which road laws do you follow?

I pretty much follow them all. Seriously.

The only one that I occasionally bend is that I don't always come to a complete stop at stop signs. But I always respect right-of-way when I do this. You're right that motorists sometimes seem confused when a cyclist actually stops....sigh.

-Vic

Like you, Rob, I follow most of the rules: I stop at red lights, I signal turns when there are pedestrians or motorists nearby and might need to know what I am going to do, I always have front, rear and even side lights, most often two of each, but I ride the wrong way on one-way streets and roll through stop-signs if there is no cross-traffic of any kind. I always stop, however, if a crossing vehicle or pedestrian arrives---even if they arrive after I do. And, I always stick to the right hand side of the road even when going up/down a one-way street the wrong way.

The way I see it, some streets permit wrong-way riding as they have signs saying One Way (bicycles excepted) and I can't see how they differ from other streets that don't have that sign. If there's adequate space for a vehicle and a bike to pass one another safely, it shouldn't be an issue. Sometimes, a car parked on the wrong side will make it dicey. When that happens, I stop and allow the right-way traveling car the right of way.

Clearly, stop sign and one-way street violations are of no concern to the police. Last year, according to their own statistics, of almost 3,000 POT's issued to cyclists last year, almost all were issued to cyclists within two separate police campaigns that targeted such violations. During the other 50 weeks of the year, only approx 200 POT's were issued; that's only 4 per week and the vast majority of those were for red-light infractions, not stop signs or one way street infractions.

There is only one rule to follow, that is you should do whatever it takes to get yourself home alive. Soundly supported by law.

I challenge people to find self-defeating websites that cater to drivers that worry about how bad drivers make them look as a whole.

Good cyclists vastly outnumber bad cyclists, yet little attention is paid (this site is an exception) to good cyclists contributions to the community.

I try to follow all the rules as much as possible, but if you have to break a rule to stay safe, so be it.

One rule I definitely don't follow is turning into the nearest lane when making a left hand turn, then merging into the right most lane. Most motorists don't do this either, so I don't feel bad. I think it is a lot safer to get directly into the right lane.

The laws make no distinction between bikes and cars which is completely unfair!
Now I look for cops before running any stop signs/light.. Fact is we need to encourage cyclists not ticket them. A cop told me the Cycling Safety campaign is to protect cyclists. He also told me he he chased a cyclist down with his car to give him a ticket, and, as a result, the cyclist got into an accident. How is that safe?

I always avoid going the wrong way on a one way road. That's not safe at all. I'll adjust my route accrordingly.If at a stop light or sign I make sure it's not a busy street, and then, if there's no traffic, I'll crawl through at PEDESTRIAN speed. As far as I'm concerned - at that speed we are jay walking. If possible (i.e. not one way streets) I'll take a right on red, a U-turn and another right . this way I've technically not disobeyed the law.

Safety is my first consideration when deciding to obey/disobey the law. The philosophical question is: " what if everybody disobeyed laws they didn't agree with?" The answer is people do and have disobeyed laws all the time - and I'm one of them. Yes, I will make an effort to have the law changed formally, but in the meanwhile I will disobey traffic laws that shouldn't apply to bikes. Common courtesy, everyone's safety, respect for cars, people and cyclists - these are my laws.

Thanks sooooo much for looking out for the cops before running that red light.
I really wish you would watch for ME next time you run that red light! As a pedestrian in TO, I have nearly been run down by cyclists who disregard the LAW because..... Well you tell me why the law doesn't apply to you. The "T- junction" intersections are the worst. For example where York St. meets Queen St. outside of Osgood hall. I'm not waiting for the streetcar! I want to cross the street safely on the green light. Just stop for the damn light.

I am bored of pedestrians and drivers complaining about how cyclists disobey the rules, as if that means we deserve the common contempt for our lives. There are asshole pedestrians, cyclists and drivers; and people in all three groups who choose when the spirit is more important than the letter. Guess what, if a driver is either an asshole or ignores the laws, they're going to mess someone up badly. Pedestrians and cyclists are most likely going to mess themselves up.

You can say what you want abou being hit by bikes, but the stats do not bear up what you say. It's pure autohead horse****. Cars maim and kill; nothing else on the road does to any significance. Save your contempt for the contemptable.

...all I can say is I have to dodge and weave around pedestrians who step out onto the road without warning, often between cars, often with their headphones on and unable to hear my 110db AirZounds, often directly into the bike lane (as if it's a waiting area), often with the pedestrian looking right at me as I bear down on them at 25-30km/h, often gazing at me as if I am invisible or will force the car beside me over to get around them just so they can jay-walk. I guarantee that happens far more often than cyclists endangering a pedestrian crossing the street legally.

I guess folks who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

I must agree with you the general feelings in here about the stop signs, I think as long as you proceed through the intersection in the proper order of arrival a full stop is going a little overboard. Cycling is also a game of momentum, a full stop with the foot down is just inefficient to me.

Another quick question for all you bylaw experts: Do runners have any right to the bike lane?? After 6pm I find myself biking against a flow of spandex and mesh clad runners (does your 20 min run really require so many space aged fabrics?) I want to tell them to get the hell outta my way, but I am still unsure of their rights in our lane...Any Comments?

I think laws should be changed so that cyclists can treat stop signs as yield signs.

I'm no legal expert, but as far as runners in bike lanes, I'm fine with them. They are as fast as a slow cyclist and just as easy to pass. Roller bladers are faster and a bit more difficult to pass, but they fit with cyclists better than being on sidewalks with pedestrians.
All active commuting should be encouraged.

Heads up riding and (as Darren has said) whatever gets you home safely. Those are the rules I think we should all look to obey.

As pedestrians and as drivers we all tend to obey what is convenient and/or prudent, and flaunt what appears to be superfluous. Cyclists (being human as well) tend to do the same. Bikes though, are neither cars nor pedestrians and SHOULD then be expected to behave differently than either.

One of the problems is that the general public has less exposure (experience at) to operating a bicycle than walking or driving. Let's expect drivers, pedestrians AND cyclists to each behave differently. They do.

I like to look out for myself and others around me. Expect the unexpected. Beyond that, what the others do is up to them. Unfortunately, some cyclists can be seen (deservedly?) as a little sanctimonious.

I have been a commuter cyclist on and off for a few years. I have been hit by cars on three occasions, no injuries, but some very flustered (and very at-fault) car drivers.

Which rules do I follow? All of them. (except that I do not have reflective tape on my forks as I'm new to the city and only found out about that rule a week or two ago - where can you even get that stuff?).

Every cyclist I know complains incessantly about the drivers, the pedestrians, but are oblivious to their own actions. I am always completely astonished at anyone who complains incessantly about others not following rules while failing to obey the rules themselves.

I always hear undertones of "well, if I anything happens it will be me that gets hurt" justification. As if that makes it OK to endanger others on the roads? The problem is you're not necessarily the only one who gets hurt. Pedestrians or other cyclists can be seriously injured by a bike plowing into them.

Cyclists often fail to give way (when legally obligated) to both cars and pedestrians, dart into and out of traffic where they blatantly shouldn't and, as far as I can tell, deliberately do as much as possible to convince every car driver and pedestrian that cyclists should be exterminated.

Quite frankly, following a few traffic rules THAT ARE IN NO WAY ONEROUS (seriously, what does it cost you to wait at a light?) for the price of good car/cyclist relations, and the safety of everyone on the roads should not be that big a deal. I consider it kind of a karma thing.....

I have read a bit and discussed the laws of the road with many people. I drive my car a lot in the downtown core, and I also ride a lot . With the cycling season here, we all have to be careful. "Learning" to be careful may mean it's too late. Common sense should prevail. If you have a license, it goes without saying you should know the laws of the road. Today, I was driving in the Annex area when I came to a 4-way stop at St. George St. I stopped as the law requires. I saw a cyclist approaching the intersection and my instincts told me to watch this cyclist and see if they would stop. Unsurprisingly, he did not stop. What really irked me was he had a toddler in a bike seat on the back. What kind of person would put in danger a precious little life so irresponsibly. To make matters worse, I beeped him and he ad the audacity to stop and start swearing and calling me stupid. I guess this is a rant...

I hold many rules very highly...do not pass on the right when cars are turning right. I stop at all T-intersections with lights. Especially the one at Castle Frank Station near the Bloor Viaduct. One day, someone will get killed when a car goes through the intersection and enters the school on the opposite side. Do not cycle through pedestrian crossings, and do not cycle against the traffic in intersections. I look for cyclists when opening doors, These simple habits keep me alive. It's common sense.

Guffy

I'd like to get some suggestions/comments from cyclists as to what they do at a u-turn or michigan left.

I live in a town that is not very bike (or walker) friendly. When there are no crosswalks and cars turn left by doing a michigan U-turn shoudl I do the same?

The thing I don't like about this is that I could end up holding up traffic because the cars behind me may be able to make the turn quicker then I could.

I was delighted to see the responsible posts made by cycling afficionados who follow the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act, which means drivers and other road users - the responsible ones - will treat you with respect.

I live in the Beach neighbourhood, and I have to say, a large number of cyclists are either ignorant of basic riding technique, have a kamikaze gene, or have been taking offensive gesture classes at the local drama school - and it's only a matter of time before one of these nerds causes one almighty accident!

As a driver, and rider of a nifty new Peugeot bike brought in from France, I will always follow the rules of the road in both modes of transport.

Lastly, as someone who has spent his fair share of time in the ER (working), putting back together broken cyclists who have run red lights, forgotten about stop signs, decided a helmet was uncool...sometimes in accidents due to moronic car users of course, lets just say the rules of the road are there to protect us all...so please follow them!

Polite rant over.

Agreed.

I've argued in the past that we, as cyclists, should always try to set an example of excellence in our behaviour in public space. I've never apologized for that, and I don't apologize for it now. Someone has to set a better tone for public behaviour on our streets, and motorists obviously won't do it.

But I agree with Darren: I'll will not go beyond that to actually condemning what other cyclists feel it necessary to do to get through the city safely, until the day that the police, the government, and the motoring community agree that we have the right to use the roads, on an equal basis with everyone else. As long as people armed with two-tonne steel bombs regularly harass, assault, and endanger cyclists, as long as opinionators in the press invent traffic laws for cyclists, and as long as anything we say about each other gets taken as condoning that kind of behaviour and attitude, then I'll put the right of cyclists to use the road first. And once I trust that everyone present affirms that right, and affirms the essential social responsibility that cyclists exemplify, then I'll agree to talk about how we can use public space a bit better.

But the conversation has to start and end with the right of cyclists to use public space. And just as no behaviour by motorists, no matter how egregious or downright homicidal, seems to trigger a call for the elimination or restriction of cars, so I will not accept that any behaviour of another cyclist could ever justify taking away my freedom.

John G. Spragge

Mariner, cyclist, pilot