Update 4/7/11: Christina Thede’s incident was apparently a random event, but it appears there really is an anti-bike sting going on. I spotted two messengers being ticketed for running a red light at 38th and 6th, the cops were in uniform but driving in a cab. I managed to grab a couple of cell phone shots as they were finishing up. Obey all traffic laws, people, it doesn’t matter if you don’t see any cop cars around. And if a cab tries to pull you over, take a look inside to see if it’s driven by cops before riding away, lest you be hit with a resisting arrest charge.
Original article: This is not an April Fool’s prank. A woman cyclist was stopped on the Upper West Side yesterday for running a red light by an undercover cop. It seems that she didn’t know he was a cop and tried to get away from him, which led to her being arrested for resisting arrest.
Here’s one account from the nycc site:
http://nycc.org/message-board/cyclist-arrested-running-red-light-upper-west-side/50745
From a blog:
http://bridgidbibbens.com/main/?p=360
And from a Facebook posting:
If you or someone you know has pictures or video of the incident please let us know, we’ll try to get it out to the media. In the meantime, be careful out there.
they have been getting pulled over “undercover style” for a while
The NYPD is out of control. what did they expect her to do? any young woman in her right mind would try to run away. this is going to end up costing the city a lot of money, in the end as well. More waste of our tax $$.
I hope she sues the shit out of the city.
WISHNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KELLY!!!!!!!!!!!
SO DICK CUNT!!!!!!
Did a cyclist engage in Bukkake with Ray Kelly’s wife or something? WTF is going on?
Man I thought we had it bad over here in the West, now undercover cops! What did you guys do to pi$$ them off? Time to pony up at the next police community event.
I love that vid.
“…newyork i luv u but u’r freak’n me out” very appropriate.
So NYC’s finest want to pull us over and give us tickets for going through red lights because we can get injured or hurt somebody else. I think there is a better use of there time, such as ticketing cabs doing 55mph down Park ave to try to make an extra green light or two, but I get it. What I dont understand is these same brain surgeons who supposedly want to keep us and pedestrains safer, is that they feel that it is without danger to the cyclist or the surrounding pedestrains to drive two tons of steel at an unsafe speed directly in front of a woman on a bicycle causing her to either slam on her brakes or crash into or over the car.
If there is a God, I pray to him that this young lady is the daughter of somebody extremely important and that these morons are cleaning up the horsesh+t in the police stables for the next year.
…and dangerous.
http://www.austriantimes.at/index.php?id=12484
Tell the Tourist Boards! Blame it on Kelly (guess what, he’s Irish, never thought a cop could be Irish) and Bloomberg (guess what…), rapes and murders are up at record rates, and NYPD priorities are day dreaming cyclists doing no harm to anyone…
NYPD BITCHES!!!
You don’t have to be a racist asshole to feel like the city is fucking you right now. Though it probably helps.
lowest number of officers on the force in 30 years and they waste tax $ on this
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/vanilla-ice-and-naomi-campbell-cool-as-ice/224a59a9b02773807121224a59a9b02773807121-701332587930?q=Vanilla%20Ice
they say a bicycle is a vehicle and thus must abide by the laws governing vehicles. but, why are the laws governing vehicles not applied to cars with the zeal of late?
In NY state, a bicycle is not a vehicle. But, bicyclists are accountable to the same laws (it’s written).
http://www.nycc.org/message-board/cyclist-arrested-running-red-light-upper-west-side/50745
A woman has posted claiming to be the victim and says she is seeing a lawyer tommorow. She is looking for video, photos, witnesses, etc.
Gothamist might do something tomorrow. Hope that’ll get the videos and pictures to her.
Are there any pics yet? People keep promising them but I haven’t seen anything. This is kind of fishy.
Undercover officers Starsky and Hutch were ticketing cyclists on 5th Ave Brooklyn the other day. Feel the adrenalin rush!
Correction: Unmarked car.
Here is the woman’s email if anyone witnessed or has photos/video of this disgrace:
nycgreenbike@gmail.com
I’m the girl who got arrested on Amsterdam yesterday. If you were there or would like to help me in some way, please email nycgreenbike@gmail.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Wq3tJJSvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDlHgkKDUVo
or even more..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5gRIud57jQ
This is why I stopped riding bikes and switched to Crossfit. I can’t stop at lights and I can’t afford the tickets I would collect in this crackdown. The only option that made sense for me was to change sports and start working on my push ups, pull ups, cleans and burpees.
kermit sums it up, great lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eohHwsplvY
Jeff King is AWESOME
Man, I miss a lot of things about NY, including CRCA, but when I get on my bike down here in Princeton and take a sweet ride through the country with few lights or cars, and certainly no cops, I thank God for making the move! Suckas.
Ok this is a site for NYC cyclists. If you only do crossfit and/or live in the burbs, good for you, but as far as your posts about how happy you are NOT to be an NYC cyclist, kindly take them and feck off.
I personally think the word came down from the mayor to recoup the $1 million payout for the critical mass lawsuit from last year. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/nyregion/19critical.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion
I really hope all this harassment eventually leads to another class action lawsuit against the city.
This case has nothing to with assisted suicide and everything to do with two guys who sought to defraud insurance companies and creditors out of millions of dollars.
The irony here is that now that a perpetrator has been convicted of the crime, the widow could possibly appeal to the insurers to make good on their policies against death by violent, criminal means. She’d probably have a case, too.
___
Nothing to do with Red Lights as far as I can tell….
Happened to me recently, also upper west side. Slowed down to safely go through an intersection (probably about 8-9 miles/hr), undercover cop in black unmarked car comes up behind me and tickets me. Two $270 tickets, one for going through a red light, one for “failure to yield to pedestrians” (utter bullshit, I was in no way interfering with any pedestrian). The campaign against bikers by the NYPD is now vicious and out of control.
These NYPD bastards are really pissing me off. Next time, say you have no IDs with you. They can’t ticket you for riding a bicycle without documentations. They can’t search you without any probable causes. Give them a false name and address. See if the tickets would mean anything. One should never pay but to contest the tickets. It will flood and overload their administration works. I think we all should become aware what to do and say if we are stopped by these NYPD bastards. I know I am ready.
To the poster who said pretend you don’t have an ID, STFU and stop giving people stupid advice. Getting stopped on a bike and not having identification will only get you a trip to the precinct, with your bike if you’re lucky. My husband had this happen on a ride, and was forced to wait there until I went to the precinct with his ID and he still got a summons!
Has anyone gotten to the point where they’ve said they don’t have ID and then been asked for info anyway, and given false info? I would think they would just run it and see that you are fucking around, and then you are in even more shit.
Well, by law, we are not required to carry IDs anyway when we go out. Why would riding a bicycle would be different. I would probably give them my real name but give them my old address. I think my name is very common.
just means prolonged stay in the tombs, have fun with that.
That’s terrible advice. What you suggest is actually a felony and could result in significantly worse punishment than a $100 fine.
Misdemeanor, actually, but the point remains that giving false information to nypd is a very very bad idea. What could start as a ‘routine’ ticketing could very quickly turn into a trip to your arraignment on false personation charges.
what an idiot victor is. Any advice based on “what can they do to you” is awful
i got “pulled over” in piermont and didn’t have ID. i was informed that if i gave any false information, i would be arrested on the spot. he ran it on the computer to verify who i was. i would assume that the same goes in the good ole’ city…that is, definitely not a good idea to give false information to a police officer.
I have a good idea what “feck off” means and I don’t like it. I was just trying to be helpful by offering alternatives to pedalling your bicycles in laps around central park and dodging cops. Most of you guys would be really good at jumping jacks. I haven’t been able to convince Andy to come to the crossfit competitions to take photos but if any of you guys want to see some pics of me doing push ups and burpees, please contact me offline.
Yeah, is your license number attached to your name on their database? You can tell them who you are and where you live. If your license number isn’t automatically attached to their database, they can’t deduct points on your driving record. Is it even legal to deduct points on your drive record if you ran a red light on a bicycle. The license is for driving a motor vehicle. Frankly, I would want them to do all the work to find out who I am then voluntarily giving them more information than necessary. Of course, you contest the charges. BTW, some of these cops are rookies (I have my own interesting encounters with a rookie cop writing me tickets for driving without wearing a seat belt and documentations). The tickets were thrown out because they didn’t show up on the hearing. Of course, always conduct your conversation with the cops in a polite manner. Hey, this is what I would do. I need to cool down a bit and reading article like this isn’t helping…
Let me provide an alternative view. City is geting shit and pushback for the bike lanes. They don’t want to remove them, but a good way to get people to complain less is if we don’t run red lights and come close to hitting pedestrians. So a little ticketing makes us more likely to stop at lights, it should lower bike lane complaints. I can easily see them using this logic. I don’t agree, because I don’t think the bike lane complaints are based on dangerous cyclists. That’s just the less douchey way of saying there’s less parking, less driving lanes, and my view of Prospect Park is now marred. Bike lanes aren’t making people run lights more. The people I see in the lanes are more apt to stop at lights. It’s the people who continue to ride in traffic who run every light they can (i do both, commute in bike lane, ride in traffic on my racing bike en route to training/races)
CrossFit poses an elevated risk of rhabdomyolysis
please take a while and calm down, you aren’t making sense. You’re encouraging people to withhold and/or give false info one minute and the next you’re saying to always be polite and helpful. You want them to do as much work as possible? All that means is you arrive in the same place after having sat on your ass by the side of the road for much longer.
Parts of the city administration may like bike lanes and bicyclists, but another part (the NYPD) is at war with them them and wants to do everything it can to stop bicycling in the city. They’ve had some success at getting rid of bicycling in the park, now they’re at work to stop bicycling in the rest of the city. Abusive harassment of safe bicyclists to the point of getting them to stop using their bikes is what is going on now, justified by pointing to delivery people or bicyclists who ride unsafely (who are NOT getting ticketed, the undercover cops are NOT going after them, they’re going after everyday people slowly, safely trying to ride their bikes to work or enjoy the park. They were ticketing people for doing 15 mph down a hill, for chrissakes…).
I have another incidence in NJ too. It was right by the Columbia University Observation center. There is a dip section and traffic lights. The cops were some 500 meters up the road and so as you bombed down the section, you can’t see them. I ran the red light and pulled over. There were maybe 2 more cyclists being debriefed also. I showed respects to the NJ troopers while acting clueless as to why I was pulled over. I had this confuse look on me. Then, I and the 2 cyclists were informed that we ran the light. I acted surprised and somewhat shocked too. We were only given a warning and were on our ways afterward.
You have to neutralize the tension (showing respects to the cops) while not putting yourself in a liable position. In this case, you don’t want to voluntarily provide more information then necessary beyond the legal realm.
What if you don’t pay the tickets? Well, if your name on the tickets isn’t attached legally to your license number or your social security number or your car, the city can’t not proceed to collect the money through the legal means.
BTW, does anyone know that if your name and address would automatically be attached to your driving license number?
PLEASE, for the love of creatures big and small, DO give tickets to the restaurant delivery people on their motorized “bicycles” who wouldn’t know a traffic rule if it bit them in the moo shu. They are going to kill somebody soon if not controlled better.
jackboot thugs.
for the love of god, yes. your name, address, ssn, etc……they will find you. and even if they don’t, if you get stopped again ever for any reason, it’s a night in jail my friend. it is not worth it. give them your real frickin name and address and please, please, cease and desist from this line of reasoning.
Would this idea work??? You carry only your NYS ID not your driver license with you. If you are driving a car, you can get ticketed for driving without a driver license. You can’t get ticketed for riding a bicycle without a driver license. For the purpose of having an ID, you can just use and carry your NYS ID with you. At least, this way, points won’t get deducted on your driving record. Of course, this is all depending on if your NYS ID and your driver license are linked.
Your NYS ID & driver’s license have the same id number. So they are linked. Give them a college library card with a picture, a fake DOB, and a fake address. Simple, but still, stop at every light and be Johnny law-abiding. It is not worth the hassle. If you are ballsey, you can evade them by not acknowledging them and run, rabbit, run!
Look for the black stripe on the side panel. That’s a porkmobile.
stop it! points will not be put on your drivers license for tickets received on bike.
will this work? how about i shove my idea up my ass and tell the cops that’s where it is?
to solve the problem in the streets, stop going through red lights. Hopefully it will ease the tension in other areas such as central park. tired of being in the same category as an inconsiderate messenger riding down the wrong way on 6th avenue and weaving around pedestrians. stop blaming everybody in society because you have problems with following the rules.
Yes if you give your license as ID points will be included on a red light summons. the vtl code is the same 1192 d1.
Second you are not supposed to retain a non drivers I.D and A drivers license. it is one or the other. If you carry other approved I.d which I believe is a passport, you will not be subject to being hauled into the station house to verify I.D and you specialized Tarmac with Zipps get thrown into the truck of a Police Car. remember if you give a wrong name ( I have seen this before) and that person has an open warrant guess what? you get arrested and could spend 30 hours in jail trying to properly identifying yourself.
Oh I forgot to say, that I told the cop that my name was Jeff King, and I memorized JKIA’s information, so it worked. I suggest anyone that wants to give “real” information to the police, do the same.
1111 d1 wrong code.
With rights come rules. In hindsight it was better without the bike lanes.
no, no, no, no, no!!!!!
you do NOT get points on your license. a) I’ve been through it 3 times, trust me, no points. b) what sense does it make to give one group (drivers) a more excessive penalty than another (non drivers). you, my friend, are an assclown
At the exact spot where I received a red light ticket – technically a right on red – from Prince St. onto 6th ave. south a couple of months back, I still run the light. but when I say run, I mean literally run. I dismount, walk about 15 feet to 6th ave. and then remount and yield into traffic. As far as I can tell this is perfectly legal.
BTW, I hope everybody on here realizes that the police probably look at this site too. Probably get quite a chuckle at that, Kelly included.
Did you file a POLICE REPORT or was a Police Report filed about the entire incident.
Perhaps getting a copy of that report would be STEP #1;
STEP #2. Scan the report and put it on NYCC or NYVELOCITY.
If this is the new tactic by NYPD, then we are in a WAR situtaion with these bastards and I for one won’t be giving ANY ID or any info to these THUGS.
NYCGREENBIKE, you need to get a paper trail, a lawyer and fight these thugs IMMEDIATELY.
If you remain silent on this, more of the same will continue.
Well, definitely not “perfectly legal” since it is obviously jaywalking. True, they don’t seem to ticket for that, but I really don’t think a cop will stop himself from giving you a ticket based on this inane urban cyclocross. they aren’t above lying and I think this would just piss them off in it’s stupidity. just because you haven’t doesn’t mean “it works”.
i can guarantee you they could care less about this site, or what anyone thinks of what they are doing. hell, they still use typewriters.
one last thing. if, like many on this site, myself included, you ride clipless, your idiotic urban cyclocross is much more of a pain in the ass than stopping at a light. unclip, look cleats on pavement while moving…no thanks.
Last fall i was given a ticket for riding on the sidewalk…maybe 50 feet to my front door…early in the morning, not a soul in sight…and only because there was a cop car sitting in the bike lane.
it was one of those where you have to show up in court. When my case comes up, I discover that the cops had lied and written that there were pedestrians on the sidewalk…even though there was no one within a mile that I could see.
The NYPD are liars.
http://www.flexyourrights.org/faq/120
This site above explains what you have to do or NOT have to do once asked for ID, or being arrested or having been arrested and brought to precinct.
There’s a big difference between what you can “legally” do when asked for ID by a cop (not show it, in some cases) and the reality of a rookie and/or dickhead cop who just wants to hassle you for being a smartass bicyclist who knows his rights. He will haul you in (even though he’s “wrong”) and then weeks/months later you can prove to the judge (the cop won’t even bother showing up to court) that you’re “right.”
Christina Thede
@ crabon,
That’s truth. That’s why cops HATE cameras.
@ex,
Not sure if you understood, no jaywalking involved. I’m not crossing the street against the light, I’m just basically making a right turn from a one way street to a one way avenue by dismounting at the red light, walking on the sidewalk like I’m supposed to, then remounting curbside around the corner and merging into traffic like a parked motor vehicle would. Also no clipless involved when commuting, just clips, straps and slip-on sneakers. Is it stupid? Probably, but so are the current traffic laws for cyclists. And you would know the police and typewriters how exactly? I stopped into my local precinct last month and didn’t see a single one. Finally, everyone here thanks you for displaying your 12 year old mental maturity level.
you’re saving about 3 seconds with that move, and I’m the 12 yo. Kudos. (ps – there are many, many stories about how behind the times nypd is, hardly even employing email, google it, weenie)
so i guess you are wrong.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/14/nyc-keeps-ahead-of-the-curve-invests-1-million-into-typewriter/
(more of the same)
http://gothamist.com/2009/07/13/nypd_typewriters.php
All you sleuths out there need to call the 20th Precinct the one that arrested this lady and get the FACTS.
There’s much more to this than a red light and I fear you’ve been duped!
i know you are joking, but i don’t really like you using my name. thanks. (is that you, CJ?)
Instead of just bitching about it why dont all of you just email/mail/call the hell out of city hall. If they get a few hundred emails/phone calls every week with people complaining it may force someone to get the cops to calm down.
Ok, so you posted an excellent and proactive comment-do you know what number/office is the best way to get their attention (effectively)? Or specific name?
i’m not presnky!
Fake Presnky to Mengoni
i just saw tri pod cops giving out tickets today on CPW to riders!!!
I just saw a group of segway cops beatdown a scooter cop.
Speeding? Red lights? Are they tourist riders?? Locals?
This Sunday @ 11am, there’s a fun ride to support the PPW bike lane.
At the finish there’ll be cupcakes from Blue Sky, Bark dogs, free T-shirts and more.
Check out the deets here: http://weridethelanes.com/
Weather is looking good. Spread the word!
nypd are raping chicks in the east village, sodomizing dudes in the subway, skimming bj’s from under-age girls in riverside park, and the list goes on… harrassing cyclists to this extent is how they try re-invigorate their image?
of this story in Gothamist or Streetsblog is starting to make me suspicious of the facts in this story.
I spoke with someone at Gothamist, the woman won’t speak with them until she consults with lawyer.
Smart move on her part.
she is smart. one will lose when it’s their word against a cop. a witness might tip it in her favor. i remember a case a few years back that was in the news. woman places trash a guy parked in a car had just thrown out of the car and on to the curb. turns out to be a cop, can’t remember if he was on duty or not. he jumps out of the car steamed and grabs her. reflexively, she elbowed him and fought back hard. he gets pissed, throws her down, hits her, cuffs and arrests her. no witness. she got no where with the case and the arrest stood.
Yes, I get her not talking to the press before consulting a lawyer, but I would have expected a short initial report from either the Gothamist or Streetsblog with a full report to follow when more info is known from the victim/witnesses.
I would have to, that is why I contacted Gothamist, but I understand their decision that they don’t have much to go on for the moment. I think it’s a difficult call, and I agree that I would have expected a short something with an update to follow, but oh well.
Here is the funny part. Guys, you know we don’t drive, right?? I have no driver license on me. I told the cop that I have my credit card. He insisted that I must have a photo ID on me. I showed him my wallet. You should see the look on his face. Actually, he stopped me but without telling me why and immediately asked me for an ID. I made sure I stopped in front a store with people standing outside. You know, in case shit gets worst I would have witnesses. The owner of the store asked me what happened I told them the cop thought that I ran through a red light. Of course I did no such a thing. Me, running through a red light. Never.
I gave him my credit card and told him where I live and my DOB. About 5 minutes later, he came out with his partner and asked me to sign the ticket. This gets interesting. He said I needed to sign it because I have no ID on me. When it becomes a crime and a liability to not carry a photo ID. I said sure but let me read what he wrote on it. Oh my dear god, he covered his notes with his hand to prevent me from reading it. And he expected me to sign it. I told him I ain’t sign shit without reading what he wrote. He got so disappointed that he went back to his car. I was on my way. Few words and sarcasm exchanged between me and him. I told him I would see him in court and he would be very busy.
What is on the ticket??? Only what I told him… Yes, only what I told him…
All of these posts are a waste of energy. This lady has another reason fro being arrested, but none of you pseudo-cops have bothered to get the FACTS.
How about calling the 20th and as a concerned citizen ask what exactoly happened.
Just like I did on Tuesday.
Fools!
was about bike racing and hating on Lance?
i’m still waiting, where is the funny part?
Only if cycling and racing in NYC is that simple anymore….:) We can’t stop these cops but we have to prepare to deal with them. With my ticket, frankly, I can just ignore it. It won’t even stand in the court of law. Like anything else related to the government, if you ignore it, you are assumed to be guilty. I have time. I will have a hearing. No, the cop wasn’t able to extract any information about me other than what I told him. Take it for what is worth…. Considering my encounter as a form of experiment if you have on Government ID on you and you don’t drive… Yes, you don’t drive… Stay alert and safe…
I meant to say that you have no government ID on you and you don’t drive…. Carry a gym membership card or your library card.
Can we get a ruling on whether I need to carry ID with me? I have my USA cycling license and maybe a credit card. Is that enough?
http://www.nycc.org/message-board/full-story-my-arrest-sunday/50804
this story absolutely sucks in every way. http://gothamist.com/2011/04/06/cop_nearly_doors_cyclist_then_chase.php
good movie. some cops could easily exist on either side of the law
sometimes a bitch got to be put in place
Okay, she should be arrested for riding with her seat too low and palping a pie plate 🙂
Has anyone gone to a hearing on their ticket? Or the traffic court system is swamped with hearings that your schedule has been postponed? How did it go?
I just went downtown to plead not guilty to two tickets, earliest court date they could give is mid-August. I suspect that very few of the recent “bike-lash” tickets have yet had hearings, instead they’ve just filled up the hearing schedule for 4 months.
By the way, the tickets say on them that you have to respond within 15 days and that you can do it on-line, but they don’t enter the tickets into the on-line system for at least 30 days (they’re swamped too). So, the on-line system is kind of useless, except that they don’t really do anything after 15 days, you can wait the 30 until the tickets show up in the system.
Sorry to hear that Juliette. What if you don’t drive??? Carrying a passport is fine. Any photo ID is good even if you don’t have a government ID. The problem with your husband is that he failed to provide proper ID to identify himself. As it has been mentioned before, this would mean you may be escorted to the precinct for finger printing. Where was this happened? If in NYC, it is not uncommon that you don’t drive. If this was happened in NJ, it can be a bit hard to believe….
Also by instilling fear, you are not empowering us at all with these NYPD finest. You want to be like this? Fine with me.
I got a ticket in January. It didn’t go into the online system until February at which point I promptly pled not guilty. I was given a choice of three days mostly in June for a hearing. I chose 6/15.
I’m also curious about how the process will go. Already assuming it will take all day…
Especially if your drivers license number wasn’t written on the ticket. When do it in person, from what I have been told, they would ask you for your driver license. What this means that they are able to attach your name to your car, your driving record, and your insurance company, as well as confirmation of your residence. Why would you want to do that? Send it in by mail with certified mail with return of receipt as proofs that you have responded to the ticket postmarked within 15 days. The more sloppy the NYPD finest on the ticket, the more likely the ticket would get dismissed. The more information they have about you, the more likely you will become liable.
this sh!t is just beyond the pale! Is this really a legit use of department manpower?
In my opinion, it’s a waste of NYPD manpower, but what do I know. If it makes delivery guys and messengers ride more cautiously that’s great, we won’t be tarred with the same brush. My main intent in posting this is so one of us isn’t arrested and cuffed for dodging an out of control cab.
Andy,
This is an on-going campaign not against delivery people/messengers riding unsafely but against ALL bikers in New York. It’s going on in the Park (where there are no delivery people/messengers) and all over. It doesn’t matter how slowly and safely you are riding, if you’re riding a bike in Manhattan, you’re a target and they’ll try and get you on some sort of charge, no matter how ridiculous (15mph in the Park?).
What is a traffic ticket to the NYPD and the city? More revenues. To us, it is a civil offense. We aren’t engaging in any criminal activities. It is hard to argue that by ticketing cyclist breaking some of the minor traffic infractions, the city is made safer. I believe the NYPD has done a cost analysis to see if the money spent on these “special assignment” is worth it. I guess they think it is worth it in terms of the revenue it can generate from the fines. If every cyclist is able to contest every ticket out there, the traffic court will be overloaded and it may even cost the city more money to handle all these hearings. If 50% of these tickets issues won’t stand a chance in the court of law due to NYPD finest sloppy work, the while operation would be a failure.
Yes, I know it’s against all cyclists. I was coyly insinuating that this crowd would never ride recklessly. I’m not working when I’m riding through Midtown Manhattan, so I have no problem taking my time and stopping at the lights.
please stop. the misinformation you are spreading is ridiculous. first, advising people not to carry id is terrible. I’m also quite sure this has nothing to do with revenue. Almost all of these are getting thrown out. The cop who ticketed me TOLD me to go to court, that it would be thrown out.
Victor to Mengoni
I don’t think this is about revenue, it’s politics. The NYPD chief hates bicyclists, bicycle lanes, and the pro-bike Transportation Commissioner. This is his payback. He’s well aware that NYC cyclists are a small minority, that most people will think “oh yeah, those crazy messengers/delivery guys, glad someone is sticking it to them”.
And you believe him or her??? OK….:) You like to get pushed around by cops and pay the fines, fine by me…
@so tired,
That’s what the officer that ticketed me also said, to contest it and that it’ll get knocked down to a $40 summons at the most. That was after he literally said “I’m sorry” one or two times.
BTW, all the fire seems to be on red light tickets, but wrong way riding to my mind is much more dangerous to all involved than carefully proceeding through a red light at an empty intersection. Not to give the NYPD any more ‘great’ ideas, but IMHO they should also concentrate on that.
try to follow me. chances are that you pay LESS in fines going to court than PLEADING GUILTY and prepaying. It has nothing to do with believing the cop. Many friends have gone already, all are being tossed as NOT GUILTY. It is absolutely impossible to “get out of paying fines” by not going to court.
mikeweb,
If this was a pro-safety campaign, you’d see ticketing for wrong-way or other unsafe riding. Instead what’s going on is ticketing for perfectly safe riding. Looking for unsafe cycling behavior to ticket would require some effort and wouldn’t upset the Transportation commissioner or most cyclists. Sitting in unmarked (or camouflaged) cars, going after cyclists safely going through empty intersections is trivially easy and very effective payback targeted at people the NYPD chief doesn’t like. The cop who ticketed me also seemed ashamed at what he was doing. They know what’s going on.
Marcionne,
I probably realized that, but hoping for sanity. Another point: if it was a pro-safety ‘crackdown’, the NYPD would be focusing on motor vehicles, which cause something like 99.6% of all pedestrian (and cyclist) deaths.
Payback for the court rulings in favor of CM? Anti-bike lane fueled road rage? A pissing contest between Sadik-Khan and Kelly? Who cares. Either way we’re stuck in the middle. I think I now know what it would’ve felt like to be a protester at the ’68 Democratic convention (or the ’04 Republican one). How long before we get to the Kent State stage.
This is what happens when you are at a hearing. You will be facing an administrative judge. He or she isn’t a real judge but just a traffic clerk who somewhat understands about the traffic laws and whether or not a ticket is valid due to technicality. As well as the legal defense you use to defend yourself.
If you don’t contest the ticket and ignoring it, I am sure you have researched it as to what may happen. You will lose by default. It is called a default judgment in which the defendant fails to appear on the hearing. Nothing criminal and don’t freak out. Your license may get suspended. Points will get deducted no matter what. The court may proceed with legal means to get the money. If the court clerk enters your ticket information as a bicycle infraction, it would not affect your driving record and etc. If you fail to mention it, he or she may enter it as a moving violation of a vehicle. All of these are contingent on your drivers license number, period. Yes, your drivers license number. I don’t want to spell it out. NYC cyclists are not the only cycling group who has been targeted. Is all over the web and go google it. Bringing your drivers license with you is not recommended.
The cops are in no way or form can determine if you will get off the hook. It is up to the administrative judge and whether or not you can provide a satisfactory legal defense. Or if the cop does not show up, you win by default. What the copy meant to say, in your case, maybe that he won’t show up at all. It is beyond me why you would even need to pay a lesser fine if the ticket would get thrown out…. This only happens if you contest the ticket on a hearing and lost. And you plead the judge for a reduced fine….
I got two CP red light tickets last year. One at the Delacorte Theater light, the other at the Engineers Gate light. I had to appear in criminal court and definitely before a judge. Ticket one’s judge one ripped me a new asshole about dangerous cyclists and gave me a 200 fine. Ticket two’s judge looks at the ticket, say’s in so many words that he wasn’t even aware that this was illegal and gives me a warning.
please stop. one last time – your license number (that you seem obsessed with) is only an extension of your social security number, which they will obtain. whether you drive or not is immaterial, it doesn’t matter. if you fail to act on a ticket, it’s not like not paying a late fee at the library. If you get caught for anything else, ever again, you will go to jail. period. it’s not worth it. I have no idea what bad advice you are dishing out or why you are so hell bent on doing it, but stop.
Probably common knowledge, but undercover taxi-cops have different numbers on the plate and the medallion. A real taxi has the same numbers on both.
Not necessarily true. Cop taxis, however, will never have ads on top
Are you a cop? You can’t get arrested for not paying the fine unless you are driving with a suspended license. Your personal information can’t be used or readily available without a court order. I know more than you think. I am not a lawyer but I have successfully represented myself over a debt collection lawsuit. I have fought and won two traffic tickets before the Brooklyn administrative judge. I maybe lucky because the cop never showed up. You can’t scare me….
He’s a jail lawyer.
Please shut the fuck up!!
Ok, I will shut up now. I don’t want the NYPD to get more creative and pro-active on their crackdown….
Thank God
http://forums.bicycling.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/681104717/m/6131068105/p/5
Scroll at the bottom. Very informative read. I wonder what Bob Mionske would say about the whole ID issues. He has a book though. It is called http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Law-Your-Rights-Cyclist/dp/1931382999/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302218576&sr=8-1
I was visiting the city this weekend and saw and undercover taxi turn its lights on and take off through the red lights. It blew my mind.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2007/08/news/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske-your-papers-please_13038
http://velonews.competitor.com/2008/06/news/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske-your-papers-please_77944
Do cop taxi drivers take cash or credit?
two guys in the front, For Hire light is out, no passengers in the back, and tell tale is the W in the hack license.
“- W – -“, its a cop…
They are usually called in to be on the scene at bar fights and drug deals…not normally used for patrol unless the hood you are in is “hot”…or the unmarked DT, black wheels, caprice classic or similar, again looks like a livery but its not…badges usually tucked under shirt and have a ball-chain necklace…do not f with these guys…they will use more than enough force to bring you down…fights, open containers, drugs, they are real deal riff raff themselves…sorry this girl got wise cracking with them, they were probably in high stress situation and set them off…always remain clam with unmarked (less accoutnable, and will go that far…)
peace
This issue has come up with my recent discussion. Although the NYC traffic court does not acknowledge that you have a right to a speedy trial, it is your constitutional right to have one. The time period is 45 days from the day you have entered your plead. If the court date is beyond 45 days, don’t accept the court date. Head down to the court where you are supposed to have a hearing and speak to the clerk about invoking your right to a speedy trial. He or she should tell you what you need to do to file such a motion. Again, I am not a lawyer and so I don’t know the exact civil legal procedures you must do to file such a motion. Your local court should have some sort of free legal counsel that would assist you. During your actual hearing, you can tell the judge that the case should be dismissed because your right to a speedy trial has been denied. And the officer’s account as to what happened is no longer accurate… Cops write maybe 20 tickets a day and over the course of 2 to 3 months, they may not remember you or even remember what happened.
http://www.worldlawdirect.com/article/903/fighting-speeding-ticket.html
Came flying down the park drive and spotted a police interceptor (three wheeled 1 passager vehicle) at the last moment in front of The Boathouse. Slammed on both brakes and went a few feet into the crosswalk through the red light. Intercetor 3996 pulls out in front of me, slides open his window and says “you dont have to do that no more”. “Just be careful. Chief ain’t like that no more.” And he drove away.
So they may be relaxing the rules in CP but increasing the enforcement outside the park.
Then on the way out at 90th and 5th (Engineer’s Gate) I saw a Fred getting ticketed there for what I assumed was going through that light or riding the wrong way on 90th. So if that is the way you get into the park, go west on 91st then south on 5th, not the wrong way up 90th street or north on 5th aveneue after the correct way up 89th.
Would a Dunkin Donuts kit get you pulled over?
first, traffic court in NYC is not real court in the sense that you don’t go before a real judge. Your rights are very limited compared to a real court. Don’t believe anything a cop tells you. It’s against the law for you to lie to cop but it is perfectly legal for them to lie to you. I’ve had cops lie to me with a straight face. It’s obvious they practice it enough that most folks will not be able to tell when they are lying. In NYC chances of a cop not showing up to court are pretty slim. The reason is that court dates are scheduled around the cops work schedule. When a cop goes to court he has a bunch of cases lined up for him. Not showing up to court is not good. A traffic infractions have minimum fines which are automatically give to you, so the $40 fine the cop told you about was a lie. The only way to get a lower fine is to get a plea deal where you agree to something else with a lower fine. If the cop really wants to be nice to you what they can do is show up to court and then say they lost their notes and don’t wish to proceed with the case. It happens, but not often.
If you got a ticket and are nervous, I suggest you go to traffic court and sit in for a while. These are public hearings and as long as you don’t do anything stupid, you can sit in. You can then get an idea of how the whole process works.
CP tickets are a misdemeanor and one must appear in criminal court as one of the previous poster stated
Good cop, bad donut.
Boy I can’t wait to get the fuck out of NYC this place sucks ass no wonder people are leaving here in droves.
Everyhing is a fuckin rule and a law,there’s no freedom anymore.NYShitty and it’s stinking politics.
don’t forget to run a red light on your way out. bye!
Seriously I hate to generalize but the police brass are a bunch of racist drunks.The cops themselves are a bunch naive moron kids (especially the rookies),I can’t understand why they don’t realize they are just pawns in a bigger game of politics.
cop logic,one of the many reasons why I hate NYSHITTY
Listen, when you’re in a dark Brooklyn subway station at night, all alone, and you’re accosted by a bunch of thugs trying to shove a walkie-talkie antennae up yer keester, who you gonna call? Oh wait, the police are the ones doing that to you… Woops, nevermind.
seriously that happened to my mom in the early 70’s,they beat her up and threw here in the tracks.
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/are-cyclists-required-to-carry-identification/
Cops have been giving messengers tickets for over 12 years now…
There are also groups of NYPD’s finest riding around on un-marked scooters ticketing- they look just like messengers on scooters and are patrolling mid-town.
I saw them the other morninging convene in front of my building (30’s east side) and have some meeting on tactics with a uniformed officer directing tactics. And then again in front of my work building ticketing a cyclist.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the NYPD pulling over a lot more vehicle drivers too. Two mornings in the last few days they’ve been set up on Chrystie St. right at the Manhattan bridge off ramp ticketing drivers for whatever. I actually made a right on red onto Chrystie from the bike lane and they didn’t bat an eye. Maybe either a *real* street safety campaign or just to pad the numbers so they can say ‘see, we’re not just targeting cyclists, we’re giving out more tickets to everyone’. Next move? Watch your back pedestrians. Not.
Yes they have been pulling over cars much more lately.This is how these asshole run things…..They speculate and waste tax dollars,then when were up to our eyeballs in debt and there isn’t anymore money they go on a ticket frenzy to justify their jobs and to raise cash.
I got stopped today on Kimball ave in Yonkers this morning for running a light.Of no consequence to anyone else of course but the faggot ass police man stated how he’s concerned for my saftey….Oh really?
I got a ticket so I will need to appear in court.
fuck the police!
ah the “faggot ass police man”
Way to ruin whatever support you may have recieved for your unfortunate circumstance.
Maybe that “faggot ass cop” wouldn’t have stopped you if you weren’t sending him signals with your brightly colored Lycra.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the police set up on Chrystie are actually set up IN the bike lane: a van, a car and a half dozen safety jacketed traffic cops milling around. Funny this didn’t even occur to me until now. Chalk it up to just being so used to cop cars and every other type of vehicle blocking bike lanes all the time, that it just seems normal.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ticket-quotas-20110412,0,2790462.story
You sound upset about Hamza’s post regarding faggot ass cops, please refrain from riding behind me.
I’m glad those 2 L.A. cops were awarded the 2 million.They saw the wrong in the system and acted.Although it cost taxpayers money ANYWAY.
Yeah you gotta be a real dick to give a cyclist a ticket for running a light.Then telling him “I’m concerned for your saftey”….get the fuck outta here!
The problem is:
The popularity of cycling has grown.
NYC is increasingly more crowded.
NYC is becomming poorer (people are leaving NYC and being replaced by lower earners)
A lot of these new riders don’t know how to ride to the right of the road causing complaints to officials.
Quotas
Over leveraging by local and federal governments.
Modern peoples habits of laziness.
Bad politics.
On the street bike lanes are a waste of money.
Bad maintainence.
Way to many cops,so they have to justify their jobs.
I saw an undercover taxi cab cop who had pulled over a commuter on a folding bike at 6th ave & 12th this a.m. at about 8:15.
I didn’t stop to take pictures, but I did notice that black door guards that someone here had pointed out as being a sign of a “pork mobile” were spray painted yellow.
There is nothing new in NYC bike riding patterns – especially not caused by this mysterious influx of lower earning cyclists you allude to. Cyclists always broke laws and still do. The city is just now cracking down. I personally think it’s great. Running red lights is a hazard to everyone around, as is riding on the sidewalk, as is riding against traffic, as is not yielding to pedestrians. Grow up people and get your heads out of your arses. It’s a bicycle, not a freedom to do whatever the fuk you want card.
cops should ticket the half blind chinese food delivery guy smoking a cigarette and riding his electric bike the wrong way up 3rd avenue with occasional trips on the sidewalk.
actually, they should cite the restaurant for unsafe moo shoo delivery practices.
They absolutely should ticket those guys. They pose the must dangerous threats to pedestrians. Especially now with their faster electric bikes.
I get pissed at the seeming inability of everyone to distinguish between ‘running red lights’, versus stopping at a red light, looking around, seeing no vehicles within a block and no pedestrians in a 40 yard radius and slowly proceeding through. Sure, technically it’s illegal, though anyone with a sliver of common sense would say that it’s an acceptable practice. When riding around most parts of the city during rush hour there’s so much car and foot traffic you end up waiting for the green anyway. However, shoving you and your bike through a busy crosswalk (perhaps even going the wrong way and/or on an electric bike) so that you can shoot a gap between vehicles only to get to another red light 120 feet away, beyond being unsafe and illegal is also called being an asshole. THIS should be punishable by a u-lock beating.
Whenever I’m riding I simply think WWDAD?
David Anthony to NYPD.
In my neighborhood the delivery guys never get tickets for riding DANGEROUS on the sidewalk because the cops get discounts in restaurants and fast food. I was pulled over for biking against traffic veeery slow for 30 feet at Delancey street on my way to Williamsburg bridge and there were no cars actually. The cops sent me to the criminal court for “reckless operating bicycle” because they were very concerned about my safety. It must be a phrase that they are obligated to say. The most stupid thing is that they told me I can go to court whenever I want before the court date. Well I went before the date and after 45 minutes on the line I was told that my big criminal case can’t be reviewed earlier. Ha! Lost another half day. And I have to go back again!!!!
I guess the cops are very proud of themself when they get home and when their kids ask them “did u catch any big gangsta today?” The cop would say “Yeaah, the biggest one- bicyclist running on red light at empty intersection or running against the traffic on empty street. What kind of person must you be to have a dream to become a cop and ticket people for nothing???? I respect cops if they really apply the laws against real criminals.