New data released by the NYPD shows over 6,000 criminal summonses issued to cyclists in the second quarter of 2025. That number increased tenfold compared to the first quarter. That number is also greater than the total number of criminal summonses issued to cyclists in the past seven years.
What I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that we have an established registration and licensing system to streamline identification, ticketing, and consequences for vehicles that bicyclists don’t use.
They’re saying the infrastructure around vehicles has established process which doesn’t exist for cyclists. They’re positing, from my reading, that this is contributing to the disparity in how infractions are handled; that if bicycles had license plates, registration etc. similar to vehicles the current system could be equally applied.
In the USA, traffic tickets are usually issued by a police officer stopping the violator and physically handing them a citation. This is the same process for a misdemeanor summons, but the latter requires the person to come to court rather than pay a fine online or by mail, and can involve harsher penalties.
There’s no difference in that process when there’s a license plate and driver’s license involved; the license plate just makes it easier to track down someone who flees.
Their first sentence explains their premise.
They’re saying the infrastructure around vehicles has established process which doesn’t exist for cyclists. They’re positing, from my reading, that this is contributing to the disparity in how infractions are handled; that if bicycles had license plates, registration etc. similar to vehicles the current system could be equally applied.
In the USA, traffic tickets are usually issued by a police officer stopping the violator and physically handing them a citation. This is the same process for a misdemeanor summons, but the latter requires the person to come to court rather than pay a fine online or by mail, and can involve harsher penalties.
There’s no difference in that process when there’s a license plate and driver’s license involved; the license plate just makes it easier to track down someone who flees.
Removed by mod
Where was I hostile? I never intended to express hostility to anyone here, just disagreement with NYC traffic enforcement practices.