Vancouver cyclist ticketed for not stopping at sign gets court date
An East Vancouver cyclist who was handed a $167 ticket last year for not coming to a complete stop at an intersection is preparing for her day in court.
On April 26, at the B.C. provincial court in downtown Vancouver, Randi Gurholt-Seary will contest the traffic ticket that Vancouver police issued to her on June 16, 2010, during Bike Month, at Nanaimo and Adanac streets.
Speaking to the Straight today (March 1), Gurholt-Seary said she “absolutely” plans on going ahead and disputing the ticket.
“If anything, I think it’s something that needs to be heard,” she said by phone. “If the City of Vancouver is really looking carefully at cyclists and how to move traffic through intersections, how to move cyclists safely through intersections, then they need to hear this.”
Gurholt-Seary was doing her daily commute at the time. She rode west along Adanac Street, a major cycling route in the city. She says that as she approached Nanaimo Street, the signal switched to walk, with the cars stopped at the red lights northbound and southbound.
As she had done hundreds of times before, Gurholt-Seary rolled over the stop line and sailed through the intersection. A police officer stepped out of an alley on the other side of Nanaimo, asked her to pull over, and, after a brief exchange, issued her a ticket for violating Section 186 of B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act. The section stipulates that all vehicles, including bicycles, must come to a stop before entering an intersection when a stop sign is present, which was the case at that intersection.
However, Gurholt-Seary claims the law was applied too strictly that day and was targeted to snag cyclists. She says she has since videotaped cars rolling through the intersection without making the stop at the stop sign without getting a ticket.
“I actually observe that corner with a lot more diligence, and every vehicle that goes through that intersection believes that once the light has been engaged that they have full use of going straight through without stopping,” she said today. “So everybody does, and I am videotaping it. Because that’s really what, that intersection is confusing obviously for everybody. Or they believe that, once the light is engaged, that the light means that they can proceed through. And the stop sign is irrelevant.”
When the Straight reported the ticketing last June, its website received dozens of comments, some highly critical of Gurholt-Seary and suggesting she just obey the law and pay the fine.
“At this intersection, it’s not really even about a crime,” she said. “It’s about confusion and misunderstanding around what is the proper use of that intersection when there is a light-activated cyclists’ crossway and a pedestrian crossway.”
Vancouver police Insp. Ted Schinbein told the Straight last July his department was not cracking down on cyclists.
Comments
73 Comments
rich
Mar 1, 2011 at 6:47pm
"...misunderstanding around what is the proper use of that intersection when there is a light-activated cyclists’ crossway and a pedestrian crossway.”
The only misunderstanding here is the fact she thinks it's a cyclists' crossway. It's a crosswalk, for pedestrians on foot. All traffic must stop.
Heck, she would have been okay if she would have walked her bike across like we all learned in elementary school.
Guy
Mar 1, 2011 at 6:51pm
I'm with her, but for different reasons. A cyclist isn't moving as fast as a car and can gauge most intersections while approaching, and, if not listening to music on earbuds, can also use listening clues. Young Drivers of Canada always preached "Get the Big Picture", so while you're driving (or riding a bike) you're constantly monitoring what's around you, in front and in back and to the sides. You don't just approach a stop sign with blinders on, stop, then check both ways. Obviously this doesn't hold true if it's a blind intersection. But if there's good visibility, you can check both ways as you slow down, then proceed through.
Wild Bill
Mar 1, 2011 at 6:57pm
Pay the ticket. You broke the law. Don't waste court time.
Scott B
Mar 1, 2011 at 7:21pm
Good, about time. They should hammer home to Vancouver cyclists that they are not omnipotent privileged citizens who can endanger themselves and others with impunity. The city encourages a culture of selfish arrogance that is out of control.
Bobbie Bees
Mar 1, 2011 at 7:31pm
The VPD has a few screws loose. I've complained vociferously about these intersections and the fact that car drivers treat the walk light as an okay to go.
Also, the city installs push buttons specifically for bicycles to activate the lights. So do cyclists activate the light but stay stopped for the stop sign, or how does this work?
Mike D
Mar 1, 2011 at 7:59pm
Wah wah wah, cyclists should have to obey the same rules of the road as the drivers in cars that they share the road with. I can't count how many times some cyclist has blown through a stop sign or a red light almost causing an accident. They should be licenced just as cars are if they ride on the road. This lady and others like her piss me off. I hope that if she loses, they make her also pay for the court costs.
we'll be in touch
Mar 1, 2011 at 9:24pm
Matthew, my people will be contacting your people.
Lila
Mar 1, 2011 at 9:35pm
All pedestrian controlled intersections have the same issues with motorists and cyclists. They should all abide by the law and stop before proceeding. I can't count how many times I've almost been mowed down in this same situstion.
Morty
Mar 1, 2011 at 9:35pm
I can stand at any pedestrian-activated light in town and watch cars on the cross street blow through the stop sign as soon as the light on the main thoroughfare turns red. In 15 years, I've never seen one pulled over for running the stop sign. I'm all for enforcement, but let's be practical about it and start with the things that actually kill people.
She broke the law and I would be very surprised if she gets off (unless the cop decides not to show up, which is possible if the VPD would rather not discuss the matter). However, she's absolutely right to say that there is a discussion to be had. Other jurisdictions allow cyclists to roll through stop signs—they can stop much more quickly than cars but can be harder to get rolling from a stop in order to clear an intersection in a timely fashion—so long as right-of-way is still respected. It hasn't resulted in chaos on the roads; it's simply made it easier for everyone to get around. We need to have that debate.
Sven Crawson
Mar 1, 2011 at 10:08pm
As usual, cyclists think that just because they are on two wheels, they should be forgiven for breaking the law. And then they try to justify it by saying cars are more dangerous. It's the same entitlement attitude that the Critical Massholes use to justify breaking the law and shutting down the roadways for hours. They want to share the roads, but have none of the responsibility to obey traffic laws that everyone else is expected to obey. No one is sympathetic to this arrogant behaviour.