Sports & Recreation

Caught in TO cycling blitz

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  • Aug 29th, 2010 12:34 pm
Newbie
Aug 23, 2010
33 posts
Kincardine

Caught in TO cycling blitz

Was biking today and got stopped around Broadview and O'Conner by a police officer for the annual cycling cash grab, I mean "safety blitz". :mad:

Ended up getting a $110 ticket for missing not having a bell.

What's the best way to deal with this ticket? I really don't want to pay the full $110; is this my reward for biking to work?

The officer mentioned something about getting a bell then visiting the crown? Not completely sure what he was talking about.
38 replies
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Nov 7, 2007
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I started cycling this year and one of the first things I checked was the bike law which is under the highway traffic act. I bought a 4 dollar bell at sportcheck to avoid a 110 fine. Another thing to watch out is "disobey stop sign which is very common with cyclist , also 110 fine.

I guess go to the crown, plead guilty, show your bell and tell them you learned your lesson.

http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/pdf/hta.pdf
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Mar 27, 2007
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willemk wrote:
What's the best way to deal with this ticket?
You broke the law, pay the ticket. stop trying to circumvent the law.



It costs money to pave the road for cyclists too (and paint the bike lanes). take solace in the fact that you're share of the costs is a lot less then it is for drivers
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Nov 3, 2006
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ItechJester wrote: You broke the law, pay the ticket. stop trying to circumvent the law.


It costs money to pave the road for cyclists too (and paint the bike lanes). take solace in the fact that you're share of the costs is a lot less then it is for drivers
I agree with the first part, but was the anti-bike rhetoric necessary?

Do you take solace from the fact that we pay taxes to pave roads that we can't even use? Think Gardiner Expressway, DVP, 400-series highways...
The lines on the road are repainted every year anyway, so what's the extra cost of painting a few bike symbols?
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Aug 23, 2010
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Kincardine
As a side note, i do also own a car and pay my fair share of road taxes,

$110 seems extremely excessive for something so minor.
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May 6, 2005
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$110 -is- excessive.

[QUOTE]Early resolution at first attendance
If you receive an Offence Notice (commonly called a "ticket") for an offence indicated on the chart below other than parking, stopping or standing of a vehicle, you may have a First Attendance meeting with a prosecutor. At this meeting you can discuss the charge(s) on the ticket(s) and possibly reach a satisfactory result without a trial.

First attendance meetings are available by appointment only and must be requested in person at the court office address indicated on the back of your ticket. Court rulings require that you must file a trial request at the same time you request a first attendance meeting. If the first attendance meeting is not successful, then a trial will automatically be set. [/QUOTE]
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Dec 24, 2008
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twotterdhc6 wrote: Do you take solace from the fact that we pay taxes to pave roads that we can't even use? Think Gardiner Expressway, DVP, 400-series highways...
You can drive on them, you choose not to.

As for the OP - you broke the law, you deserve the fine, pay the ticket and follow the rules of the road.
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Jun 14, 2003
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I just don't understand why cyclist would not know the basic legal requirement of riding a bike. You need a bell. You need reflectors.
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pseudo wrote: I started cycling this year and one of the fir/�x�$��)s I checked was the bike law which is under the highway traffic act. I bought a 4 dollar bell at sportcheck to avoid a 110 fine. Another thing to watch out is "disobey stop sign which is very common with cyclist , also 110 fine.

I guess go to the crown, plead guilty, show your bell and tell them you learned your lesson.

http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/pdf/hta.pdf
Wait... you bought a $4 bell? Dollar store sells same bell for $1 bro. You got gipped
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Jun 30, 2009
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gman wrote: I just don't understand why cyclist would not know the basic legal requirement of riding a bike. You need a bell. You need reflectors.
I was once told by a cop you only need reflectors or lighting if you are going to be riding at night? I'm not about to put a set of reflectors on my road racing bike (I do have a bell hidden behind the stem though). On my other bikes, if I'm not sure how late I'll be out I bring a set of those small MEC lights that you can strap to your seat tube and handlebars, but I'll leave them off the bike till I need them.

Edit: Here's the law:

"Section 62 (17) Lamps Required (Equipment)
When on a highway at any time from one half-hour before sunset to one-half hour after sunrise every bicycleshall carry on the front thereof a light lamp displaying a white or amber light and on the rear thereof a lighted lamp displaying a red light or a reflector approved by the Ministry, and in addition there shall be placed on the front forks thereof white reflective material and on the rear thereof red reflective material covering a surface of not less than 250 millimeters in length and 25 millimeters in width.

It is not practical, (and in some cases impossible) for most modern bicycles to accommodate the amounts of tape now required by the H.T.A. Clothing with reflective tape or material could enhance cyclists' visibility when there is insufficient light. The intent of this section is that the cyclist and his or her vehicle should be visible. Some degree of flexibility in how this is to be achieved would be desirable."
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Crappymonkey wrote: I was once told by a cop you only need reflectors or lighting if you are going to be riding at night? I'm not about to put a set of reflectors on my road racing bike (I do have a bell hidden behind the stem though).

It is not practical, (and in some cases impossible) for most modern bicycles to accommodate the amounts of tape now required by the H.T.A. Clothing with reflective tape or material could enhance cyclists' visibility when there is insufficient light. The intent of this section is that the cyclist and his or her vehicle should be visible. Some degree of flexibility in how this is to be achieved would be desirable."
Reflectors are the bare minimum required by law, but we all know how useless they are in practice. There are quite a few low-profile styles of lights you can attach to a road bike without bracket or tools.

I read about the reflective tape requirement before, but it is something that is rarely cited, and never enforced. I'd rather attach more lights than have some ugly tape permanently stuck on my forks.
taylyn wrote: You can drive on them, you choose not to.
No, I can't drive my bicycle on the 400-series highway, even if i choose to.
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Nov 22, 2008
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You did break the law, although it is excessive for not having a bell. Plead guilty and pay the fine is the only thing I can suggest.

There are bad cyclist, I am not suggesting the OP is one, and there are bad drivers. I hate the notion of hating on each other. I have a car and I love to bike for recreational and commuting purposes. I hate drivers who are rude and shout nasty things at me because they don't want to share the road even though I keep well to the right and go pretty fast just as much as I hate cyclists who don't obey the signs and those who bike in the opposite direction of the given lane/street/road/path.
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Put on the bell, go to court, and tell them you're sorry you didn't know and you have fixed it and it won't happen again.

I did that when I didn't have a valid insurance card, and forgot plate sticker.
They just threw it out.
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Nov 7, 2007
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AzN_RiverdaleCI wrote: Wait... you bought a $4 bell? Dollar store sells same bell for $1 bro. You got gipped
Im not that cheap like you bro..
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jacobe wrote: I hate cyclists who don't obey the signs and those who bike in the opposite direction of the given lane/street/road/path.
Lol. Gotta love the bike salmon.
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twotterdhc6 wrote: No, I can't drive my bicycle on the 400-series highway, even if i choose to.
I quite clearly said you could DRIVE on them if you wanted to, not RIDE. You choose not to DRIVE on the highway so tough luck to you. Only an idiot would want to ride a bike on a highway.
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ItechJester wrote: You broke the law, pay the ticket. stop trying to circumvent the law.



It costs money to pave the road for cyclists too (and paint the bike lanes). take solace in the fact that you're share of the costs is a lot less then it is for drivers
Ya..but do you know how that gets paid for? With your property taxes. Most roads are owned by the municipality. They get there money from property taxes (with only a small amount coming from the meager amount the government lets them have of the gas tax)
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twotterdhc6 wrote: I agree with the first part, but was the anti-bike rhetoric necessary?

Do you take solace from the fact that we pay taxes to pave roads that we can't even use? Think Gardiner Expressway, DVP, 400-series highways...
The lines on the road are repainted every year anyway, so what's the extra cost of painting a few bike symbols?
i am not anti-bike. i am just realistic. do you expect others to burden the cost for bikers just because? this isn't a communist country. everyone should pay a certain amount, within their means
new_vr wrote: Ya..but do you know how that gets paid for? With your property taxes. Most roads are owned by the municipality. They get there money from property taxes (with only a small amount coming from the meager amount the government lets them have of the gas tax)
what does that have to do with anything? if a toronto cop is ticketing bicyclists, where do you think the money ends up?
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ItechJester wrote: i am not anti-bike. i am just realistic. do you expect others to burden the cost for bikers just because? this isn't a communist country. everyone should pay a certain amount, within their means



what does that have to do with anything? if a toronto cop is ticketing bicyclists, where do you think the money ends up?
Like the OP said, many cyclists own vehicles and own property. Cyclists pay for the road and use a little bit of it and never in the winter. I, for one, associate a lot of cyclists with a vibrant and healthy community. You don't see people biking in Detroit but you sure see a lot of them in Amsterdam and NYC.
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willemk wrote: Was biking today and got stopped around Broadview and O'Conner by a police officer for the annual cycling cash grab, I mean "safety blitz". :mad:

Ended up getting a $110 ticket for missing not having a bell.

What's the best way to deal with this ticket? I really don't want to pay the full $110; is this my reward for biking to work?

The officer mentioned something about getting a bell then visiting the crown? Not completely sure what he was talking about.

How is this a cash grab? Any blitz with the intention on saving lives is definitely NOT a cash grab. Ride checks, seatbelt checks, unsafe driving blitzes, safety checks for transport vehicles, helmet checks, and of course, bell checks are all to reduce accidents, which of course saves lives. If the police issues you a ticket for not having a life saving tool, how can you blame them?

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