Jun 8, 2011
New Yorker rides into obstacles in bike lanes to prove a point.
This is entertaining stuff. New Yorker Casey Neistat was ticketed $50 for riding his bike outside of a bike lane.
He then made this PSA to show what happens to obedient NYC bicyclists who stay where they belong…
(via Neatorama)
* * * * *
This is the best thing I’ve seen all week. This guy is my new hero!
No helmet. Brainless?
Seems like a lot of pain to get $50 back
NO, it’s totally worth it. lol
Still pain though.
Getting physical with the tarmac isn’t painless.
yes but the pain is for ussss X|
it’s not about the money it’s about the injustice and principle of the situation and unfairness to cyclist all around the country
Love it!
Is it just me or are bicyclists the biggest whiners on the face of the planet… They complain no matter what and they don’t pay a dime in taxes, fees or registration like car owners have to do every year to ride their bikes on public streets!!! Grow up!
Are you kidding? what makes you think bicyclists don’t pay a dime in taxes? (I’m not even a cyclist btw) but if they work, they pay taxes, if they live in a state with sales tax (I think 48 states) they pay taxes, if they also own a car and buy gas (which many do for the kinds of trips that require a car like major shopping trips)they pay taxes. If they own a home, they pay taxes. Even if they are renting technically they are paying someone elses taxes because the landlords work that in. Don’t be so ignorant to think that a cyclist isn’t paying taxes. I’m guessing they are trying to accomplish many things by cycling, such as excercise, and lowering the tax on the pollution rates, not to mention saving on parking fees, insurance, and in places like NYC its likey they can get around much faster than on the subway or bus routes let alone paying for a cab!
Well said, Dawn. Whether or not you agree w/ the guy in the video, bicyclists are generally pretty good citizens.
This is the oldest argument in the book. You are assuming that someone who rides a bike doesn’t own a vehicle. Is your skull actually this thick? I pay licensing, registration, insurance, and all associated fees relating to vehicle ownership. The only thing I do differently is choose to ride a bike, and rest assured numbnut, I am not alone in this.
Based on your logic, I would guess you assume pilots fly everywhere they go as well.
It’s just you. Grow up!
Oh, I have remorse for the Grow Up comment and the exclamation point. Especially since Stevil said you had a thick skull. Sorry. Words hurt. I value you (as another thinking human). Seriously though Casey is a badass, no whining just solid super funny proof of a ridiculous ticket. I wish everyone protested like that.
No, it’s not just you. You got all the bearded rednecks in pickups on your side.
What you mean I don’t have to pay taxes anymore to support what I don’t use? No one ever informed me of this change, so no more taxes for public education, police and fire protection, schools, social security, medicare, national defense, and social programs….SWEET!
Regardless of positions on this, somehow I doubt some of the insults – “biggest whiners,” “grow up,” “thick skull,” “numbnut” – would be used if we were all sitting at a bar (or a living room, if you prefer) being introduced to one another.
I said I was sorry. Me and Joe are practically best friends..but it’s okay you probably just wanted to type numbnut right? I totally get that.
Dang it, you’re onto me. And here I thought everyone would think I was better than them, taking the high road and all.
Yes, Joe, I agree…and people walking on the streets also don’t pay a dime in taxes, fees or registration on their shoes either! Even people who own multiple pairs of shoes…or even sneakers!
By the way, Joe, just in case you are too dense to sense all my sarcasm, no, bicyclists are not the biggest whiners on the planet and your whining sucks!
Thank you for this.
“… or even sneakers!” that was when I busted out laughing. Thanks!
i really wish more people rode bikes to know what it feels like to feel the breeze of freedom,,, obesity and many diseases on the rise caused by pollution and chemicals :(
You watch too much TV.
Negative Nelly ALERT! why don’t you grow up?!
The reason why car owners pay so much tax and fees is *because* they own cars. People who own hybrids get a tax rebate because they don’t contribute to global warming as much as others.
LOL @ ignorance
Great point BUT wear a helmet! All that crashing has to not be good for the noggin.
I was thinking the exact same thing. I kind of like the way this guy fights city hall, but at least wear a helmet, dude. And the radio guy was right. He didn’t break any laws and would have won had he appealed. Still, the header into the truck was pretty wicked. (-:
This reminds me of a certain photoessay that a local blogger put together when the police ticketed him for improper snow removal a couple winters back… ;)
NYCPD ticketed the wrong guy…
Here’s the deal, unless it is a local ordinance, it isn’t illegal to ride outside the biking lane anyway. I ride all the time here in Alabama, I’m quite certain that biking lanes don’t even exist here. Bikes are allowed on the road.
Those types of laws are local in my country.
Pretty sure in any major city (like where this was taped) that it is illegal to ride outside the bike lane. To many peds on the sidewalk and too many cars on the road. It really is a hazard for everyone.
I’m pretty sure that NYC has one or two local ordinances that are different from Alabama.
Good stuff.
Impressive stuntman skills!
I loved this, and for the person who cyclists dont pay taxes- I went to UC Berkelely, and there was $15 fee to register your bike with the campus police. You had to pay it at least once a year. That’s 60 dollars over the course of your degree if you graduate on time- the price of the table of contents for my stat book for the class I barely passed.
Just saying…
While I do think the person who made the comment about taxes is an idiot, I also think your response makes no sense. The $15 bike fee is not a tax. It is a fee collected by the school. Much like the parking fee your car would require. Comparing that to taxes is moronic.
I doubt $50 will cover the cost to repair the damage to the police car’s lights and paint.
He held back. I would hit that cop car hard and fast, and probably flopped around on the trunk a while. you know, with lotsa buckles and chains and whatnot.
oh, you would? do it then.
I already did.
I live on a major city road that is also a popular road for bicyclists. As a car driver coming out of my own neighborhood, I have found that most bicyclists blow through the stop signs and stoplights, do not signal, yet ride in the road. Yet, I know if I should hit someone it is me who’d get charged. I used to be a biker in my teens and twenties (had to stop when I had two kids to transport with me) and I cannot relate to these bikers. Can’t share the road with those who think they are beyond road rules.
Good. You’re in a 4 ton vehicle you should watch where you’re going. I cannot relate to how cars take up a WHOLE lane, you just can’t share the road with them.
4 ton? You do realize that’s 8,000 lbs, right? Anyways, you missed the point entirely. Bikers need to obey the rules of the road crucial to the safety of everyone involved, regardless of the size, weight, or type of the vehicle. Everyone needs to watch where they’re going, but just because you’re in one specific mode of transportation shouldn’t give you a sense of entitlement over the road. Anyone on the road should obey the rules of the road, otherwise find another mode of transportation.
couldn’t agree more with you Pat
I am a driver and a rider. Riders that can’t obey rules of the road piss me off. We have a new bridge, 8′ wide bike lane with a barrier separating it from traffic and we have fools that insist on riding in the vehicle lane. Trouble is there is only about a foot between the lane and barrier. I guess its too much effort to veer right at the approach into the designated lane. So for the whole bridge, they hold up one lane during rush hour because of ignorance. Won’t even get into riding on the sidewalk, running stop signs and lights.
I do agree with this advice. However, I would like to mention that “delivery” trucks alone can weigh anywhere from 5000lbs to 33,000 lbs.
Are you suggesting the average person drives a delivery truck? The average car is between one and two tons I believe.
Lol.. I like how some bicyclist think they are the sh*t.. Then they hit MY car at a stop sign because they didn’t stop for the 4 way stop. Self confessed to the cop that they didn’t stop (said I was supposed to yield to them), was riding on the side walk and was going against traffic (local laws in my county state you have to go with the direction of traffic). The guy was stuck with something like a $550 fine, + pay the cost for repairing my car. I would have been nice but the guy was a dick about him hitting my car. So I promptly took it to the dealer for a repair and had them send him the bill and send one to the police attached with the incident report so its on record. Nice way to top off a $550 fine with a $2,500 repair (new door since they couldn’t pop-out the dent nicely and he cracked the paint). I would have sued but I’m a nicer person than to actually take his money for my own personal wealth, and frankly he wasn’t even worth the trouble.
Before you go and think I’m just a huge douche, I do ride my bike regularly when I don’t have to make the drive at 5:30 AM to my college which is around 15 miles away. I follow the rules and regulations on my bike, as a pedestrian, as a driver, and as a motorcyclist. I guess its too much for me to expect others to even follow the important rules and regulations for their own transportation of choice.
Unfortunately, I can agree with this. I have nothing against bikers in general, but when they refuse to follow the rules of the road, ESPECIALLY ones regarding stop signs and stoplights, it becomes quite the problem.
I used to live in a college town with a lot of bikers. Twice, I almost hit one when they sped through a stop sign late at night, with no reflectors or lights on.
I understand that some people want to use this forum to let off steam against bicyclists who break the law, but this video does not involve a bicyclist breaking the law, so such comments are irrelevant. I would, however, love to live in Theresa K’s city, which is obviously not New York or the city where I live. Here, when cyclists here get hit by a car, it is usually the cyclist who gets ticketed even when the cyclist was acting legally – the cops just make something up like “impeding traffic” and then the cyclists (if they’re alive) have to go to court to get the ticket dismissed.
Well the roads were probably built for the cars, so I guess a bike is impeding traffic.
No the video is about obstacles in the bike lane. Gee that happens in the traffic lane too, so is it okay if I just drive on the sidewalk?
I am not sure where you are driving where the pedestrian walkway is also in the traffic lane (aside from intersections). That is quite odd.
Yes according to this video and most bikers if your path is blocked just swerve around it. Don’t slow down, stop, or maybe get off you bike to walk around. Be a self serving jerk and just fly into the car lane.
I am DC daily commuter. I enjoyed reading Casey’s video and the myriad of comments. I have to admit that I do not obey redlights and stop signs when I ride. The point for me to ride in DC is to save time commuting to work/school and get exercise. So although I break rules, I never go when traffic is moving, I always wave graciously to drivers who slow down, yield, and give me space. In fact, I avoid getting upset at other bikers or drivers who do disobey traffic rules. DC is a mad house for traffic and when I am driving and see a biker pass my side and get around the traffic, I am not mad, but rather jealous that I was not riding my bike instead of driving.
With all this said, I hope that drivers and bikers can coexist especially in the congested city.
So, you don’t feel you have to obey the rules because you’re in a hurry?
You are the type of biker that people are thinking of when they say they hate bikers.
Just FYI you’re the reason why we hate bikers. Just another self serving jerk who doesn’t think the rules of the road apply to them.
Insanely hilarious!
I don’t know much about cycling, but if I rode a bike I would love a bike lane and I would love that lane to be unobstructed. Period. Yep, everyone’s right is right in his own eyes.
on the subject of signaling; you would be surprised at the number of motorists that don’t know a bike signal from a random gesture, and taking a hand off the bars to execute one can be a very ill advised move at times.They do make signal lights for bikes but know one i know uses them. they are tough to see unless at night.I do stop for all traffic lights but admit to blowin through stop signs. Don’t get me started on the subject of getting “doored”
So you openly admit to not signaling because it’s inconvenient and you don’t stop at stop signs because you just don’t feel like it. You are the exact reason I don’t like most bikers. Saying the most people don’t know what your signals mean is the dumbest reason for not signaling I have ever heard.
This is soooooo true! I am a cyclist who is sick and tired of constantly having to drive out in traffic because the bike lane is blocked. How about ticketing cars that drive IN the bike lane as well!!
in colorado if you are riding a bike on the street you have to follow the same laws as if you were driving your car. im not sure if those laws are the same if you are in a bike lane tho.
To bad the damages on that cop car will be valued over 50$.
Where I live there is NO bike lanes, NO shoulder and small roads. I’d love to bike to work, it’s only three miles however it’s not safe for me to do so due to so many distracted drivers. Too many people talk on their cell phone/text/fiddle with radio/yell at kids while driving and will kill a bicyclist. So if I expect to bike to work, I have to ride in the road and risk my life so I don’t bike.
The things that bug me is how nobody is ever satisfied and there is far too many taxes/fines/legal bs. No bike lanes here but if there were people would block them. If they are blocked and you have to get around the block then you risk your life and may get fines. Yea this guy in the video did very well in proving the point. Any bicyclist knows that you have to ride “safe” even if safe isn’t legal.
You don’t have to risk your life… You could slow down and get off your bike and walk around the obstruction but that would take effort and riders prefer to just fly through and around everything without even looking.
I should do the same with my car!! Can’t tell you how many idiotic obstacles I have to deal with out there! Of course, I actually realize the world wasn’t created solely to facilitate my transport, so I couldn’t …
definitely relevant, since this guy was ticketed for riding outside of the bike lane and told by an officer that for no reason may he exit it, even for obstructions. your comment leaves readers to assume that you agree you should be ticketed for going around a roadblock or stalled/parked vehicle that are in your lane?
How do I +1 ??
Awesome PSA! I ride my bike in cities all over the country including NYC. Lets all try to be more bike friendly too many of us get crushed…LITERALLY!
It must be a “City thing”
I think that no matter what is done to “fix” a problem, someone/ some group of people is always going to be unhappy. Where I live, there is a small bike path a safe distance away from the road, but some bikers don’t use it. Thats when I hate cyclists on the road. I am all for sharing the road with cyclists if there is not a safe designated path, but I don’t like it when they don’t take advantage of the path made just for them and blow through stop lights and weave in and out of traffic. Everyone should obey the same laws on the road, motorists and cyclists alike. But even if a cyclist is being annoying, you should still watch for them and make the road safe for them too.
Did anyone else notice the machete hanging on his door frame next to his radio. I hope Casey isn’t crazy. (he kinda seems like it, he did just crash into a bunch of stuff to prove a point)
I did not make a count, but it seemed that most of the obstructions were legitamate construction sites and emergancy vehicles. A cab dropping someome off would have the choice of using the bike lane against the curb or stopping in traffic ans having the passenger walk across the bike path. I am reletivly sure that there would be no bike citation issued if the biker rode arround an obstruction. I am willing to bet the submitter was actually riding in either a car lane or on the pedestrian walk.
He’s lucky to have a bike lane, at least. Here in Atlanta they’re almost non-existent and to ride a bike is to flirt with death. Sorry, but my sympathy was not aroused.
How are trucks supposed to make deliveries, how are people supposed to get into taxis with these bike lanes? Bloomberg is putting thousands more taxis on the road along with 10,000 bikes. What’s up with that? Empty cruising taxis piloted by desperate men are more dangerous than taxis with passengers in them. And they are not at all “green”.
I feel no sympathy for this immature whiner. I have to apply my car brakes and wait for traffic to clear, machinery to move, pedestrians to finish their ill-timed stroll, and yes, for bicyclists that run stop signs and lights. If I adopted the attitude of this brat, I’d just blithely run him down because my light was green. Grow up or gtfo the road.
Finally someone with some sense. If you’re on a bike and the lane is blocked you might have to *GASP* stop! What a concept! You might actually have to stop and not just blindly fly where ever you want just because you’re on a bike.
I find it funny how this guy just wanted to make a sarcastic video to make people laugh out the ridiculousness of the situation, and the interviewer tried to make it sound like it was political.
Some time film makers do things just for fun! It is why we do what we do.
I used to ride to work in Tampa, Fl, and I rode in the bike lane (when there was one), on the sidewalk (next in pecking order), and in the street last. The sidewalk quality was awful and I would ride in the street over the sidewalk when the road was more than two lanes, but it is extremely dangerous to bicycle with commuters in the South. There’s a few roads in Tampa with local nicknames including “bicyclist killer.” And I did obey the traffic signals, simply too dangerous otherwise.
Simple solution. Build more bike trails. Then those of us bikers who value our lives will ride the trails and those who want to take their lives in their hands will ride on the roads. Cars & bikes don’t mix, so I stick to the trails. Problem solved.
I really don’t know if the cop was right in this situation but I have to agree that there are far too many bikers who want all of the benefits of riding in the street without following any of the rules. I constantly find myself stuck behind bikers who ride side by side or who don’t signal and run stop signs. Bikers rarely follow the rules of the road in my area.
On another note, I love the number of bikers on here who openly admit to not following the rules of the road and don’t see anything wrong with it. No wonder drivers hate you.
this is 100%, love it…
its cute, but he shoulda worn a helmet and pads while doing it. dont want him to get hurt proving a point
I think that if someone sees a cone and still runs into it then he/she needs to pay attention to the road. But I guess that was his point: obstacles in the bike lane.
Hey, stupid people…..he didn’t say to “always be moving while in the bike lane”. When there is an obstruction you stop, get off the bike, and walk your bike around the obstruction in a safe manner. Riding a bike is not doing ANYONE a favor. All you do is make yourself feel good about how cool you supposedly are. Newsflash: you’re not.
haha props for having the balls to stand up and do something about an unjust situation casey. i support you.