BLOG 
FILTER BY:
ALL
Wearing a short skirt while cycling deemed a distraction
ShareThis
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has quickly grown a reputation for over zealous policing when it comes to perceived cycling offences in the city. This includes issuing tickets for not cycling in a marked bicycle lane and in one case a unicyclist performing on a pavement.
They also seem to frown upon cycle chic. A Dutch tourist, Jasmijn Rijcken, who ironically works for Vanmoof, a bicycle manufacturer in Amsterdam, was pulled over by an unidentified officer for wearing clothes that were deemed too sexy while sightseeing the city on a bicycle on May 3.
The officer told Jasmijn that her skirt was too short and that she was showing too much of her legs that it could distract cars and cause an accident. Jasmijn said the officer asked her for her ID, but decided against giving her a ticket after she argued it was common for Dutch women to cycle in skirts in the Netherlands.
Surprised
“I didn’t even think for one second that my outfit could be harmful or disturbing,’ Jasmijn told the Streetblogs.org website.
She did go back to her hotel and change into trousers after the incident as the police officer told her it would be wise to do so if cycling in New York.
The NYPD does have an impressive list of onerous offences for which cyclists can be charged but it doesn’t state that it is illegal to wear a short skirt while cycling. In a statement, the NYPD said without the officers name it could not verify whether the incident took place.
Jasmijn’s cycle chic
For the record for fashionistas out there, Jasmijn was wearing a frilly, grey skirt and short light brown boots. She first broke the story via Vanmoof’s own Facebook page on May 23, and the outfit she wore on the day the NYPD stopped her can be viewed below.
The more cynical among you could suggest that the whole thing was a marketing stunt to promote the Vanmoof brand of bikes, though Jasmijn has been quick to deny this on Twitter.
See also
I can do it, mum!” The Importance of Getting Your Kids Cycling
4 comments [leave one]
James - Going Going Bike
June 15, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Hi Jo - cynical indeed! Although, as we mentioned, we also reckon there could be a hint of something more murky and suspicious going on!
Cycle Assist
June 15, 2011 at 10:38 am
This is so stupid, its not even that short. The NYPD have a reputation for crazieness though…
Leave a Reply
Tags: Cycle chic, cycle laws, New York, NYPD, Vanmoof
Search Blogs
Bikepedia
OTHER STUFF
POPULAR POSTS
What to say when a driver shouts at you Celebrate our success and list for freeLondon prepares for Olympic cycling test eventLondon Riots hit cycling community
RECENT POSTS
Report reveals a “healthy” and “growing” UK cycle economy
What to say when a driver shouts at you
All set for Brompton World Champs
Boy’s detective work leads to recovery of stolen bikes
Library invites customers to generate energy with bikes
BLOG ARCHIVE
Perhaps I’ve grown to cynical over time, but I looked into this further and to me this story just doesn’t add up. (Explained on http://post.ly/2D5IZ.) This may not be as sinister as a deliberate guerilla marketing stunt, but then still she posted her update with the above picture on the company’s Facebook page and it may have been picked up and gotten out of hand beyond her control from there. Above all it shows the eagerness of serious media outlets to print stuff without (much) checking who, what, why, where, when and how.