Manhattan, NY – An expanded study of bicycle behavior in Midtown Manhattan has found that “a large number of cyclists routinely disobey many traffic laws.”
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Thirty-seven percent rode through red lights, while 28.7 percent paused to look — then ran the light. More than 10 percent rode against traffic, and fully two-thirds were riding without a helmet, a requirement for delivery workers and children under 14.
Those were some of the less-than-stellar observations made in the research study by Dt. Peter S. Tuckel, professor of sociology, and William Milczarski, professor of urban planning, both at Hunter College.
The study, based on 5,275 observations by Hunter college students of riders at 45 randomly generated intersections across Midtown from First to 10th Avenues and 14th to 59th Streets, was a rigorous and scientific version of a survey the professors conducted in November 2008.
“It’s an enormous sample — so we’re very confident with the results,” said Dr. Tuckel.
Yet some cycling advocates were quick to dismiss the results.
“They picked probably one of the only areas of the city that is bereft of bike lanes,” said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, a transit advocacy group. According to the city’s cycling map, the area under study has about six bike lanes. Below 14th Street, there are more than a dozen.
Lest the bike-friendly be inclined to accuse the Hunter College professors of partisanship in favor of bipeds or the four-wheeled, Dr. Tuckel assures that the study was done with general public safety in mind.
“I’m not interested in apportioning blame” among riders, drivers and pedestrians, he said. “Motorists could learn more about orienting themselves to the presence of cyclists.”
“The only agenda we have is to promote public safety,” he added. In the past, Dr. Tuckel’s students have also studied distracted drivers.
In their conclusion, the professors recommend greater enforcement of existing traffic laws and float the idea that commercial bikes be required to have license plates.
“This is the kind of thing that we think is a productive and concerted way to improve bicycling behavior on New York City streets,” Mr. Norvell said.
The No. 1 rule of the new code: always yield to pedestrians.
The bikers think that they are pedestrians.
I disagree with his conclusions, he wants commercial cyclists to have plates.
I suggest every cyclist have plates. Todays cyclists routinely run lights, rip off mirrors and bang chains on cars that they feel are impeding them. They flout every law in the book with impunity.
What shocking news! Next they’ll tell us that drivers sometimes exceed the posted speed limit.
the law says that a biker must stop at the red light the same as a car and also must stop for a flashing red light from a school bus, and 50% of bikers are not following this laws, and not only this, they are coming the oppisite side of the traffic while its red and pepole aren`t awere that some stupid cyclist is coming from the back while it says WALK, it gonna be a good idea that the cops should ticket the cyclist who are not following the laws
What about bike lights?
All part of Bloomy’s plan. Watch out bicyclists … I smell a ticket blitz coming for you!
Cyclists should be responsible, but we should keep in mind that the main danger out there is from cars, which have been killing and maiming tens of thousands of people for many decades. Safety efforts should be first and foremost focused on them.
If people are looking for things to complain about, they can find many people who jaywalk true and cross against the light.
When are they making a survey about that? Do they want to crack down on that too?
I’ve been riding bikes since 3 years old, never have I ridden without a helmet or without lights when it’s dark. But I will cross streets or red lights as any pedestrian will even though it’s illegal. I don’t see any reason to behave differently while riding as to when one is walking (it’s also illegal for pedestrians to cross by a red light). So far the only crash I’ve had was when I was riding in a bike lane doing nothing wrong.
p.s. I’ve never tried riding in Manhattan and probably wouldn’t.
In a recent case, a child cyclist was hit by a car after running a red light. The driver was found not guilty.
Drivers have a huge responsibility on the road. But that doesn’t mean cyclists have none. We must share the road and look out for each other.