# NY DMV Admits to Cheating Cyclists on Tickets



## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

_The New York State DMV admits that it is incorrectly overcharging cyclists for traffic violations and wrongly adding points to their drivers licenses, but the agency hasn’t agreed to stop doing it.

In his most recent Streetsblog column, attorney Steve Vaccaro pointed out that the DMV’s online payment system does not distinguish between bikes and motor vehicles. As a result, cyclists who plead guilty and pay traffic tickets online are stuck with an $88 surcharge that doesn’t apply to bike violations, and are getting points on their licenses that don’t legally apply.

Vaccaro got a letter from the DMV today acknowledging that, under state law, “there are no points assigned for violations committed by bicyclists,” and that the law “exempts bicycle violations from the mandatory surcharge.”

The DMV agreed to refund the surcharge for two of Vaccaro’s clients, but the letter did not indicate that the agency would fix its web site, or give other cyclists their money back and remove license points they shouldn’t have.

In a letter back to DMV, Vaccaro wrote, “Going forward, it appears that remedying this problem will require more than a reminder to the DMV clerical staff.” In addition to modifying its online payment system, Vaccaro says the traffic ticket form used by NYPD should be changed to “make clear” that the surcharge is not “’mandatory’ for cyclists.”

“They haven’t in any way addressed the web site,” Vaccaro told Streetsblog, ”and they are still sitting on $88/per cyclist moving violations for the last ‘x’ number of years.”_

New York State DMV Admits to Cheating Cyclists, But Doesnâ€™t Say It Will Stop | Streetsblog New York City


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

I can see the vultures.... um lawyers... lining up for a class action lawsuit against the state.

I hope they get their policy straightened out soon.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

CliffordK said:


> I can see the vultures.... um lawyers... lining up for a class action lawsuit against the state.
> 
> I hope they get their policy straightened out soon.


Is this not a case where those vultures are doing a good thing for us.


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

NJBiker72 said:


> Is this not a case where those vultures are doing a good thing for us.


Possibly.
Usually the state pays attention to appeals and such, which is why a single appeal can have ramifications across the legal system. If the state has admitted fault, then one would expect a rapid response. 

Nonetheless, if an individual hires an attorney for an $88 fine, the attorney will likely be earning thousands while the individual gets the $88 back, not enough to even cover the attorney fees. In a class action suit, the attorneys may earn in the millions while the individual plaintiffs get $88 back.

And, at some point, it all comes from the New York taxpayers pocket books.


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