New York cyclist caught skipping lights while wearing headphones gets $1,500 fine ... and HE'S complaining about it

Biker, 24, gets slammed with four tickets after police officer trails him through violation after violation

Cluelessly pedals home wearing earphones and running red lights



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One New York cyclist is learning the rules of the road the hard way after getting four violations and $1,500 in fines from just one traffic stop.

The Brooklyn biker, who asked not to be identified, was riding home from Bushwick to Williamsburg last month when a police officer stopped him.

The offense: running three lights and wearing headphones.

A 24-year-old biker, who asked not to be named, was biking home in New York when he was stopped by police for multiple violations. Now he owes the city $1,500. The officer "cut me off in the bike lane and I stopped," the cyclist told Gothamist . 'He began asking me what I thought I was doing and we discussed what had just happened.' Turns out the officer had been following the cyclist for a while, tailing him as he blew the lights wearing headphones. The officer asked the man about his opinion on bike laws, the cyclist said.

'[He] quickly dismissed my answers as wrong,' he added. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next First don't walk... now don't TALK! New Yorkers face fines... Barkle up! New Jersey set to force DOGS to wear seatbelts Share this article Share The cyclist said the officer informed him he was getting four tickets for running three red lights and was headphones, He didn't know the specific costs of the fines, but estimated they would be around $700. Then came the violation notice.

The police officer told the cyclist he estimated the fines would be $700. A few weeks later he got a letter in the mail containing four tickets and a fee violation notice stating he owed almost twice what the officer had told him.

He was fined $190 for the first red light offense, $375 for the second, and $940 for the third.

Cycling with headphones is a $50 fine. 'I was guilty for sure of going through the lights and wearing headphones so naively I pleaded guilty and sent in the tickets,' he said. The cyclist said he can accept the guilt, but he's having a hard time accepting the steep fines.

'This is my first bike infraction in New York City," he said. '$1,500 seems pretty excessive, especially for a 24-year-old where $1,500 is a little less than 10 percent of my yearly income.'



As part of New York's "cycling crackdown," the cyclist was issued $1,500 in tickets for running three red lights and wearing headphones. Steve Vaccaro chimed in on the offense.

'The point [of the increase in fines] is to harshly punish recidivists," said Steve Vaccaro, a New York attorney who represents several cycling organizations. "But a person who goes through three reds in a row is not really a recidivist."

Vaccaro says that while cops can follow motorists and cyclists for as long as they like, racking up numerous infractions, but added that 'this kind of following almost never happens with motorists, but happens surprisingly often with cyclists.'

Lucky for the biker, the judge may have some leniency. '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."

The biker says he's guilty but balks at the excessive fines.

Steve Vaccaro, a New York attorney who represents several cycling organizations, said police rarely follow a biker for extended periods of time.

The cyclist may find some luck with one of the traffic court judges who tend to knock off a charge or two in multiple violations cases.