Acrobat/unicyclist/juggler person Kyle Peterson is suing the NYPD in federal court for $3 million dollars because they issued him a summons for riding his unicycle on a sidewalk back in December 2007. Three mill buys a lot of bowling pins.
Peterson says the city law prohibiting “two- or three-wheeled device[s]” doesn’t apply to unicycles, which have either one wheel or 12,000 wheels (can’t remember which), so he was lawfully on the sidewalk. His summons was eventually dismissed, and now he wants millions of dollars for damages. Hey, it’s cold in December, shut up. If he wins and gets all that money, he should buy rubies to juggle with, or open an alternative nonprofit school for wannabe circus acts.
Question: How can a unicycle on the sidewalk be safer for pedestrians than a bicycle on the sidewalk? Most bikes have brakes, and most bicyclists will stop in time (can’t speak for the drunk ones–they are “wild cards,” but relatively rare outside the hours of 12:30-3:30 AM). With a unicycle, though, it’s just some guy on a wheel, with nothing to stop him if he falls and goes boom. He and his bowling pins just land on your head.
The law should either permit all wheels or no wheels on the sidewalk. No special exemptions just because you can juggle. It’s not like you’re creating any jobs, doing that zany stuff. |NYDN| (Photo beigephotos/flickr)
Simple answer to your question. Unicycles cannot travel at high speed; in fact most riders cannot travel fast than your average jogger (and can stop as fast). Add this to the fact that, on the streets/in bike lanes their slow pace is a serious impediment to traffic flow as well as a danger. Next you will be telling young athletic wheel chair riders to hit the bike lanes.
Unicycles are far more maneuverable than bicycles, as anyone who rides them or has seen a good rider should realize. In fact, a good rider is about as adept on the unicycle as you would be on your feet – they can move forward, backward, make sharp turns, or even hover in one position momentarily if need be. And, as GMH said, unlike bicycles they can't really be ridden fast enough to safely ride in the street.
For one thing, they aren't geared – the pedals are connected directly to the wheel. You can't shift to a higher gear so you can go faster… your only option is to pedal as fast as you want to go.