Businesses will be fined for delivery bike violations

The crackdown will begin on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, with officials from DOT’s new Outreach and Enforcement department scheduling informational visits to businesses that offer bicycle delivery service. The purpose of the visits will be to explain the regulations related to traffic, helmets, clothing and ID numbers. That’s the first phase of the intensified enforcement.

The second phase begins in six months, when DOT officials begin fining businesses whose bike delivery riders violate traffic laws or are not supplied with required equipment. Businesses can expect to pay up to $300 for violations.

Increased enforcement of delivery rider violations is part of the city’s overall focus on dangerous bikers. In 2010, there were 3,874 citations issued; in 2011, there were 14,392. This could easily rise with the implementation of the city’s new approach to dangerous delivery riders.

Some business owners think that the fines are unfair and that the riders themselves should be penalized for violations. However, residents on the Upper West Side seem to approve of any efforts to stop delivery people from riding on sidewalks, running red lights and riding the wrong way in traffic.

Source: New York Daily News, “NYC cracks down on bike delivery guys,” by Khalea Underwood and Larry McShane, July 13, 2012.