Montreal bike rider Chris Lloyd ran a red traffic light on his bicycle this week. Bicycles are considered vehicles, and as such must obey traffic laws. The police were waiting for just such an infraction by cyclists and gave him a $41 ticket.
A $41 ticket for riding through a red
light, and another for $651 for warning
others of their ticketing blitz
© cbc
Chris then decided he would warn other oncoming riders that police were waiting for them if they decided to run the lights as well.
The officer didn’t like that, and issued him another ticket, but this one was for $651 dollars, citing “obstructing a police officer”.
Mr Lloyd wasn’t overly upset about the first ticket, he did break the law after all, but feels the second was far beyond the pale.
Mr Lloyd took his case public, and on social media and on local CBC radio. Reactions have been mixed.
In response to his appearance on radio, many listeners have obviously been angered by cyclists; one person wrote , “as a pedestrian I am tired of getting whizzed past by cyclists that ignore laws of the road AND politeness”, while another commented “Keep handing out those tickets to these law breakers. Cyclists in this city are more than a little annoying with their free spirited, self indulgence.”
On the other side of the issue, some comments includede, “Another case of montreal officers abusing their power”, and “Admirable! The police are increasingly seen as tax collectors with guns by having “blitzes” for minor infractions.”
As for whether it is illegal to warn of a police ticket blitz, it seems rather a grey area. Many have likened Mr Lloyd’s actions to those of drivers who flash high beam headlights to warn of a radar trap.
Police don’t like that either and will occasionally issue tickets, but it does not appear to be illegal, at least in the most populous province of Ontario, or Quebec, in spite of what many think, including police.
of a hidden photo radar truck. © CBC
Meanwhile, a similar situation is occurring in Winnipeg, where a police photo radar truck has been ticketing people at a particular intersection. According to Todd Dube of “Wise-up Winnipeg”, a group dedicated to fighting photo radar, police have been issuing tickets for speeding at a rate of one every 44 seconds. He and Shane Yaworski who lives on the street with a 50km limit, have been standing near the area for the past two weeks with large signs warning of the hidden radar truck. They say on one hand the speed for that thoroughfare is too low, and there are too few signs indicating the limit. On the other they say the radar truck is illegally parked in front of a hydrant and blocking a stop sign.
They say many people have stopped to thank them, even buying them pizza, saying the police radar is another example of a cash grab.
MSN article on warning about radar traps
Wheels.ca article on radar trap warning
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