Eastern Canada - cycling laws in Quebec (Montreal)

planning to bring our bikes with us to visit Montreal at the end of August. Wonder what the regulations for bikes are. I googled and only found regulations for Toronot where bikes are treated as motor vehicles and bell/horn is mandatory.

I wonder if Quebec province (Montreal in particular) has similar laws and where to get a complete list. I don't have a bell/horn right now (not required in Massachusetts), I'd better get one before my visit if that's required.

Looking forward to advices

Thanks!

No bell or helmet required.

No bell or helmet required.

Thanks, Erick! How about the other rules? Are bikes treated / regulated just like cars otherwise? Single-file? right turns on red (allowed?), crossing roads? How about blinkies? can I turn on my blinky during the day? Speed limites, etc?

Bikes are regulated but no one follows the rules, so take these with a grain of salt. From the top of my head:

- Red light and stop signs are the same as cars
- Keep right unless you turn left
- You're supposed to take the bike lane if there's one on the street.
- Maximum 15 cyclists in a group, riding in single file
- No right turn on red on Montreal island, allowed elsewhere unless there's a sign
- Must have rear brake that can block the wheel
- Must have rear light at night
- Must have a front light that allows to distinguish a form from 10 meters
- Must have wheel reflectors, amber in front, red in rear
- Must have white reflectors in front, red in rear
- Some bike path have a 20km/h speed limit

Those are the main I can think of. Like I said, nobody follows them, from the reflectors to white front light to stopping at red lights. I wouldn't pay any attention about the reflector rules. Have your blinkies on during the day if you wish. Some lanes are bidirectionnal on one side of the street. I find them dangerous so I just avoid streets with those lanes in general, or just be careful.

The only thing that might get you a ticket is if you're going across the Jacques-Cartier bridge. There's an intersection on the bridge where cyclists are supposed to dismount and walk. It was never enforced until last week. They decided to harass cyclists and had police give warnings and tickets to those who didn't walk across the intersection. Made cyclists angry. Don't know if the cops are still there and I believe they are dressed in civil. I rarely ride there so I'm just reporting from what I heard.

Erick, thanks again, that's very detailed and thoughtful. I will definitely keep the Jacques-Cartier bridge in mind.

The list you provided makes sense, except I probably won't bother with front light during the day (unless you think otherwise). I haven't got one and I don't plan to ride at night.

I live in montreal to and none of my bike have reflectors and never gonna have some :P and i never had probleme with police, the other day i was riding with my friend and he went on red light in front of a police car they only horn him and continue they're way, it was pretty funny!

I think the helmet is a requirement by the law tho.

Have a good trip

Hi,

In addition to what Erick mentionned, just be careful in Montreal for 2 things:

- Police have been living lots of tickets for cyclists not respecting red lights (this is very common behavior in Montreal)

- Cars and taxis, cyclists, and pedestrians often behave like enemies, and often don't show respect for each other. We are used to it, but coming from another city you may find it lacks courtesy (which indeed it does).

Best regards,

Michel
http://www.freetrainingplan.com

Hi,

In addition to what Erick mentionned, just be careful in Montreal for 2 things:

- Police have been living lots of tickets for cyclists not respecting red lights (this is very common behavior in Montreal)

- Cars and taxis, cyclists, and pedestrians often behave like enemies, and often don't show respect for each other. We are used to it, but coming from another city you may find it lacks courtesy (which indeed it does).

Best regards,

Michel
http://www.freetrainingplan.com

Thanks for the headsup, Michel. Although admittedly I felt a tiny little bit disappointed at your 2nd point, I firmly believe hostility from US motorists toward cyclists can only exceed that of the Canadian drivers. While I should not expect all traffic to stop to wave at me and my bike, I am sure I will appreciate greatly the cycling infrastructure (i.e. bikeways, bikepaths, and bike routes) your lovely city provides and strive to be a respectful, well-behaved visitor :-)

The prevailing law is Darwin's "survival of the fittest". It's a jungle out there!