Whoa, not cool.

That's BS, if the markings are directing you to the sidewalk, then it's reasonable to follow them

Soooo...how is it the cyclists fault if they are deceived by following directions off of the proper path? Did the cops set up the detour?

If the cops themselves are directing traffic to the sidewalk, it's straight-up entrapment.

If some other entity directed that traffic, that entity should be held responsible, not the bikers who are simply paying attention to their surroundings.

Its entrapment through and through but likely going to be completely overlooked. If there is one thing my family has learned about NYC its that their police, and medical professionals are complete and total morons.

Not once in any of our dealings with them including the most recent one where a drunk driver nearly killed my sister by ramming her car under a trailer have they EVER exhibited the least bit of common sense.

Hell in that previous example they let the obviously very drunk to both the trailer drive and my sister as they could smell him GO. Yes they didnt arrest him, didnt ticket him they just let the stupid guy go. The insurance company ended up having to foot the bill for a drunk driver.

Don't bet against police using the infamous "Ignorance of the law is no excuse".

Huh, I would have thought Chicago would have thought up this strategy first.

"Yeah I have one DWI that was a bogus charge, because it turns out that they were stopping every vehicle traveling down that particular sidewalk. And that's profiling, and profiling is wrong!"

- Ron White

Anyway, I hate these sidewalk rules in smaller towns; I can kind of understand in large, crowded cities. There's nothing more infuriating than some idiot riding his bike in the middle of the road with a sidewalk not 10 feet from him, only because he must or be ticketed. There's no logical reason why people can't ride their bikes on empty or mostly empty sidewalks. I can remember two simple steps from my youth that either rider or walker followed:

1. Walker moves out of the way.
2. Bicyclist moves out of the way.

Wow, that was damn complicated!

biking on the sidewalk is illegal but getting hit by a car because you didn't ride on the sidewalk is idiotic.

@blackmage439: Or they both move out of the way. In that case, you may have a problem.

@OletheaEurystheus: Morons? Nonsense, a large chunk of all city and county police everywhere are criminals themselves. Foxes in the henhouse. Schoolyard bullies with hall monitor sashes.

ESPECIALLY in small towns, where you can make national news for molesting a special needs kid in a cop car on the job and be back on the force as a sheriff's deputy in two years.

Urban planning for maximum profit. Interesting idea.

Not trying to star a flame war here but what about the common sense approach and getting off your bike and walking it when you get to the sidewalk?

I'm pretty sure if a sign told me to take a piss on the sidewalk I would.

Sounds like the crime rate in NYC is completely under control if the police have the manpower for this.

Check your city and state signage laws if you get in a similar situation. It's not entrapment if the officers are simply taking advantage of poorly or improperly designed traffic devices, but they also can't ticket you for following those traffic devices, even if they're wrong or broken.

Well, they can ticket you, but you can get it thrown out. The hassle may not be worth it though.

@valarmorghulis: Thank goodness somebody did that...I was asleep at the wheel.

Glad to know that there is no longer any crime in NYC. Guess we'll be watching Law and Order set Jersey?

@moore850: It's much more dangerous to ride on the sidewalk, actually. Which is why it's illegal.

It's a conspiracy by the BIG 3 to intimidate people that don't own cars, maaaaaaaannn!!

@valarmorghulis: You win the internet!

Its a TARP!!!
(Gov need the cash)

I would'nt complain or they might beat you down. Remember what happened to that guy with the broomstick.
Mcasshole in the jail cell with a broomstick. just the thought of something like that makes me a more law abiding citizen.

@snoop-blog: Like we need the invitation...

@moore850: Having almost been hit by a car SEVERAL times (mostly them not STOPPING at a Red light before they turn right - rights on red are legal in Florida, but NO ONE STOPS ANYMORE) while riding on the sidewalk I know its dangerous.

However, I've seen bikers riding in their bike lanes get hit in this same way even though they were biking *with* the traffic and the guy just turned into them.

My experience has always been that the vast majority of people riding bicycles spend as much time understanding the laws that pertain to them as they do using hand signals. ie: Zero.

The usual violations:

- No lighting
- Not pulling over to allow faster traffic to pass
- Not signaling intentions
- Not stopping at intersections when required
- Lane sharing with cars
- Lane sharing with cars while passing on the right with stopped traffic
- Riding on the sidewalk
- Riding against traffic, especially on one way streets
- Cutting across several lanes at once, especially against lane markings
- Crossing roadways outside intersections
- Not slowing for yeilds/flashing yellows
- Turning left from lanes not permitting left turns

There's plenty of others. However, I'm generally listing ones where 90% of cyclists *don't* follow the rules, but 90% of drivers *do*. In most places, every single one of these is clearly listed as being an offense (Yes, including not pulling over to allow faster traffic to pass, check your state/province laws carefully).

@blackmage439: In NYC the bicycles can be pretty deadly -- and there aren't really any uncrowded sidewalks between dawn and sunset. In a smaller town I don't care if someone's riding his wheels on the sidewalk but in NYC, they belong in the street.

Charming. The pigs harass cyclists, probably leading to fewer people riding. Who gave them the dumb idea that the way to reduce traffic on overcrowded streets was to target cyclists?

They'd catch a lot more scofflaws and make more revenue from fines if they watched intersections for drivers who cut into the paths of cyclists and pedestrians.

Pigs! Do some real police work or get a real job.

@testsicles: This is such cut and dry entrapment that I believe this won't hold up. Many people, especially people out of town and state, see signs and other public markings as reminders of the law and lessons about laws they weren't aware of. Here in New Jersey, we have signs on the roads to tell us where traffic tickets are double, or to remind new drivers and people from out of state that headlights need to be on while the windshield wipers are on.

I could see this setting an important precedent in court about whether or not it's an abuse of authority for a police officer to post a sign which goes counter to the law.

EDIT: I just read the post it links to. It looks like apparently NY's department of transit is making that sidewalk into a shared pedestrian/bike lane, but the police haven't caught wind of the change yet. Apparently, it's very recent and the transition isn't entirely done, but I'd be willing to contend this in court if it weren't for the fact that a day in court probably costs more than the ticket itself.

@valarmorghulis: Tongues can't repel flavors of that magnitude!

@shepd: wow, i never even knew there were such rules. can't go down a one way street? I would get a ticket every day for the rest of my life if these things were actually enforced. I saw a show on court tv called speeders. it was basically like cops except they just followed people speeding. ine one episode, they gave a bicyclist a ticket for not stopping at a red light. it didn't look like a major intersection. I've ridden a bike nearly all my life and i've never stopped at a red light if no cars are coming.

@bravo369:
Really? You are telling us that you had no idea that traffic laws referred to traffic and not just cars? Did you not go to school in the states? Every school I know of has a cycle safety class, that teaches you how to follow basic safety rules...not stop for a red light? that's just not real bright. I could see running it after it wouldn't change for you, but just not stopping? shame on you.

Donopolis

@Oranges w/ Cheese: You're supposed to stop at that red light too. Bikes have to follow the rulse of the road as a vehicle would.

@Lo-Pan: Thank you! I get so tired of watching bicyclists blow through red lights and stop signs and then complain about drivers not obeying the rules of the road.

@Oranges w/ Cheese: Are right turns on red illegal, like, anywhere? I've lived in more than 10 states and I've never had that issue. Unless a sign says otherwise, you can turn right on red (after stopping).

@valarmorghulis: Personally, I'm partial to:

(And if I wasn't at work, I'd so Photoshop him next to Rob--er, Henry Paulson.)

@shepd:
The irony of the Brooklyn situation is that you're damned if you do, damned if you don't: If you follow the lane markings onto the sidewalk you get nailed for riding on the sidewalk. If you go out of the bike lane to stay on the road, you get flagged for lane sharing/lane marking violations crossing a solid line.

The only way I can think of to be fair about it would be to put up "end of bike lane" and "bike riders dismount 100 feet ahead" signs the way that highways have "Freeway ends 1000 feet". Give them at least some warning.

@crackblind:
The simple fact is that cyclists hate to get off their bikes and walk. And my guess is that this sidewalk was not like times square at 5pm, this is a pretty deserted area without a lot of foot traffic. there's no reason they should have had to get off, or been ticketed.

@drjayphd: HOLY CRAP! I keep accidentally refering to him as Robert Paulson too! Then I usually say, "His name is not Robert Paulson." To weird looks.

@lannister80: You can't turn right on red at most intersections in New York City.

(Surprised the hell out of me when I moved there.)

@donopolis: I live in New Jersey and I have never heard of schools doing bicycle safety classes. And when I say I don't stop, I mean that i'm not going to wait during the entire red light if no cars are coming. of course i slow down and see if cars are coming.

another one...not signaling intentions? people still do this? i look over my shoulder and if the coast is clear, i go. maybe it's a jersey thing but i have never, ever seen people do half the things on your list. i would think some of those would be enforced more to a big city like new york than my little suburb.

Looks like some enterprising cops took advantage of this screwup to make their unofficial ticket quotas.

@valarmorghulis: This is not the Paulson you are looking for?

@bravo369:

I understand people on bicycles not following some of the rules, they are difficult and it is understandable if you only ride during the day you won't have a headlight and that most of the time you don't want to let go of a handlebar just to signal which way you're going, since a lot of the time it's blatantly obvious (left turns from the right hand lane, not so much, though).

The top two that drive me nuts because every few days I almost run into someone on a bicycle doing this (oh, the joys of working beside a university):

- Riding to the right of cars stopped at stop lights. Seriously, I can't see you there -- it's my blind spot! One day someone on a bike will be run over when I make a right turn!
- Not stopping at stop lights/signs. Not even slowing! Bicycles are slow... this actually means it is MORE dangerous to run these things, since you spend MORE time in the intersection.

I'm willing to bet there's plenty of people who drive cars who agree! :)

Don't worry, there's plenty of people NOT riding bikes that do stupid things here. Like jaywalking across a 60 km/h road without even bothering to look, then stopping halfway across to check their phones.

Ok, here was my bike ride home last night, which is only 1.5 miles maximum: Ride from University, pass where daycare center is around 6PM when lots of people are picking up their kids, I am riding in the bike lane, going to correct direction-woman opens her car door in front of me, I swerve and yell "Thanks for looking" I should also add it was dark and I had both my front and rear lights on. Then one and a half blocks away car makes a left turn in front of me and then sees me and decides to stop on the middle of the intersection, which confuses the other car which was trying to turn right, I yell something at left turning car. Close to home now, cruising through a GREEN light and a car starts to pull out to take a right in front of me, causing me to have to get out of the bike lane and into the 'normal' traffic lane. My point is, all you bicycle haters: this is what I deal with on a daily basis, check yourselves.

@nursetim: That's exactly what came to my mind. Over 50,000 violent crimes reported in NYC last year, and yet the NYPD is ticketing bicyclists for obeying a traffic control device?

@Red_Flag: His name was Robert Paulson