600 cyclists pulled over since start of crackdown

Cyclists Justin Murphy and Greg Johnson, both 24, openly admit that they regularly break traffic laws while biking in the city.

"I never obey a single law," Murphy said flippantly, balancing his black Schwinn fixed-gear near 16th and Walnut streets. "I'm not worried."

Maybe he should be.

As bike lanes spread around Center City, the Give Respect, Get Respect campaign aimed at promoting and enforcing the peaceful coexistence of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians has started cracking down on rogue bikers.

A traffic-enforcement team of bike cops stopped 803 cyclists and motorists from its May 16 launch through Thursday. Of those, 600 were cyclists, according to statistics from the Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities.

"Cyclists seem to be where the educational focus needs to go," said Capt. Alan Clark, who leads the patrol out of the Police Department's Center City District substation. He added that motorists received more tickets, while cyclists were mostly issued warnings.

"[Motorists] don't need education. If they....

Read the rest of the article over at philly.com

By Morgan Zalot, philly.com, July 18, 2011