In New York, a bill under discussion could allow passers-by to make money by reporting vehicles blocking bike lanes. A controversial measure, which could prevent many road accidents.
New York is the scene of approximately 550,000 bicycle trips every day, more than any other city in the United States. In the same period of time, the metropolis also saw 4.4 million cars pass by. With such traffic, accidents and incivility are inevitable. One nuisance in particular irritates the cyclists of the Big Apple: the obstacles inside cycle paths. To combat this scourge, a city board member, Lincoln Restler, recently presented a bill aimed at remunerating passersby who report illegally parked vehicles. Across the Atlantic, the initiative is debated.
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If the design is adopted, New Yorkers could now photograph the offenders and send the photo to the Department of Transportation for analysis. If parking is found illegal, the vehicle will be fined € 175, with 25% of the amount going to the whistleblower. Not limiting itself to cycle paths, the project also addresses dangerous obstacles of “Bus lanes when restrictions are in place, a sidewalk, a walkway, a fire hydrant near a school building, an entrance or an exit. “
“Empowering people”
A leisure cyclist, Lincoln Restler wants to make city traffic more fluid, but also reduce road safety: every year there are more than 18,000 accidents involving cyclists in New York, where 124 pedestrians and 28 cyclists were killed in 2019. “It happens every day, dozens and dozens of times in downtown Brooklyn, hundreds and hundreds of times throughout New York City, he protested on video on Twitter, filming himself next to a badly parked car on a bike path. We want to empower people, so that they can hold those who misbehave accountable. “
First under the radar, the proposal became more publicized after a video by Casey Neistat (12.5 million subscribers on YouTube), who had already produced several contents on the bike. Taking it literally, the American influencer wandered around New York for three hours, looking for badly parked cars: he had time to find eight, which could have taken him a few weeks, if the provision were to pass, 350 € .
A potential additional income
New York City is used to this type of system: as of 2019 there is already a “Citizen Air Complaint Program”, which saves money by flagging commercial vehicles by leaving the engines idling. In 2021 it led to 12,267 reports, 92% of which led to tickets, which brought 2.3 million euros to New York City. To enrich in passing a good number of ordinary citizens, such as Donald Blair, who last April had declared to the NBC that he had already pocketed 125 thousand euros thanks to this provision.
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Beyond the ethical question it poses, the initiative raises questions above all about its consequences. On the one hand, because it still seems difficult to establish whether it has helped to reduce discomfort. On the other hand, because it widens inequalities. “In every city where such a system has been established, it is the wealthiest white residents who call, explained Sarah Kaufman, a professor at New York University and a transportation specialist at Bloomberg. If it’s a real public safety issue, it needs to be addressed, but it needs to be done fairly. “ The same problems could arise with irregular parking, especially since wealthier citizens have easier access to paid parking.
