New data released by the NYPD shows over 6,000 criminal summonses issued to cyclists in the second quarter of 2025. That number increased tenfold compared to the first quarter. That number is also greater than the total number of criminal summonses issued to cyclists in the past seven years.
I would agree any item that is used to transport goods or people in any way is considered a vehicle, but i would add the term “vehicle” is somewhat loose in meaning or interpretation.
There are two distinct classes of vehicles though. Self-powered and Human-powered.
Self-powered vehicles. Example, an aircraft, car, tank, truck, motorcycle, scooter.
Human-powered vehicles.
Example, a bicycle, unicycle, balance bicycles, scooter, dandy horse, handcar, draisine, shoping cart, and maybe even shoes?
Now the reason I believe classifying cyclists as pedestrians, is because it would require a “shift” in how infrastructure is designed within our towns and cities.
The city “strode” is a unsafe place for a pedestrian or people in general to be (as it’s currently designed). Classifying a cyclist as a pedestrian would highlight the need that the equivalent of “sidewalk infrastructure” is required for the well-being of people on a bicycle.
Now imagine yourself walking (in your shoes) on a city “strode” in the middle of a lane, it feels “wrong”. So why do we force all ages of people on a bicycle to do this?
There’s one specific paragraph in that article that is not covered in this one:
New York City has begun a crackdown on e-bikes and scooters riders. It follows actions by city officials from Paris to Honolulu to Hoboken, N.J., who are responding to residents angry about zippy vehicles with silent electric motors zooming down sidewalks and streets, often startling people, and occasionally hitting pedestrians.
Now the reason I believe classifying cyclists as pedestrians, is because it would require a “shift” in how infrastructure is designed within our towns and cities.
Nah, classifying bicycles as pedestrians would be the worst of all worlds and result in the elimination of all considerations for bicycles just like we’ve been working on for pedestrians over the past hundred years.
Unless you mean this in some very unconventional way — absolutely not. Bicycles are vehicles.
Which is why some of those 6k citations are for riding on the sidewalk
When was the last time you road a bicycle on a busy roadway ? Bikes are not vehicles.
Bikes are very much vehicles legally.
I suppose most of us seem to agree on the following:
Bikes are vehicles, and Cars are vehicles.
But we seem to be divided on, are bikes cars.
Uh… yesterday?
Bikes absolutely are vehicles.
Cars are dangerous weapons
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I think the question has become, are bikes cars?
From the definition of a vehicle it’s something that is used to transport people or goods, and a vehicle can be “self power” or “human powered”.
By definition rollerblades are vehicles.
Now I think the question becomes (for people that see bikes as cars)
Are people on bikes allowed to use the full lane of a roadway, just as any vehicle that is classified as a car would?
Basically every place in the US, the answer is emphatically “yes”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycles_May_Use_Full_Lane
I would agree any item that is used to transport goods or people in any way is considered a vehicle, but i would add the term “vehicle” is somewhat loose in meaning or interpretation.
There are two distinct classes of vehicles though. Self-powered and Human-powered.
Self-powered vehicles. Example, an aircraft, car, tank, truck, motorcycle, scooter.
Human-powered vehicles. Example, a bicycle, unicycle, balance bicycles, scooter, dandy horse, handcar, draisine, shoping cart, and maybe even shoes?
Now the reason I believe classifying cyclists as pedestrians, is because it would require a “shift” in how infrastructure is designed within our towns and cities.
The city “strode” is a unsafe place for a pedestrian or people in general to be (as it’s currently designed). Classifying a cyclist as a pedestrian would highlight the need that the equivalent of “sidewalk infrastructure” is required for the well-being of people on a bicycle.
Now imagine yourself walking (in your shoes) on a city “strode” in the middle of a lane, it feels “wrong”. So why do we force all ages of people on a bicycle to do this?
I saw this same story from another source in a different post (https://archive.is/sZYDO).
There’s one specific paragraph in that article that is not covered in this one:
Nah, classifying bicycles as pedestrians would be the worst of all worlds and result in the elimination of all considerations for bicycles just like we’ve been working on for pedestrians over the past hundred years.