Levittown Bicycle Safety Forum Targets 'Ride-Outs,' 'Chicken'

LEVITTOWN, NY — A bicycle safety community forum is planned Wednesday in Levittown as the community and Nassau County alike grapple with dangerous confrontations between drivers and youths on bikes.

The forum is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at the Levittown Public Library on Bluegrass Lane, according to county Legislator John Ferretti Jr.'s website.

Ferretti plans to talk about one of two laws he recently proposed aimed at making bicycling safer for kids. As Patch previously reported, one bill would amend the county's current bicycle law to require youths to wear a helmet while on bikes. The legislation would also apply to scooters, both with and without motors.

Dennis Dunne Sr., a Town of Hempstead council member, was also expected to attend, along with Donald Clavin Jr, the town's receiver of taxes, and members of the police force. A question and answer session is planned, and both parents and children are encouraged to attend.

"I would expect it to be a large crowd," Ferretti told Patch on Wednesday. "It's a pretty important issue to the community."

Wednesday's meeting deals more with kids "playing chicken" with cars and going on so-called "ride-outs," Ferretti said. A ride out is an organized bike ride by a group of youths on social media. A meeting point is set and then the kids record video of themselves riding recklessly, he said.

In the game of chicken, youths ride into oncoming traffic, hoping cars swerve out of the way. Kids also record themselves riding between cars and scraping their hand on the vehicles.

"The goal is to get as many clicks as possible," he said, adding that it has become a countywide problem.

Ferretti said police told him there's no law currently that allows them to do anything about the issue. The kids, he said, know that. Under his bill, kids 12 and older could be charged with a misdemeanor and face a $100 fine. Police would also be able to confiscate bicycles regardless of the rider's age and it would only be released to an adult.

"The goal is to draw attention to the troubling trend," said Ferretti, not charge kids with misdemeanor crimes.

The bill has been filed with the clerk and will make its way through various committees. If it passes through those committees, it will be voted before the full county legislature. If it passes there, Laura Curran, the county executive, would have to sign it.

Ferretti noted this is separate from a bike helmet bill he proposed. Currently under state law, riders do not have to wear helmet once they turn 15 years old, but officers cannot issue a ticket to youths under 16. Instead, it goes to a parent. Under Ferretti's bill would raise that age limit to 18 years old and police could then issue tickets to kids 16 and 17 years old. Violators could face a $50 fine.

The proposals follow the June 30 death of 13-year-old Andrew Alati, who was killed while riding a bicycle on Hempstead Turnpike in Levitown. Police said the boy was riding his bicycle in front of a shopping center when he was hit by a sedan. He died at a hospital.

The boy was not participating in any kind of ride out, Ferretti stressed.