Tuesday, April 10, 2012

it's the law

As in bicycle law.

Last week, I left work and as I walked to the corner of Hornby and Dunsmuir, I noticed that there were 3 motorcycle cops stopped at the corner, talking to cyclists.  The northeast corner of Hornby and Dunsmuir is the intersection of 2 dedicated bicycling lanes in downtown Vancouver.  I cross that intersection everytime I ride to and from work.

I was curious.  Why were the cops stopping cyclists?  I noticed that 2 of the stopped cyclists weren't wearing helmets.  I suspect, but I'm not 100% sure, that wearing a bicycle helmet in BC is the law.  This made me realize that even though I ride my bike quite a bit, I don't really know the bicycling laws.

I discussed this with some friends: one thought it might be illegal to ride without a bell/horn; another thought it might be illegal to ride standing up.  I'm thinking 'wtf?!'.  So, I thought it was time to take matters into my own hands, or, rather, Google's hands.

Here is what I found.  And now, I know.

2 comments:

Loong said...

It's these little details that folks think they know, but never actually looked up. Awesome link.

iTripped said...

2a is my personal pet peeve. I really hate seeing bikes on the sidewalk. Having said that, I'm guilty of wearing a headphone(s) in one ear. But I do have a bell, helmet and lights.