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$1,555 in fines for NYC cyclist- from Gothamist

Today WNYC reported that the "cycling crackdown" of 2011 has mellowed into a "slightly kinder and gentler" pattern of "more focused" enforcement on the part of the NYPD. Tell that to this Brooklyn cyclist, who recently received three tickets for running red lights and a ticket for wearing headphones totaling $1,555.
The cyclist, who asked that his name not be published, said he was biking home to Bushwick from Williamsburg last month when he turned right on a red light from Lorimer Street to Grand Street and continued biking down Grand, checking for pedestrians and cars, but continuing to run red lights through Leonard Street and Manhattan Avenue, when a police cruiser "cut me off in the bike lane and I stopped."
He began asking me what I thought I was doing and we discussed what had just happened, he asked for my opinion on what I thought certain bike laws should be but quickly dismissed my answers as wrong.  He told me I went through 3 red lights and I was wearing 2 headphones so he wrote me 4 tickets.  He couldn't give me a price of how much the tickets would be, but estimated it would total around $700.
I was guilty for sure of going through the lights and wearing headphones so naively I pleaded guilty and sent in the tickets.  A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail, it contained my 4 tickets stapled to a piece of paper that indicated I owed $1555. It didn't itemize the cost of each ticket so I have no idea what each one is worth.
That would be $190 for the first red light offense (VTL 1111[d]), $375 for the second, and $940 for the third. Cycling with more than one headphone in (TR 375 24[a]) is a $50 fine.
"The point [of the increase in fines] is to harshly punish recidivists," attorney Steve Vaccaro says. "But a person who goes through three reds in a row is not really a recidivist." (This is a recidivist.) Vaccaro says that while cops can follow motorists and cyclists for as long as they like, racking up numerous infractions, "this kind of following almost never happens with motorists, but happens surprisingly often with cyclists."
"Many traffic court judges will treat multiple violations issued this way as 'double-dipping' and dismiss some of the duplicative charges," Vaccaro adds. When asked if cyclists should think twice before pleading guilty to multiple citations of the same law, Vaccaro replies, "Yes."
"This is my first bike infraction in New York City," the cyclist says. "$1,500 seems pretty excessive, especially for a 24-year-old where $1,500 is a little less than 10% of my yearly income." While the "gentle" crackdown on cyclists continues in 2012, the NYPD's enforcement of traffic laws has decreased, despite an increase in traffic fatalities from last year.
Here's the letter the cyclist received:

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on October 9, 2012 at 1:47pm

That would teach me a lesson.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on October 9, 2012 at 1:47pm

Cops gonna cop.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 9, 2012 at 2:00pm

The guy ran three lights and had in headphones and was ticketed and fined accordingly; what is the issue?

Permalink Reply by Davo on October 9, 2012 at 2:26pm

i'd like to know what the cost would be if he was driving a car and did these things.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on October 9, 2012 at 2:50pm

Same thing I believe.

A similar story came out a year ago or so where a guy had multiple tickets and the total was huge and it was illustrated that cars and bikes follow the same fine schedule.

Davo said:

i'd like to know what the cost would be if he was driving a car and did these things.

Permalink Reply by Rich S on October 9, 2012 at 2:57pm

I just found this and it looks like Dug is correct.  

However my opinion is that the cop should have stopped and ticketed the cyclist after the first infraction. If they saw a car repeatedly running red lights I don't think they would wait until the driver ran a few more before stopping them. 

Permalink Reply by blair on October 9, 2012 at 3:23pm

Really wish we had a headphone fee here in Chicago.

Permalink Reply by Vilda on October 9, 2012 at 4:50pm

So far the responses are pretty calm and collected... I'll just keep waiting I guess. ;-)

Permalink Reply by Alkaline on October 9, 2012 at 5:01pm

Break the law get fined. I wish the police would do that here, I always feel like I am the only one waiting at red lights.

Permalink Reply by Koltraned on October 10, 2012 at 10:32am

Anyone who pleads guilty to three tickets for running red lights in this situation deserves a $1550 fine. Intersting that the police would take an instance of running a red light on a bike so seriously, (based on the $1550 fine) but adopt a wait and see approach to see how many more lights the biker would ride through. Seemingly straightforward laws end up looking ridiculous when they are used to make a point.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on October 10, 2012 at 10:50am

Lame ass official hate for cyclists, especially for the messengers trying to earn a buck.

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