NYPD Hands Out Record Number Of Tickets To Bicyclists

The NYPD slapped bicyclists with a record number of tickets for traffic violations this month.

From the New York Post:

Early this month, the police began a ticket blitz targeting bike scofflaws by handing out a slew of summonses to riders who refused to follow basic traffic-safety laws, sources told The Post.

In just the first two weeks of January in Manhattan, cops handed out nearly 1,000 tickets charging wayward riders with breaking the kind of laws many seem to constantly ignore: going the wrong way, running lights, making illegal turns and riding on the sidewalk.

"Bicyclists should travel like vehicles and must obey the same laws," a police source told the Post. "The department and the people are sick of it."

There appears to be no end in sight for the crackdown.

"It's from now until forever," a source said. "There is no set time."

Mark Jensen, a waiter living in Williamsburg, is all for the NYPD's initiative.

"They should abide by the laws that are made for them," Jensen said. "[The police] should give more summonses, and maybe people will obey the laws more."

But cyclist Jan Gorma of Brooklyn, who admitted to running stop signs, says the crackdown is a nuisance.

"I think it's a funny group [cyclists] to target," Gorma said. "We take up such a small portion of the road."

The blog Bike Blog NYC commented on these recent uptick in tickets on the Brian Lehrer show's website: "The NYPD needs to get with the program. The age of alternative transportation is here and being punitive with 270.00 tickets for running a red is not the direction this broke city should be heading especially with an MTA who doesn't disclose it's books and raises fares."

What do you think? Is the NYPD's effort to curb cycling scofflaws justified, or do the police have bigger fish to fry?