Could also be that they are only looking at the subset of collisions involving bicycles where the cyclist was determined to be at fault, which isn't data available in the analysis given here.
Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
11–20 of 142 posts
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#12They actually started towards the end of the summer, at least here in Brooklyn. Hadn't seen a biker get pulled over for things like not coming to a complete halt at stops signs in 3 years I've been here. Witnessed about 5 of them in the span of 3 weeks, heard about plenty more. I'm all for it. Casual bikers around here are not exactly fun to deal with.
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not really a policy change though is it? Aren't they enforcing laws that cyclists previously were breaking with impunity? I would like them to show their work too, but I don't really see the policy conspiracy angle to this.
Exactly. No policies are changing. They're just putting more resources into enforcing existing laws.
That is a policy change. Policy and law are not the same thing.
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#14It's not a mathematical error when the number is completely fabricated to justify a policy change. That's just lying.
It's not really a policy change though is it? Aren't they enforcing laws that cyclists previously were breaking with impunity? I would like them to show their work too, but I don't really see the policy conspiracy angle to this.
So why bother to fabricate reasoning behind their actions?
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not really a policy change though is it? Aren't they enforcing laws that cyclists previously were breaking with impunity? I would like them to show their work too, but I don't really see the policy conspiracy angle to this.
Exactly. No policies are changing. They're just putting more resources into enforcing existing laws.
They're rearranging the same resources from enforcing something else to enforcing traffic laws against bicyclists.
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#16The stats presented by the article are very myopic. Bikes are mobile objects that frequently travel between areas covered by multiple precincts. Rather than looking solely at the 5th precinct, they arguably should have presented a wider view of the city's records on bicycle activity. When you do that, it paints a very different picture of some of the statistics.
For instance - "cyclist accidents that caused deaths" : 2013: 0, 2014: 0
Jill Tarlov was killed by a biker in September:
http://gothamist.com/2014/09/22/jill_tarlov_central_park.php
Irving Schachter was killed by a biker in August:
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#17Whatever the official collisions stats, I often see reckless bikers in NYC, so there should be some enforcement. E.g. bikers who zip by the wrong way against a red light and almost hit a few pedestrians.
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#18This is what gives me hope about our government; that as much as algorithms will provide a troubling future (due to reduced emphasis on false positives in seeking to minimize false negatives) there will be a way to check the work of public pronouncements and perhaps affect change for the better.
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#19I think that Twitter post was flawed, probably due to poor scoping and the conclusions reached by iquantny were not very meaningful due that that poor scoping and incomplete data.
There are lots of flaws in the NYPD's approach to investigating traffic incidents:
10 cyclists were killed in 2013, 17 in 2012. In 2013 there were 4,000+ cyclist injuries citywide. ( http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/01/31/nypd-16059-pedestrians... )
The other issue is that that the NYPD does a very poor job investigating traffic incidents... There are 19 investigators citywide (with a 40,000 member police force) and patrol officers routinely screw up the recording of data. ( http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/02/15/nypds-lax-crash-invest... )
Understanding the process in filling out reports and understanding what the data means is critical to analysis. The type of data in this dataset and the quality of the data make it difficult to draw conclusions. In a big city like NYC minor stuff like bike accidents where someone doesn't die, the police either won't get called or won't flush 20 minutes down the toilet filling out reports.
Re: Is the NYPD About to Start Ticketing More Cyclists Due to a Mathematical Error?
#20They actually started towards the end of the summer, at least here in Brooklyn. Hadn't seen a biker get pulled over for things like not coming to a complete halt at stops signs in 3 years I've been here. Witnessed about 5 of them in the span of 3 weeks, heard about plenty more. I'm all for it. Casual bikers around here are not exactly fun to deal with.
I think one of the issues is that lots of people play fast and loose with the rules when moving about ... whether it be walking, bicycling or driving. And it's so easy to say "well I use this mode and I notice the people who use THAT mode are constantly breaking the rules and that's not safe!".
If there's a demand to enforce the rules more stringently in the name of safety, would those doing the demanding also want to see citations for jaywalking?