http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/cycling/pdf/hta.pdf

Man, the city of Toronto must view bikes as a second source of income. This is worse than liquor taxes.

I think you may get some of the fines reduced.

I'm sorry, but I'm finding it difficult to be sympathetic. I am in Toronto too and feel that the regulations: lights, horn, etc. are reasonable and justified. I find need of my horn at least once a day, even if just to warn some pedestrian about to step between two parked cars into my lane, but more often to let some bozo SUV driver sliding right into me with no signal. A 115db blast from my Airzounds gets their attention. If a car is required to have a working horn, we too should have a working warning system. I would only argue the reflective tape issue as I find that absurd if my bikes have reflectors and lights (my bikes are way bright anyway!) and fortunately, that wasn't one of the citations. I have no remorse for anyone going through a red-light like I see daily and why you would not show i.d. (that is an offence up here too: you must carry valid i.d. at all times) when asked is beyond me. I see too many of my fellow cyclists ride with impunity: flying up on sidewalks, going against the traffic, no hand signals, failing to stop at stop signs and stop lights, etc., the police need to enforce those rules: they protect everyone and there's no valid reason not to observe them, imo. Take your lumps and learn your lesson. Fighting it when you know you're guilty is irresponsible. How do you explain those actions to your kid(s)?

So to summarize, if you don't signal, you might get a ticket, if you do signal, the rear-view mirror of a speeding cube van might break your arm. If you run a yellow light, you might get a ticket. If you stop for a yellow, expect the SUV behind you to nearly hit you as they run it. It happened twice this week so far.

The only lesson I can extract is that riding a bike in Toronto is moronic.

I guess I won't be learning my lesson.

Thanks for owning up to this. There are a lot of people that would scream "I don't have to tell them who I am! I don't have to carry identification when riding a bike! Riding a bike is my RIGHT, not a privilege! I ride a bike so I can ignore traffic signals, are those pigs too stupid to realize that?!?!" etc....I'm sure that some of them will come out anyway. :(

not having a bell is a real crime up here you say lol dude it is safer to pull over a bike for a bell or horn infraction than to stop a gun toating crack dealer

Did you at least tell them who you are and where you live? That is suffcient.

From the Ontario HTA

All the civil liberties issues aside, my grievance remains that in the complete traffic anarchy that is Toronto, the cops are apparently (and they do it every year this time, the 'bike-safe' blitz) pulling over bikes for running yellow lights.

Where I ride, in Toronto, nobody, NOBODY, EVER STOPS for yellow lights. In the last ten years I can not remember EVER seeing a car come to a stop at a yellow light, or even slow down if they are less than 50-100 feet from the intersection. Once the light is red, the more timid drivers then start thinking about slowing a bit. This affects how I ride strongly and negatively.

If the light ahead is yellow, or turning red, and a can hear that the 18-wheeler 10 feet off my back wheel (actual events here) is gearing UP, not down, then you can bet there is no way in hell I am gonna stop. The idea that this sort of thing might entitle me to a citation is just surreal.

Having said that, blowing through a red light for no apparent reason is ********, and I shudder when I see bikes (or cars, or heavy trucks ) do it.

If I bend the laws, it is because I am trying to decrease my chances of getting creamed by a car, not up them.

All the civil liberties issues aside, my grievance remains that in the complete traffic anarchy that is Toronto, the cops are apparently (and they do it every year this time, the 'bike-safe' blitz) pulling over bikes for running yellow lights.
Look bike right blitzz is nothing but a sham just look at the amount of cars parking in bike lanes during the Blitzz and tha cops do nothing about it AND at COXWELL and DUNDAS 55 division right out side the police station the cars park in the bike lanes all the time and the cops DO NOTHING about it.. here is the link http://www.getoutofthebikelane.com/cycleright.html the other site is down for repairs but it has pic's of the parking in bike lanes out side of 55

There's always one person who over-simplifies and condescends. Technically, cyclists should signal. I admit I only use my signals when there is traffic around that would be affected. But, yes, I technically should signal every stop, every turn and run the risk, like every vehicle operator who doesn't signal) of a ticket if I don't. Cops, rarely, if ever, ticket for something like that, however (perhaps it's too easy to successfuly fight).

How long are your arms? Making a right hand signal does not extend much beyond the width of your vehicle and if you are that close to a van (because you always look behind you first) don't signal right then, wait for him to go by. Sheesh. You shouldn't be signalling a left-hand turn from the right, so that eliminates getting your arm broken like that. If an SUV decides to run a red, let him: you likely have had the sense to move to the right anyway. I've rarely experienced what you have twice this week and I commute 10 miles per day, every day for 25 years.

And the highway/traffic act states that you must come to a stop on an amber light if you can do so safely. So, if you go through one, fine, but if you had time to stop behind the line, then you should have. You, like any vehicle operator, risk getting a ticket if you don't. What's so hard about that? It's simple common sense.

900,000 season cyclists in Toronto would disagree it's moronic to ride in Toronto. Maybe it's only moronic for morons.

In this US generally red light running means entering the intersection AFTER the light has turned red. Enter point of intersection is usually the line drawn from curb to curb, which is beyond the white painted stop line. This varies state by state and of course has nothing to do with where you are. Anyway entering on yellow is never considered red light running as far as I know - maybe there are some places where you need to be cleared out of intersection when light turns red.
Slamming on the brakes for a yellow can be very dangerous.

Al

[QUOTE= I am in Toronto too and feel that the regulations: lights, horn, etc. are reasonable and justified. [/QUOTE]

Agreed. Usually I have all that stuff, not really because it is the law, but because it can save my butt. I had recently switched parts from one frame to another and I hadn't installed my grips bell or lights yet.



[QUOTE=Fighting it when you know you're guilty is irresponsible. How do you explain those actions to your kid(s)?[/QUOTE]

Easy. I don't have kids. Even if I did, I personally don't have an ethical delema with using the court system protect my interests. The state is using the same system to punish me-I would be foolish not defend myself, and my income to the best of my ability. That is perfectly legal, and perfectly responsible. IMO, $410 is way beyond excessive for running a yellow light on a bike, and I suspect that a Justice of the Peace will agree. If not, then I will have no choice but to pay in full.

Well, according to Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine film, there's practically no crime in Canada. He proves it in the movie by showing that nobody in Toronto locks his front door! So don't blame me, blame Mike.

The ID thing really gets me.. I've been in several situations (both car and bike) where I forgot to carry ID and just gave him my name, address, and offered my drivers license or social security number, and I've been fine. Even in the most recent--a car-bike collision. COLLISION!--I had no ID and the officer just took my name and checked my information over the radio. That cop must have really been crabby with a lot of time on his hands.

Right... upholding the principles of a lawful society now apparently involves willingly being the scapegoat for the thousand-odd other guys who ran the red that day in vehicles weighing tons more, and much greater speeds, and somehow didn't get ticketed. But make sure you forfeit your hearing and plead guilty because otherwise, your children will someday find out you exercised your right to fight a traffic ticket you got on a bicycle.

I just love being taught ethics over the internet.

In response to the earlier posts, if my questioning the constancy of the traffic act enforcement and criticizing the behavior of drivers in Toronto makes me a moron according to some random guy on the internet, so be it. I have lot nastier things yelled at me out the windows of cars when I am not "on the sidewalk where I should be".

But I also take responsibility for my own safety, and laws that were designed to keep people in motor vehicles moving steadily around the city have little to do with keeping cyclists from getting hit by motor vehicles. If you think the following the law will protect you from motorists who totally disregard it, then I admire your conviction.

My view is bit more pragmatic. When I say that word many will quickly accuse me of making my own rules, I suppose, but my only real rule is “don’t get hit by a car”. Yes, I place that rule above the numbered sections of the highway traffic act..

Just like people in cars place “getting home five minutes faster” above the aforementioned. Nothing can convince me that ANYWHERE in Toronto, when you stop for a yellow light, a bunch of cars wouldn’t go ripping by and blow through it.

And what happened to sticking out your left arm and pointing it down to signal a stop? That’s what I meant about getting it taken off.

900,000 cyclists, and I haven’t seen one out so far this week. Just cars. Running red lights.

Maybe there are two cities called Toronto and I’m in the wrong one.

Look at the fines in my state.

No registration... Violation of any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of one dollar
Safety violation (ie. no horn, no brakes, riding at night without a light, etc.)... Violations of any provision of this section except violations of subclause (iii) of clause (2) shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars.
Failure to identify or falsely identifying...a fine of not less than 20 nor more than 50 dollars

Reference: "subclause (iii) of clause (2)" is a child under 12 with no helmet ...no fine

Of course you can always comfort yourself by knowing that your fines are in Canadian dollars.

I can understand the reluctance to produce a driver's license when stopped on a bike. Insurance rates and all that... The most simple solution is stop carrying a driver's license when you ride. While you're not legally required to produce identification, you are required to identify yourself. Your name and adress are sufficient. The cops can detain you though, in order to verify your identity. It's easier to show them ID. Carry your OHIP card, your library card, age of majority card, passport, citizenship card or whatever. And stop running red lights. Good luck with the charges.

I agree $410.00 is a lot of money, but it wasn't ALL for running the red: only $190.80 was. There are many in our society that say penalties aren't strong enough to be a deterrent for crimes committed (or other less-serious offences). $190.80 would sure make me think twice before running another red. Maybe that amount is an adequate deterrent. It sure is to me.

I teach my son to be responsible for his mistakes and to be honest about them. How hypocritical it would be for me to behave otherwise. But, that's just me. I'm in no position to tell others what to do. Ethics can't be taught.

This is where the consistency of enforcement, or the lack of it, comes into play. If everyone knew that hitting the gas when the light turned yellow was going to get them a 10-minute curbside lecture and a $200 fine, there would be a lot less broken glass lying on the road at intersections.

But because the enforcement of this and most other laws is pretty much none-existent for most of the year, it never occurs to anyone to think about stopping, as long as they think they can get through the intersection before the traffic cuts loose in the other direction.

Toronto even had 'public opposition' at first to red-light cameras, the same as the "privacy concerns' that ended the photo-radar program. I am guessing the opposition came from people who made a habit of rolling through some very red lights, and there were enough of these people to represent an actual political will!

It was only after the city only placed a handful of cameras spread over hundreds of intersections that public "privacy" concerns of the red-light running public diminished, and Torontonians could again associate a yellow light with the gas pedal, not the brake.

Fact: This week, in Toronto, I have seen older drivers (not even a punk kids!) drive past a row of stopped cars by using the right-hand turn lane, and blow through a light IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RED CYCLE. I have seen this personally, twice, in the last three days. The cops MUST know this stuff is going on.

So am I sympathetic for a bike ticketed for blowing a yellow?

Yes.

If only it were so.... There's been a shooting every day for the past couple of days. Funny movie though.

Although there was a quote here that said a cyclist must identify himself, I believe it is an offense not to have some authorized identification on you at all times whether you're a pedestrian or anything else. It may be under the vagrancy act. Don't quote me as espousing the law, however. I'm not entirely certain of it.

yow!! I agree with the statement on time of day and reflectors..did you introduce youreself as..Hi, I'm darkmother...and I am a cyclist.

Although not the official TO site...interesting, if you read the TO bike rules, 'For the purposes of this section, giving one’s correct name and address is suffcient identification', I guess they know that most bike riders may not have driver's license or other 'official' ID.

However, if you look at my number one below, of the TO rules, they rules seem to be contradictory, how is one supposed to keep both hands on the hand bars and signal at the same time??

1. Bicycle - unable to keep both hands on handlebars 15(2) $85.00
2. Fail to signal for tum 142(1) $90.00
3. Fail to signal lane change 141(2) $90.00
4. Fail to signal stop 141(8) $90.00

Lucky, you weren't busted for the big one, 'Careless Driving 130 @ $265.00'.

It seems the origin of TO's bike rules were directed at couriers, and drifted to apply to all cyclists, mostly as a revenue generating venue...yuck

Papers, please!

No EnigManiac, it's not just you. It's me too and I would suggest many, many others.

Dam more than shootings last two years lot's of murders in the Toronto core I now take a differnt route home at night in the warmer months ( midnight) there have been alot of killings along the Dundas street and near it