On November 15 2010 07:30 Enervate wrote: Yea and in China, no one will care if you get run over by a car. (I'm Chinese). Driving in China is really crazy and though I consider myself a pretty good driver in the U.S., I am scared to drive in China. You should be happy that there the regulations are enforced in your country.
But yea if you go to your court hearing and just explain rationally what happened and ask for a reduction or just a warning, there's a good chance you'll get one, especially if you were polite to the officer. At least this is how it works in the U.S.
All my years in the states, this never happened. If the officer shows up, you pay the fine. If the officer doesnt show up, the case is dismiss.
On November 15 2010 07:27 saltywet wrote: yeah, but if you're gonna treat a bycicle on the road as a car, what's the fucking point of bicycle lanes? (yes, we were riding in the bicycle lane)
So then you don't ride with the vehicles? Its a safety reason... would you prefer to be biking at 40km/h in front of a truck that wants to blitz down the road at 80?
On the bike you also have the ability to use left hand turns on intersections, ofc you should signal when you make you way into the turning lane. Just because there are bike lines just means cars aren't allowed to drive there but in reality usually you can bike all over the road with or without the bike line, although if you go in the middle for a prolonged period you'll be obstructing traffic.
On November 15 2010 07:31 aike wrote: I would just like to say that running a red light on a bicycle is really really stupid. If the light is red for you, it's green for the cross traffic, thus if there was a car coming at 45mph he wouldn't be slowing down cuz it's green, omg he sees you last second and BAM it's too late for him to slow down and he smashes into you killing you instantly. This is the reason why it is illegal to go through a red light on a bike/car/walking. By giving you a fine for doing this the cop makes sure that you wont do this again, therefor possibly saving your life in the future. You should thank him for the fine
This.
If I was driving I wouldn't pay that much attention to the cross traffic when it's green light. In fact, OP, if I did hit you this way (I hope I won't), I would get a free-pass because you were at fault here.
On November 15 2010 07:31 Karthane wrote: I can't believe people in this thread actually think this is ridiculous? He broke an obvious law, and it was enforced. I really don't understand.
No one said it was ridiculous ? In fact, most replies to the thread said similar things to what you just said, word for word.
You should have known the rules. Blowing stop signs on your bicycle puts you and other drivers in danger. How would you feel if someone had to swerve around you because you didn't stop and smashed up their car?
I cycle a lot, and stupid cyclists piss me off more than stupid drivers because they make the rest of us look bad.
Saltywet gets killed by a car because he doesn't feel like stopping at a stop sign. The car driver, going down the road on a green light, is now caught up in a shit load of legal trouble.
On November 15 2010 07:46 Manifesto7 wrote: You should have known the rules. Blowing stop signs on your bicycle puts you and other drivers in danger. How would you feel if someone had to swerve around you because you didn't stop and smashed up their car?
I cycle a lot, and stupid cyclists piss me off more than stupid drivers because they make the rest of us look bad.
why don't you think carefully again about what you're saying
stop signs are only abundant in neighborhoods. if a car was driving fast enough to swerve and smash up their car and get hurt, i wouldn't be the one to blame since the other driver also didn't stop at a stop sign
my partner was taking me to somewhere, and i was trying to keep up with him. i know traffic laws regarding cars plenty well, but i'm never even knew there were bicycle laws, since the last time i rode a bike was 10 years ago in edmonton and i never once encountered a law that i had to obey
i'm careful enough by myself to ride slowly and in bicycle lanes, stop at red lights and yield to pedestrians and cars on the road. I also look in all directions to see if cars are crossing. the road was almost empty, and it's ridiculous that I get fined for not stopping at a stop sign when I can tell that there are no cars that are going to cross
Probably just needed to give out tickets to hit a quota.
If traffic is like anything in Shanghai when I visited a couple years ago, traffic in China =/= traffic in USA. They disregard all the lines on the road and drive hella fast. I always took a cab because it's so fucking fun!
Edit: Oh yeah, and bikes are everywhere O.O They have their own freaking lane. It's so awesome lol.
I live in Toronto and I biked a ton over the summer. So let me get this straight, you ignored the stop sign on a main road/street? (i.e. spadina and college). Or was it some random street in a neighborhood? Since you mentioned a bicycle lane it must have been a main road with traffic lights.
If so, you probably broke the law. Regardless, cop is retarded for giving you a ticket.
Just slow down when you approach a stop sign with no traffic next time.
I think that in china, you would be run over and killed. Although you're right, they also wouldn't fine you. I actually liked biking around china a lot, althoguh the cars had no idea what to do with a bike weaving through traffic - not the smartest thing on my part, but still.
It's dumb whenever they enforce it, but usually bikes are treated as vehicles. It's just a strong argument for more multiuse 10 ft wide bike+walking paths to try to keep the traffic seperate, so that bikes dont' necessarily need to fight with cars for the same road space, as that would make everything safer for everyone.
So you want to leave Canada as soon as you can because they enforce laws here designed to keep people safe on the road? Great attitude.
I have a serious issue with cyclists who seem to think they're entitled to preferential treatment. When I ride, I act like a vehicle because I AM ONE. People like you give cyclists a bad name.
I can understand blowing through a stop sign in a residential area with no one around, but if you're anywhere with traffic you should always respect the rules of the road.
EPT
I hate people like you.
