Fines for cyclists in Montreal rise by 20 percent

The number of tickets issued to cyclists between 2022 and 2023 increased by 20 percent, according to SPVM data obtained by the Journal de Montreal.

Last year, 8,361 tickets were issued, compared to 6,941 the year before.

The most common violations between 2021 and 2023 were wearing headphones, riding an electric bike without a helmet and failing to stop at red lights.

“We are facing some challenges,” said Jean-Francois Rheault of Velo Quebec. “We need to change the idea that pedestrian priority is not respected near school buses, bus stops or on multi-use paths.”

In NDG, the Pedestrian and Cyclist Association said there are only eight bike lanes and expanding bike-only infrastructure would be a good way to curb bad behavior.

“These violations are primarily due to our interactions with other modes of transportation, such as cars and pedestrians,” said Jason Savard.

It is compulsory by law for users of electric bicycles to wear helmets.

BIXI does not currently make them available to its users and Velo Quebec hopes that the regulations will change.

“We have recommended to the Ministry of Transport that they reduce the maximum speed of public bike rental from 32 to 25 kilometres and then remove the helmet requirement,” Rheault said.

However, he recommends that all cyclists wear them, regardless of the type of bike they use.