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Blowing Whistles
New York Times, July 3, 1984
Editorial
The shrillest whistle-blower in New York City isn't a traffic cop or rebellious
bureaucrat. It's the bicycle messenger clearing his path in order to pile
up commissions on a high volume of quick deliveries.
The City Council recently decided to blow the whistle on the messengers with
a sensible new law, but Mayor Koch now hesitates to sign It. There's no good
reason to hesitate.
Bike messengers are an intolerable hazard in midtown. With their attention
focused on the possibility of making a $100 on a good day, they're hardly
fazed by the impertinence of a red light or a one-way sign.
Nor are they fazed by the police. As long as they're not required to carry
identification, the bikers are free to give phony names and ignore summonses.
A cop can arrest one who won't identify himself, but that means leaving the
street to process the arrest. Better enforcement depends on solving the ID
problem.
The City Council has passed a bill that would finally do just that. It requires
messengers to equip bikes with numbered plates, wear identifying jackets,
carry ID cards and keep logs of trips. It sets jail terms and fines of up
to $250 for noncompliance.
Only the messengers and their employers raised predictable objections. Yet
when a group of them at the bill-signing ceremony complained that a jail
term was too heavy a penalty, Mayor Koch withheld his signature to reassess
the issues.
Given the dangers posed by speeding bikes that defy the traffic laws, jail
is wholly appropriate in some cases. But most of the bikers motivated by
money are likely to be tamed effectively with stiff fines. The most important
point is not to let this law die,
An apple awaits the Mayor if he resists these special pleaders and strikes
a blow for public safety.
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