Forget Alec Baldwin. How About Some Celebrity Failure-to-Yield Tickets?

Well that was fast. About an hour after Alec Baldwin was arrested after reportedly biking in the wrong direction on Fifth Avenue this morning, the story was all over the place.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Actor Alec Baldwin was arrested in Manhattan for riding his bike the wrong way down a street and for disorderly conduct, a law-enforcement official said.

Mr. Baldwin was allegedly riding his bicycle north on Fifth Avenue in the center of the street between 15th and 16th streets, the official said.

Police officers stopped him and asked him for identification, but he didn’t have any on him, the official said.

Mr. Baldwin then allegedly grew visibly upset with the officers, the official said. He was placed in handcuffs. Mr. Baldwin was taken to a local police precinct and was later released, the official said.

Sure, Baldwin is primo click bait right now, but consider this: Celebrity summonses are kind of a brilliant way to get the most bang for your enforcement buck. The public education value is sky high. Imagine if NYPD ticketed, say, Kim Kardashian for speeding, followed by a statement from the department along the lines of “Speeding kills, no matter who’s behind the wheel.”

Of course, there would have to be more enforcement against reckless driving for that message to stick. As of March, officers from the 13th Precinct, where Baldwin was arrested, had ticketed seven drivers for speeding this year. Meanwhile, NYPD locks up normal people after dumb bike stops on the regular.