The Chainlink

Yikes! New York Fines Cyclist $1500 for Running Red Lights

Off the chain! City slams bicyclist with $1,500 in fines for running red lights

BY Tanyanika Samuels
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, August 21st 2011, 4:00 AM

Bicyclist Juan Rodriguez fought a ticket he got for running a red light on his bicycle and lost - big time.
John Roca/News
Bicyclist Juan Rodriguez fought a ticket he got for running a red light on his bicycle and lost - big time.

Manhattan bicyclist Juan (JC) Rodriguez didn't learn his lesson after running his first red light. Or his second.

But the third time may be the charm - because it came with more than $1,500 in fines.

"It's absurd," complained Rodriguez, 45, who's also a pedicab driver. "When you look at the fines leveled and the actual offenses, it makes no sense."

Some bicycling advocates agree fining two-wheelers the same as tractor-trailers is overkill, while others say bikers should stop at red lights.

"They are endangering pedestrians, many of whom are elderly or children who may not be able to get out of the way quickly," said City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx).

"We have too many people riding their cars and bicycles and thinking these rules are not meant for them."

Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Nick Cantiello says cyclists are subject to the following fines for red-light violations: $190 for the first offense, $375 for the second, $940 for the third.

They don't, however, face $80 in surcharges that motorists get and there are no license points to worry about.

"Bicycles are expected to follow the rules of the road just like any other vehicle," Cantiello said.

Rodriguez says that regardless of whether it's legal, it's common practice for bikers to roll through red lights when it's safe.

He did it on March 3 as he rode down Central Park West near 109th St. on his way to work, and a traffic cop pulled him over.

"My first thought was, 'Are you serious? Is this some sort of joke?'" he said.

It wasn't. The officer also gave him a ticket for not having a bicycle bell.

Rodriguez figured it was a fluke. But six days later, an officer pulled him over for blowing a red light at Riverside Drive and W. 96th St.

"I thought, 'Oh my God! What is going on?'" Rodriguez said.

Last month, Rodriguez was stopped after he rolled through a red in Chelsea.

He pleaded not guilty to all three tickets by mail.

"I thought if I show up in court I might have a say and show how unbelievably ludicrous this is," he said.

At a hearing this month, Rodriguez contested the Riverside Drive ticket. The judge slapped him with a $375 fine.

Rodriguez returned to traffic court last week to plead guilty to the two other tickets and was fined another $1,000.

Barbara Ross of the pro-bike environmental group Time's Up! said the penalty system needs a tune up.

"Fining cyclists up to $950 for a traffic violation - the same rate as drivers of 4-ton vehicles that kill hundreds of people annually - is excessive and unfair," she said.

"Traffic enforcement policies should focus on safer streets, not use them as a revenue source for the city."

Rodriguez, who lives in Washington Heights, hopes by telling his story, other cyclists won't have to shell out a lot of green for running a red.

"Things have changed," he said. "[Bicyclists] need to be aware of what the worst-case scenario can be."

tsamuels@nydailynews.com



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/08/21/2011-08-21_big_fines...

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott on August 26, 2011 at 10:01am
I can't say I disagree.  I was almost hit by a cyclist today on the Kinzie cycle track who ran a stop sign without even slowing down then cut off a car.  That jerk deserved an expensive ticket.
Permalink Reply by Davo on August 26, 2011 at 10:14am
IMO He'd have to be flagrantly blowing through these lights to get a ticket. I'd like to believe that the police responded to this in the same way they would to a car going 70mph in a 30mph zone. If he was slowing down and making sure that he had time to cross, maybe the police wouldn't have given him the ticket.
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on August 26, 2011 at 12:18pm

I'm not defending him if you break the law you break the law. I think it's because he fought it the judge fined him he should have just paid the $150-$200 in the first place.

I went through a couple lights on my way home last night AFTER stopping there was no traffic for blocks either way so...

Permalink Reply by S on August 26, 2011 at 2:22pm
Dude, read the article.  The judge didn't fine him any extra, the first ticket was $175, the second 375 and the third was 940.  It has nothing to do with the judge trying to teach him a lesson for fighting the ticket.  He just broke the same law multiple times in a pretty short period and the law is setup to jack up the fines in those situations so that the violator gets a clue and stops doing it.

Mike Zumwalt said:

I'm not defending him if you break the law you break the law. I think it's because he fought it the judge fined him he should have just paid the $150-$200 in the first place.

I went through a couple lights on my way home last night AFTER stopping there was no traffic for blocks either way so...

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on August 27, 2011 at 12:19am
I did read it

"At a hearing this month, Rodriguez contested the Riverside Drive ticket. The judge slapped him with a $375 fine.

Rodriguez returned to traffic court last week to plead guilty to the two other tickets and was fined another $1,000."

And according to the NYC Dept. of Finance (which is really what parking and moving violations fines are for, REVENUE.)  and a red light run caught on camera is $50 not $375 and then logarithmically higher.

I'm assuming that being pulled over by an officer would equal a ticket in the same dollar amount.


S said:
Dude, read the article.  The judge didn't fine him any extra, the first ticket was $175, the second 375 and the third was 940.  It has nothing to do with the judge trying to teach him a lesson for fighting the ticket.  He just broke the same law multiple times in a pretty short period and the law is setup to jack up the fines in those situations so that the violator gets a clue and stops doing it.

Mike Zumwalt said:

I'm not defending him if you break the law you break the law. I think it's because he fought it the judge fined him he should have just paid the $150-$200 in the first place.

I went through a couple lights on my way home last night AFTER stopping there was no traffic for blocks either way so...

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 27, 2011 at 9:48am

You assume WRONG.

 

In most areas red light cameras get you a citation from the municipality and being pulled over gets you a court summons.  They are two different things and have different fine schedules. 

 

Mike Zumwalt said:

I did read it

"At a hearing this month, Rodriguez contested the Riverside Drive ticket. The judge slapped him with a $375 fine.

Rodriguez returned to traffic court last week to plead guilty to the two other tickets and was fined another $1,000."

And according to the NYC Dept. of Finance (which is really what parking and moving violations fines are for, REVENUE.)  and a red light run caught on camera is $50 not $375 and then logarithmically higher.

I'm assuming that being pulled over by an officer would equal a ticket in the same dollar amount.


S said:
Dude, read the article.  The judge didn't fine him any extra, the first ticket was $175, the second 375 and the third was 940.  It has nothing to do with the judge trying to teach him a lesson for fighting the ticket.  He just broke the same law multiple times in a pretty short period and the law is setup to jack up the fines in those situations so that the violator gets a clue and stops doing it.

Mike Zumwalt said:

I'm not defending him if you break the law you break the law. I think it's because he fought it the judge fined him he should have just paid the $150-$200 in the first place.

I went through a couple lights on my way home last night AFTER stopping there was no traffic for blocks either way so...

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on August 27, 2011 at 11:12am
Any way he shoulda just paid the fine admitted guilt and gone on with his life.

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