Originally Posted by
ianjk
Last time I checked, cyclists get the same fines. Some friends got hit for $250 IIRC for impeding traffic by holding a line and not weaving in and out of parked cars on a designated bike route.
They get the same fines for the same crimes, but they aren't capable of committing the real big ticket offenses; speeding and reckless, for example. A cyclist has to be trying really hard to get a speeding ticket (making it extremely rare), whereas on any given day well over 75% of people on the road are well over the "limit".
In Virginia, a ticket for reckless driving carries a $1050 surcharge payable to the state... on top of whatever fine the judge mandates.
Good luck matching that by rolling through a stop sign on your fixie.
The point is that, no matter how you look at it, cops ticketing cyclists is NOT a money making move. If they just want cash, they have much MUCH better alternatives.