A new low…for NYC
Sep 2nd, 2009 by Leo
Here’s a heads up for those of you who sometimes park on the sidewalk in the city…it appears the NYPD is on a ticket blitz. But with a twist this time. Not only are bikes that are parked on sidewalks being ticketed, chains cut, towed, and impounded, but the NYPD is arresting scooter riders on felony charges for not having external VIN plates.
The VIN number on a motorcycle is usually etched onto the frame near the forks and difficult to obscure (if you see a motorcycle without a VIN it’s probably stolen); but scooters have a cheap plastic or metal plate for the VIN, attached by 2 easy to damage rivets. If you buy a second hand scooter, it probably didn’t come with the external VIN plate. Not only that, but if you were the mischievous type, you could easily take someone else’s VIN and attach it to your scoot (so that they’d get the tickets).
Now obviously I’m biased, but I think there’s a problem when the city does not address the reasonable needs of its citizens (in this case, safe parking spaces where bikes won’t be knocked over by cars and can be chained to something to hinder thieves); and then criminalizes non-criminal behavior… The NYPD should have better things to do than go after scooter riders and motorcyclists. You can read more about it the current situation on NYScooterClub.
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I agree that they should make it easy for scooters and bikes. Bloomberg’s green city vision is Sorely lacking in the age of efficient vehicles. When they find a corporate Segway-type vehicle that Wall Street goes for, then the laws will change.
Someone should make a commercial showing a car flipped on its side, the way bikes get knocked over and send it to city hall. The poor schlub who arrives at his car should then cry and then the punchline is delivered, but not sure what that could be. It might make car drivers understand how it feels to have you property destroyed so often.
Or maybe there’s a million dollar kickstand invention that is needed.