should cyclists be required to follow the same traffic rules as motorists, or should we recognize that these rules do not always reflect the reality of cycling in a city?
the risks associated with different modes of transport are incommensurate.
A car that runs a red light can cause serious or even fatal injuries.
A cyclist, on the other hand, is unlikely to cause the same degree of damage.
Treating two such different modes of transport the same way, therefore, amounts to implicitly favoring cars, something akin to imposing the same speed limit on pedestrians and trucks.
Since 1982, cyclists in Idaho have been able to treat a stop sign as a yield sign and a red light as a stop sign. Several American states (such as Arkansas, Colorado, and Oregon) and countries, such as France and Belgium, have adopted similar regulations.
Drivers zooming on and off the Williamsburg Bridge in Lower Manhattan are running red lights and creating a harrowing situation for pedestrians and cyclists trying to use the busy intersection — but cops are not only turning a blind eye, but directing their focus towards cyclists instead.
The cops are able to take advantage of the poor design and issue tickets to every cyclist that approaches the intersection.
the NYPD has set up a checkpoint to issue criminal summonses to cyclists as part of Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch's criminal crackdown on biking that started in April.
The checkpoints ticketing cyclists on Delancey as part of the criminal crackdown has been documented on Reddit and observed by Streetsblog, most recently on Oct. 3.
Most drivers who put New Yorkers’ lives at risk with their anti-social behavior will face no consequences for their actions — indeed in 2024, the NYPD averaged fewer than two speeding tickets per precinct per day, according to the agency's own stats.
And the red-light-ticket-writing-rate at the Seventh Precinct — where the notorious intersection is located — is even worse: Just 1.5 red light tickets were written per day in that entire precinct.
“This is the city we live in: Pointless enforcement of bikes, no enforcement of cars"
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/11/11/drivers-run-reds-but-cops-ticket-cyclists-at-dangerous-delancey-intersection
Most drivers who put New Yorkers’ lives at risk with their anti-social behavior will face no consequences for their actions — indeed in 2024, the NYPD averaged fewer than two speeding tickets per precinct per day, according to the agency's own stats.
And the red-light-ticket-writing-rate at the Seventh Precinct — where the notorious intersection is located — is even worse: Just 1.5 red light tickets were written per day in that entire precinct.
“This is the city we live in: Pointless enforcement of bikes, no enforcement of cars"
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/11/11/drivers-run-reds-but-cops-ticket-cyclists-at-dangerous-delancey-intersection
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