Originally Posted by
daimbert
I told the officer sorry but I am new to biking and wasn't aware that bikes had to stop on a red light. Anyway, I think its a little unfair considering I honestly didn't know the rules.
R-I-G-H-T ... sure ... mmmm-hmmmm ......... pull the other one.
Your bicycle is a vehicle of the road, just like a car. The rules that apply to a car apply to you. How do you
not know that**********
And even if you didn't realize that the bicycle is a vehicle of the road, would you walk right out among traffic, against the red light if you were a pedestrian? Have you no concern for your own safety and the safety of your girlfriend?
Pay the ticket and consider yourself lucky to be alive and uninjured. Oh and ... get ahold of a road rules booklet for your area and read it. You might be able to find one online. Those rules apply to YOU.
And +1 to the comment above, "
OP, you did not get a ticket for riding your bike, you got a ticket for disobeying the law." ... riding your bicycle was fine, but you broke the law. You did something illegal. You got fined. That's how it works.