Has anyone ever been charged by the police for traffic violations on a bicycle?

[ichitan]

Has anyone ever been charged by the police for not wearing a helmet on a bicycle?

Has anyone ever been charged by the police for any traffic violations on a bicycle?

I have never even been stopped by the police, while on a bicycle.

[Jesper]

I have been stopped by police on multiple occasions. Speeding (over 20mph) and improper safety gear (required to fly an orange pennant). I did a lot of my riding before helmets were required at any level or age (my state only mandatory for 16 and under); as well as lights.

To answer the question of that guy in the video: No, he is not an idiot, but yes he is a fool. That video was a joke. In the end he decides when and if he will wear a helmet based on his riding "demeanor" so he really should have just said do whatever you want whenever you want. All the numbers mean nothing if you don't really care in the first place. Play Russian roulette for as long as you want, but there is still a bullet in the chamber.

I wear a helmet. I have had multiple crashes where my head hit the ground or car or truck. Luckily, I was wearing a helmet and it has the scars to prove it.

Using birth control does not prevent pregnancy; it just greatly reduces the chance of becoming pregnant. Same as wearing a helmet; it reduces the odds of a bad injury, but like everything it is a not 100% that you will not suffer an injury. If I decided to go with the video guy's theory, it would depend on how hard I was having sex, and not the fact that I was having sex because it's how you do it, not if you do it that makes using birth control more of a necessity using his theory (which of course is ludicrous!).

[IgorCvetkovski]

This is ridiculous, but once I was visiting a friend in Slovenia in Europe, and we went out one night downtown. Since everyone there rides and having a bike is very common, my buddy had two bikes.
We drank two or three beers that evening, and when we were returning home, a police officer stopped us. I was given a 600 Euro charge for driving while drunk.
In other words, driving while drunk is still against the law, but this was a standard bike, so you still need to be careful.

[nhbarto]

I was charged with riding the wrong way on a one-way street in State College PA, circa 1978. It was a very residential area with very light traffic. The cop actually accused me trying to evade her, as if! I got a thirty dollar fine, which was a lot at that time of my life. I talked to the mayor, but he didn’t help. I took it to a legal help office on campus and a dude there determined that the cop wrote down the wrong code number for the offense. In court (which costs another ten bucks if you lose) I said it was a substantive error and that the case should be dismissed. The judge agreed and admonished the cop. On the way out, I passed the cop, who smiled and congratulated me on my due diligence. I ignored her.

My life was thereafter fundamentally changed in many ways, some good, some bad.

I think she and other State College cops were “encouraged” to increase revenue by targeting students for minor offenses, like parking and such. I also think she was an idiot.

(10-19-2022, 06:06 AM)ichitan Wrote:  Has anyone ever been charged by the police for not wearing a helmet on a bicycle?

Has anyone ever been charged by the police for any traffic violations on a bicycle?

I have never even been stopped by the police, while on a bicycle.

[Flowrider]

Not yet, but I believe it potentially could happen as I ride on the footpaths, and in some places in Australia this is illegal.

[rydabent]

I read several bicycling forums. The people that get pulled over the most are velomobile riders. The police not knowing what they are, pull them over thinking they should have a license plate.

[enkei]

In the UK, plenty of cyclists get done for busting red lights and riding on pavements and other pedestrian areas off-limits to bicycles, though not even close to as many as deserve to, IMHO. Red lights are a police matter. I'm not sure cycling on pavements is. At least in my town, I believe it's a local non-police enforcement officer who issues fines (£50) to people caught cycling on pavements where it's not allowed.

Cyclists have also been done for riding bikes drunk. Again, not often, but it happens. In the UK, if you have a driving licence and are successfully prosecuted for a relevant offence under the Highway Code, you can end up with points on your driving licence, even though you were on a bicycle at the time of the offence.

UK police are also cracking down on illegal e-bikes (which UK law sees as motorcycles).

Helmets are not mandatory for cyclists under UK law.

Not too long ago, a cyclist riding a fixie with no front brake (making the bike illegal on UK roads) hit a pedestrian, who died as a result of the collision. He was found guilty of bodily harm by ‘wanton and furious driving’ and sentenced to 18 months in the UK's version of prison for young offenders.

[Sidewinder]

Yes, Enkei is correct, a rider can get a DUI on a bike, it happened to some guy in Coronado on the 4th of July. Also, tickets for riding on the sidewalk, riding at night without a light, blowing through stop signs, etc. were quite common when I lived there... one more reason why I'm glad I left, lol. Oh, yeah, lest I forget, you could also get a ticket for giving another person a ride on the handlebars, lol. Good for a "donation" to 'Ye Olde Widows & Orphans Fund!' Hey, somebody has to buy the steaks & beers for the cops' monthly picnic!

[SPINMAN]

I always rail against car/truck drivers for not knowing the rules/laws regarding cyclists rights and driver responsibilities - (3 foot rule, riding on the roadway with no bike lane, etc) they just don't know and yell at us to"get off the road" or black smoke us, but I look around for cops when I drift or roll through red lights and stop signs. I went through a red through a school zone. Didn't see any cars except a white SUV coming out of the school. It was a sheriff's deputy. He turned right following me, but slowed and stopped. I know better too, but it's just what we do. I take chances, but only put myself in danger, unlike drivers that can kill us.

[nhbarto]

(10-31-2025, 06:56 AM)SPINMAN Wrote:  I always rail against car/truck drivers for not knowing the rules/laws regarding cyclists rights and driver responsibilities - (3 foot rule, riding on the roadway with no bike lane, etc) they just don't know and yell at us to"get off the road" or black smoke us, but I look around for cops when I drift or roll through red lights and stop signs. I went through a red through a school zone. Didn't see any cars except a white SUV coming out of the school. It was a sheriff's deputy. He turned right following me, but slowed and stopped. I know better too, but it's just what we do. I take chances, but only put myself in danger, unlike drivers that can kill us.

The question is, when confronted with a four-way stop intersection, should I obey the law or save everyone’s time by rolling on through? The vast majority of drivers, out of an abundance of caution(?), concede the right of way to bicyclists. Even waving the driver on can be fruitless. And maybe the driver is waving at the bicyclist, but because of the reflective windshield, the message isn’t delivered. I’m prone these days, even though it’s wrong, to just slowly glide on through with a little nod of appreciation or not. Not always though. Sometimes it’s apparent that the driver (1 out of 100) actually knows the law, in which case I of course do the right thing.

[GirishH]

This was in Boston, where cops on bicycles began issuing tickets to cyclists who ran red lights or violated traffic rules. One of those officers eventually retired — we’re friends now.

What I learned is sobering. As a cyclist sharing the road with motorists, I must know and obey traffic laws. Having also driven there, I understand how frustrating cyclists can be, especially where there are no dedicated bike lanes. In Boston, new bike lanes were added — often by removing one of two motor lanes or parking spaces in front of stores — which only fueled resentment toward cyclists.

To make matters worse, many cyclists commuting to work would weave through traffic, run red lights, or ride on sidewalks. That’s when these bicycle cops started ticketing offenders. The problem was, there was no way to enforce it — cyclists aren’t required to carry ID, so tickets could easily be written under fake names.

I’ve even waited several minutes at a red light before realizing I wasn’t heavy enough to trigger the signal. Some “smart” lights only change when a vehicle is detected, letting cross traffic flow otherwise.

My argument has always been simple: obeying traffic signals isn’t about rules — it’s about staying alive. I remind fellow cyclists that we don’t have airbags or a metal frame for protection, so we must ride defensively every time we’re on the road.

(10-31-2025, 12:57 PM)nhbarto Wrote:  

(10-31-2025, 06:56 AM)SPINMAN Wrote:  I always rail against car/truck drivers for not knowing the rules/laws regarding cyclists rights and driver responsibilities - (3 foot rule, riding on the roadway with no bike lane, etc) they just don't know and yell at us to"get off the road" or black smoke us, but I look around for cops when I drift or roll through red lights and stop signs. I went through a red through a school zone. Didn't see any cars except a white SUV coming out of the school. It was a sheriff's deputy. He turned right following me, but slowed and stopped. I know better too, but it's just what we do. I take chances, but only put myself in danger, unlike drivers that can kill us.

The question is, when confronted with a four-way stop intersection, should I obey the law or save everyone’s time by rolling on through? The vast majority of drivers, out of an abundance of caution(?), concede the right of way to bicyclists. Even waving the driver on can be fruitless. And maybe the driver is waving at the bicyclist, but because of the reflective windshield, the message isn’t delivered. I’m prone these days, even though it’s wrong, to just slowly glide on through with a little nod of appreciation or not. Not always though. Sometimes it’s apparent that the driver (1 out of 100) actually knows the law, in which case I of course do the right thing.

[Criminal]

@GirishH be advised that weight is not used to change trafic lights. Most lights unless recently updated, or older ones modified/supplemented use electro induction to cause a change. Often that system is faulty or out of adjustment. The problem arises for bikes because you are not in the area where the bike will be detected since most are riding well to the side of the field to cause the interruption of it. Enough conductive material (generally the rims not the frame) is all it takes so carbon fiber only rims might be the new problem. Very small rims can also cause issues. At night when commuting without traffic I ride in the center of the lane to better ensure the systems work, but it doesn't always. When I approach the light seeing it already red (and no cars behind me), I slow down and do a loop overel the grid, l and voilà the light changes unless it was still being timed from previous vehicles passing in the crossing roadway.

Even motorcyles can experience problems if the system is misadjusted or faulty (if fully inoperable no vehicle will activate it). We have no dead red law allowing you to pass through a faulty traffic light without breaking traffic so I'm taking a risk at one light which is timed for day traffic and does not change for minutes at a time (you need to make a right hand turn amd then make a U-turn (again when legal to do so and proceed onward). Luckily, it has a pedestrian crossing circuit so I hit the button and it does change quicker than waiting for the traffic only cycle.

Lights now include cameras, infrared, motion detection, and algorithm control systems based on traffic flow. A new system is being incorporated specifically based on automated driving vehicle flow and not on vehicles driven by people.

---

I have been stopped at gun point by police for armed robbery at night while on a bicycle even though the perp was not on a bike. Police stopped me and just said hands up, do not move! I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt (temps were in the 30s F) with hood closed over my entire face except eyes due to wind chill. I rode w/o lights or reflectors (no law s at the time requiring them; I raced at the time) could cycle around 30mph without problem in my ~5 mile. I was being followed by police w/o knowing, and upon approaching a stop sign I did a quick track stand and the car behind me got right up on my butt which greatly irritated me; and continued to do so after the intersection (speed limit was either 25 or 30mph (cannot remember, but was residential about 1/2 mile from my house). Upon approaching the next stop sign I merely slowed a little looking well in advance for approaching vehicle lights and seeing none I just put on the afterburners and flew through the stop and gave the 1 finger salute to the vehicle behind as I pulled away. Blue lights immediately came on and I was given the order to stop. Police had not even been given a description yet except to look for a fleeing suspect. I guess flying on a bike at high speed at night only a mile from the crime scene applied to me. They yet me at gun point until back up arrived. Handcuffed me, shoved me into the car and searched searched my backpack. At that point I heard on the radio while in the car the perp's description and through insane coincidence I actually somewhat fit it. I was an active military member at the time returning home from the base.
They drove me to the scene of the crime which happened to be the local McDonalds restaurant. They literally did a "drive-thru" identification with the clerk hanging out of the little window and saying (thankfully!) that I was not the assailant. Cops drove me back to where my bike and pack and other cruiser sat roadside. They let me out, uncuffed me and said nothing but you can go. No sorty or anything.

Lessons learned: none! Anger increased towards police as this was the second time I was at gun point (on foot that time) for doing nothing wrong. My only take was that I was thankful that I was not considered to be a "person of color" nor did I make any foolish actions or speech while having multiple guns pounted at me lest I not be able to relate this factual story.

I again ran into police ready to blow me away while turning my car into a gas station about 1 and a half years ago after multiple cop vehicles were again tailing me late at night w/o my knowdge looking for a shotgun toting madman driving (what I was told) the same car as mine (same tag?). Again I did as directed and retained my life for the next encounter. No one believed me until I actually had another police encounter with someone in the vehicle with me while driving a work vehicle (and that dumbass was carrying a firearm w/o my knowledge as we went do a job at a public school! He deserved to be shot; no one discovered his stupidity thankfully).

Thus my user name of "Criminal"; not because I am one, but because the action I have been exposed to were just that. Now I wish they had just shot me dead and saved me decades of paranoia!

[Serena]

We should all in the bike community come up with a legal bill of rights for us before we have to start to produce a drivers license and registration by 2030. IMO, I believe that this is because the city is losing money because drivers are trading in their vehicles for the convince of a bicycle.

[meamoantonio]

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1120635

finally saw this again, been meaning to share this news article with you guys, not too long ago a local government ordinance started penalizing cyclists who ride with out helmets, the charge is 1000php or $20. Crazy right?