Here Now, The Law
So, I’d like to make this suggestion, and who knows, maybe even have the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law enforced in the park. Currently, Article 34, Sections 1230 and 1231, state;
“The regulations applicable to bicycles or to in-line skates shall apply whenever a bicycle is, or in-line skates are, operated upon any highway, upon private roads open to public motor vehicle traffic and upon any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, or in-line skates, or both.”
Section 1231 further states:
“Every person riding a bicycle or skating or gliding on in-line skates upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this title, except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions of this title which by their nature can have no application”
So What Does All Of This Mean?
Cyclists are, by law, required to stop at red lights.
Period.
Plain and simple.
Failure to do so means they should be stopped and ticketed. Just as I in my car would be ticketed were I to run a red light, or even roll past a stop sign. Two behaviors I witness every day by folks on bicycles.
And, if they don’t stop, radio the patrol car down the road, just out of sight around the bend, to “make a meeting”.
Then double the fine. Perhaps even impound the bicycle until they take a Defensive Driving Class.
Do I want to put an end to recreational cycling? No, not at all. There is, however, a time and a place for bicycle racing. And that shouldn’t be after 8 AM, or before 9 PM. When most of the little ones and their parents are home. And let’s do this now. Summer activities in the park are in full swing, and it’s just a matter of time before someones child, or mother, or grandfather, is seriously injured.
Just remember the widow who just “celebrated” the five-year anniversary of her husbands death.
He was killed when struck by a bicycle messenger in Manhattan. As a pedestrian, he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Eustace Greaves Jr., a.k.a. BrooklynCovered is proud to be a Brooklyn insurance broker and agent and a NYS licensed Point and Insuranc Reduction Workshop class instructor. And, he and his daughter enjoy riding their bicycles, legally.
