sdgrannygear

I got pulled over a few weeks back for rolling(slowly) a stop sign in monrovia. There's no question I'm guilty but I want to get this expunged from my record so my insurance doesn't go up. I checked my ticket online to sign up for traffic school but it does not give me this option( I haven't had a ticket in several years). Do you guys/gals know if you have to show up to court to request traffic school or are we even eligible as cyclists for traffic school? Thanks!

mwandaw

Please do not rely on this advice, but use it to form questions that you may want to ask of someone who knows what they're talking about.

1) I think that one traffic ticket will not increase your insurance premium. Please ask your insurance agent or company.

2) If your insurance premium will not go up, you may want to consider just paying the ticket. I think I heard that now days the cost of traffic school plus court fees is about the same as just paying the ticket. The office staf at the court listed on your ticket may be able to give you the details.

Good luck!

Rick@OCRR

I got a ticket for rolling a stop sign on the Eastern Sierra Double a coupe of years ago and when I got the summons in the mail it listed traffic school as a viable option to having it on my record.

I had to pay the ticket ($520.00 as I recall) plus traffic school (don't remember but I think about $50.00) to keep it off my record.

Your mileage may vary so please check with the city of Monrovia for your options.

Rick / OCRR

calamarichris

If you don't want your insurance company to find out about it, you definitely do NOT want to ask them about it. Also, the court costs and traffic school costs are charged ON TOP OF your ticket fine.

This website Bicyclelaw.com: How to Handle a Traffic Ticket, seems to suggest that traffic school is not available in all communities, but that you should be able to either contact the court clerk before your court date to ask about the availability of traffic school, OR you can plead guilty in court and request traffic school then--the worst they can do is say "no" and you'll have wasted a trip to court.

Good luck and let us know how it comes out!

prathmann

Check to be sure that your citation clearly states that it refers to a bicycle violation and that it's recorded as such by the court clerk.
Per The California DMV as quoted here: Vehicle Code Violations used in Negligent Operator Counts

"Violation points are assigned to Vehicle Code sections and any other code section, or city or county ordinance, involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle. Any violation occurring as a pedestrian or a bicyclist has no point assigned. The department may suspend and place on probation, or revoke, the driving privilege of a negligent operator."

The key language here is MOTOR VEHICLE. In order to have a traffic ticket assess points against your driving record and/or vehicle insurance you must be ticketed while operating a MOTOR VEHICLE. A Bicycle is not a motor vehicle as per the California Vehicle Code

TrojanHorse

$520! Holy ***!

That can't have been your first ticket then, could it?

OP - you can always go to court and hope the officer doesn't show up - it's a free dismissal of your ticket.

Rick@OCRR

My first in several years and the other one (2006?) I went to traffic school too. The bicycle one was in Mono County.

Rick / OCRR

TrojanHorse

Wow!

Holy retirement fund, Batman.

kingston 

Rolling a stop sign on a bike? Seriously? Thanks for keeping everyone safe, officer.

I have been pulled over while on my bike twice, but I didn't get a ticket either time. If I did, I would place it directly in the shredder.

Rick@OCRR

True, but it could be worse. A friend of mine was caught speeding on Hwy 395 on the way to the Eastern Sierra double and his fine was well over $1,000.00.

Plus, I thought sure I would be DQ'd for rolling the stop sign but (fortunately for me; thank you Deb!) I was not. So the weekend was expensive but not a total loss.

Rick / OCRR

GP

In SD County, fees are calculated like this: https://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/pls/portal...RMS/ADM295.PDF

GP

Stupidity should hurt.

FBinNY 

The specific rules vary by state. In many state they apply "equal protection" philosophy and do not put bicycle violations on your MV record. The logic is that not all cyclists have driver's licenses, so it's unfair to have added punishment for those who do.

I'm not arguing either side of this, but the OP needs to check the laws in his state. It might be that he can't get this ticket expunged from his driving record because it was never recorded in the first place.

kingston 

My apologies. I failed to notice before I posted my reply that this was in the Southern California forum.

jamlo21

I ran a red light on a bike (it was at 6 a.m. with no traffic and I actually waited a few minutes for the light to turn green but it didn't). Cop pulled me over and said it wouldn't go on my driving record and it didn't. If you think about it, it shouldn't. You don't need a DL to ride your bike so why would it go on your driving record? I just paid the fine and went on my way. And yeah, the fine is the same as if you were driving a car and committed the offense. I wrote a letter and got it reduced by half.

prathmann

The OP's citation was in California and I already posted the information from the state DMV up above in message #5 . Bicycle violations in this state are not supposed to count from the standpoint of license suspensions or auto insurance. But it's a good idea to check with the court clerk to be sure that your citation is clearly marked as occurring on a bicycle - otherwise a mistake could be made resulting in points and insurance surcharges.

krobinson103

$520? Yikes. You could go broke in a day in Korea if they enforced that. Everyone rolls stop signs and red lights. If you don't you impede the traffic flow.

sdgrannygear

Thanks everyone for your replies! I'll check with the clerk if I can find their number if I can just pay the fine and not have to worry about my insurance going up. I would consider going to court to see if I could get it reduced but I live in the bay area now so coming down for a court appearance might not be the best use of my time. Yeah it was a totally weak ticket too, salt in the wound because it happened after I got dropped from a group ride and was riding home on my own a tad demoralized. Came up to the stop sign(3 way) and didn't see anyone so I slowly went through, saw the officer coming from my left and knew I was busted. Worst part were the smug drivers passing by saying "serves you right."

sam21fire

If you don't give the officer your driver's license (because you don't carry one on your bike) wouldn't it be difficult to connect you to your automobile insurance? I also find it difficult to believe that your AUTO insurance company could make any connection between your premiums and any actions you take that do not involve operating a motor vehicle. If my insurance company tried to pull that kind of monkeybusiness I'd be on the phone to the insurance commission pretty quickly.

prathmann

Not really. Although there's no requirement for you show a driver's license, you are required to provide your correct name and some other information such as birth date so the officer can identify you. Entering that data into the computer in his patrol car or radioing it in will bring up your information including driver's license #. But again, in Calif. as long as the citation is correctly entered as having occurred on a bicycle there should be no impact on your vehicle driving record or insurance.

Mugre

You might have asked around. My understanding is the you're allowed, if safely done, to go through a red light that either isn't working or won't change because your bicycle won't trigger the magnetic sensors in the asphalt.

Mugre

sam21fire

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

Nick94804

any idiot that writes you up for proceeding safely through a red light, after stopping and waiting for it to cycle deserves the wrath of the traffic court judge...which he or she will most assuredly incurr. You take that sucker to court and plead not guilty. As long as you didn't cause a semi to smack a school bus it'll get tossed, and the cop will get lectured.

rms13

Google tells me the ticket should be $234 and I just talked to someone yesterday who got one a few weeks ago and that is that sounds about right. Either way, in my area cops have specifically been setting up traps for cyclists in well traveled road biking areas to ticket people for failure to stop. So ...if you enjoy your money, stop at stop signs no matter how annoying it is. And of course the traps around here are all on the more quiet, residential areas where people roll through the signs

StopDiegoStop

Google "trial by declaration" and enter the CVC number you violated. Just submitted mine last week for rolling on a red, turning right. Will be hearing from the court in about 4-6 weeks.