Police are cracking down on cyclists in New York City

Pity the cyclists of New York City. As well as having to slalom double-parked cars and piles of rubbish, they only get a few weeks a year without oppressive humidity or frigid cold. And this spring, even their meteorological bliss has been disturbed. The New York Police Department (NYPD) has started issuing criminal summonses for bike riders committing a slew of seemingly low-level fouls. Now, if caught running red lights, stopping in the pedestrian crossing or wearing headphones, wayward cyclists must appear before a judge, even if they are not contesting the fine. If they do not, they risk arrest.

Oddly, this is a steeper punishment than drivers get for such offences. Both pedal and electric bikes are being targeted by the rules. Enforcement is up by a factor of 100 compared to this time last year. Cyclists are understandably miffed. It is "insane", says Carl Mahaney of Open Plans, an advocacy group, since most deaths and injuries are caused by motorists. Indeed, of the 449 pedestrian deaths in the city between 2020 and 2023, electric bikes, scooters and mopeds led to just eight of them.

Yet cyclists are a growing nuisance. E-bikes have become ubiquitous in the city since they were legalised in 2020, coinciding with a pandemic-era rise in food delivery. Under pressure from delivery apps (and hungry New Yorkers) to bring food as quickly as possible, riders go well beyond the city speed limit. "Every New Yorker understands how frightening it is to jump out of the way as an e-bike drives on the sidewalk, " NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote in an op-ed for The New York Post, explaining the new enforcement.