The NYPD has been ordered to begin a borough-wide crack-down that will hit renegade riders for often-overlooked “vehicular offenses” like failing to obey traffic signals and signs, breaking the speed limit, tailgating, and even failure to signal before turning.
There's a feeling among many drivers that cyclists, either by their ignorance of the law or by their blatant disregard for it, are asking for trouble. […] In one sense, the so-called bikelash has little to do with transportation modes.
“Bikelashes” are occurring wherever separated lanes appear, even in that centre of sophistication, New York City, where a cycle track in Brooklyn has split the chattering classes and political elites with polarizing populism.
I bicycled in for Bike to Work Day last week, and I saw no bikelash on such a pleasant day. But the Seattle Weekly's Nina Shapiro emailed me that the day before, she watched as a "beefy guy" driving a Buick got out, pushed a bicyclist against a wall and then picked up the bike and heaved it at him.
All are on the frontlines of what's been called the "bikelash", brave fighters willing to stand firm against the growing popularity of cycling across north America.