown also includes a ramping up of speeding fines and adding dedicated bike lanes.
“We have a long way to go to get to our overall goal, and the truth is we’re trying to change the culture,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Inspector Dennis Fulton told ABC News.
For the first five months of this year, 10 people have died while riding bikes in the city. That’s up from five during the same period last year. Police attribute the 100 percent increase to the rising number of people who cycle instead of drive. In 2000, there were approximately 54 million bicycle trips, while 2018 saw that number more than triple to 178 million.
Fulton said that police is deploying more cops to hard-hit neighborhoods and giving out more tickets.
“Last year we wrote 83,000 speeding violations,” he said. “Another thing is failure to yield, summonses were up 265 percent.”

[MagicHour]

That's great as long as the enforcement isn't solely setting up "letter of the law" ticket stings on cyclists (as so often happens in a vicinity immediately proceeding a bike/ped fatality). But hey prove me wrong, would love to not have such a cynical reaction to articles such as this.

Originally Posted by Tony T

NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths

New York –

The NYPD has launched a crackdown on unsafe driving as the number of deaths involving bicyclists doubled this year.
Many of those crashes happened in Brooklyn, including a yeshiva bucher who was killed last month when riding his bike in Boro Park. The crackdown also includes a ramping up of speeding fines and adding dedicated bike lanes.
“We have a long way to go to get to our overall goal, and the truth is we’re trying to change the culture,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Inspector Dennis Fulton told ABC News.
For the first five months of this year, 10 people have died while riding bikes in the city. That’s up from five during the same period last year. Police attribute the 100 percent increase to the rising number of people who cycle instead of drive. In 2000, there were approximately 54 million bicycle trips, while 2018 saw that number more than triple to 178 million.
Fulton said that police is deploying more cops to hard-hit neighborhoods and giving out more tickets.
“Last year we wrote 83,000 speeding violations,” he said. “Another thing is failure to yield, summonses were up 265 percent.”

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by Tony T

NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths

New York –

The NYPD has launched a crackdown on unsafe driving as the number of deaths involving bicyclists doubled this year.
Many of those crashes happened in Brooklyn, including a yeshiva bucher who was killed last month when riding his bike in Boro Park. The crackdown also includes a ramping up of speeding fines and adding dedicated bike lanes.
“We have a long way to go to get to our overall goal, and the truth is we’re trying to change the culture,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Inspector Dennis Fulton told ABC News.
For the first five months of this year, 10 people have died while riding bikes in the city. That’s up from five during the same period last year. Police attribute the 100 percent increase to the rising number of people who cycle instead of drive. In 2000, there were approximately 54 million bicycle trips, while 2018 saw that number more than triple to 178 million.
Fulton said that police is deploying more cops to hard-hit neighborhoods and giving out more tickets.
“Last year we wrote 83,000 speeding violations,” he said. “Another thing is failure to yield, summonses were up 265 percent.”

Well it's better than their previous reactions to cyclist deaths - BLAME AND HARRASS THE VICTIMS!

http://gothamist.com/2017/07/28/gree...st_tickets.php
http://gothamist.com/2019/02/07/visi...clist_nypd.php

[verticaldoug]

Were they wearing helmets and did the bike have a bell?

It's all about the bike bell.

Anyone else ever get the 'no bike bell' ticket crossing the GW? or is that just a Jersey thing.

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

Were they wearing helmets and did the bike have a bell?

It's all about the bike bell.

Anyone else ever get the 'no bike bell' ticket crossing the GW? or is that just a Jersey thing.

Nope.

Got one from new york side.

It's pretty common in most areas.

Any national park will require a bell on your bike as well.

[R3awak3n]

well NYPD is apparently now giving tickets to people that don't have wheel reflectors....

This is all a big waste of time, giving tickets for stupid stuff is not going to solve the problem. They need to improve infrastructure, more protected bike lanes and more awareness instead of just making people have a bad day and some not wanting to ride bikes in the city anymore.

I have pretty much only had bad experiences with the NYPD while on my bike


edit - I guess I did not read the article title at all. However it seems like they are trying to crack down on both drivers and cyclists

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

They need to improve infrastructure, more protected bike lanes and more awareness instead of just making people have a bad day and some not wanting to ride bikes in the city anymore.

Please, no more "protected" bike lanes!

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Please, no more "protected" bike lanes!

everyone that I know that does not ride in the city is because they are afraid of cars... they are not going to ride on shared lanes, more dedicated bike lanes will help with them. Trust me I don't like them, specially when the law now says you have to ride on the bike lanes and sometimes they are unsafe and I will say that a lot of the protected lanes are just terribly thought out so in that case I will agree (1st ave for example, what a pile of crap) but take a look at Amsterdam for example.


For me, the risk/reward of ridding in the city is just not there. I used to enjoy it, now I do it because its the most convenient but I much rather ride my bike for fun instead of a mode of transport

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

everyone that I know that does not ride in the city is because they are afraid of cars... they are not going to ride on shared lanes, more dedicated bike lanes will help with them.

Why is it so important to get these "interested but concerned" people on bikes that we need segregated lanes to make them feel safe? Safety in numbers? I felt much safer cycling in the city when I didn't have to deal with so many idiots on bikes who ride erratically and unpredictably.

[MagicHour]

I'd have to agree with you there, it did feel safer in the 90s and with less lanes, but maybe I was also younger and "stupider". Also pre cell phones (more distracted)and ride-hailing apps (more traffic), bike shares, e-scooters/skateboards, e-bikes etc. etc. <old man shakes fist at cloud Smiley>

Originally Posted by fiamme red

I felt much safer cycling in the city when I didn't have to deal with so many idiots on bikes who ride erratically and unpredictably.

[Dead Man]

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

[BubbleWrap]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

Come ride in the greater NYC area, see how safe you feel. The amount of asshats glued to their phones behind the wheel or being ridiculously aggressive, not giving a single thought to your safety is appalling.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

I'm going to disagree with that first statement. Things have gotten worse on the roads overall. More me! ME! Less patience and understanding.

Also more 'I'M going to get ahead' in traffic by jumping onto the offramp and not exiting or by jamming into the front of the queue making everyone behind them jam on the brakes. ...which makes it worse for everyone, making people think they can 'get ahead' by taking the off-ramp...

That translates into more close passes or unsafe passes when I'm out here riding in what was cow fields.

M

[hokoman]

I was a bike messenger one day a week during my freshman year of college (1994), and it was relatively safe - you could anticipate traffic and who was driving in what direction. I never got into an accident.

I lived in SF when Lyft and Uber became a thing, and the problem was that 75% of the regular cars were now drivers. They would stop in the middle of busy streets, take the most f*cked up u turns, etc. Every car became a hazard.

Fast forward to my relocation to Brooklyn. Same thing as being in SF. You have to watch for every single car. When I ride down from Prospect Park to my house, the bike lane on 9th street is scary. I HATE bike lanes that are between the curb and parked cars in NY. It's a bad idea for SO many reasons. I ride my brakes all the time and everyone passes me.

I can't believe the cops are ticketing people for bells and reflectors. I have a bell, no reflectors. I just ride to and from the park though, and I don't think the cops care in the park.

[seanile]

Originally Posted by hokoman

I lived in SF when Lyft and Uber became a thing, and the problem was that 75% of the regular cars were now drivers. They would stop in the middle of busy streets, take the most f*cked up u turns, etc. Every car became a hazard.

Fast forward to my relocation to Brooklyn. Same thing as being in SF. You have to watch for every single car.

this. a million times over. i've been riding in boston city traffic for a decade and i'm not doing it nearly as often nowadays because riding is getting really stressful! no matter where a car is positioned, every door is liable to be opened by an uber passenger and dislocate my shoulder again.