I just received the equivalent of a jaywalking ticket while riding my bike to work. I crossed the street while the light was still red and a police office issued a ticket to me. I have been doing this for years, but apparently, it is against the law. While I am not thrilled at all about paying the ticket, I am more worried about this increasing my car insurance. Does anyone know if this makes a different to your auto insurance premiums? The office did state that it was a 0 point ticket because I was on my bike.
The law in US states generally requires bicyclists to obey the rules of the road as a vehicle driver is required to. This is also generally the best practice for safety.
That will vary from state to state. There are some bike forums out there that have discussions on this. Apparently it will be available to the insurance company in some states but not others. It may depend upon whether they recorded your drivers license.
As a pedestrian this seems more analagous to running a red light than jaywalking to me. It is a huge problem in Boston. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting at the crosswalk for a crossing light and then having a bicyclist blast through a red light and ride through the pedestrians. Happens on a daily basis, although bicyclists are suposed to observe traffc signals.
I have no facts, no facts at all, but I’m just conjecturing that the ticket would not impact your insurance rates. Your auto insuraqnce doesn’t cover any accidents that occur while you are biking, correct? And one is certainly allowed to bike even if one doesn’t have a driver’s license. So I don’t see how they could be connected.
As I said, however, just conjecture.
Okay - I really don’t need to be taken to task for doing what I did. If your contribution to this thread is to chastise me for my behavior, please don’t. I am not being cavalier about the whole thing and I readily admit that I broke the law and will pay the ticket. I am already slightly disheartened by the incident as I am on a very tight budget and the ticket blows a huge hole in my budget. I really just wanted to know whether or not the ticket would raise my car insurance rates.
BTW - There were absolutely no pedestrians in the vicinity and I always yield to pedestrians when I am riding my bike. It is not like I am a maniac biker speeding through downtown. I am 50 year-old woman on a cruiser bike riding to work in a dress or skirt. Do you always wait to cross the street when there are no cars but the don’t cross sign is flashing? Do you always walk and cross at the crosswalk?
Just asking…
So did you ride the bicycle or walk it across the street against the red light? I am fairly obedient these days with waiting for red lights while riding. My #1 rule however is my personal safety and I won’t hesitate to violate a “rule of the road” if it keeps me safe. I did run a red light recently when my body/bicycle failed to trip a sensor. After waiting through a cycle without getting a green light I rode through the red light when traffic was completely clear… even tho a car was coming up behind me and I knew he would trip the light. I just got ticked off! Sorry, don’t know if your ticket will affect your auto rates, although I would be surprised if it did.
When I got my last bike ticket I went to court, admitted my guilt and threw myself on the mercy of the court. The judge let me off with a warning. Good thing, too; it was a $450 ticket.
@NJres - I rode the bike across the street and crossed on a red. I am not disputing that. I just don’t want the double-whammy of a ticket and an increase in car insurance. The officer did take down my DL #. That is why I am concerned that it will affect my car insurance rates. My DL# is on the ticket, but the police officer did make a point of saying to me that it was a 0 point ticket. I just didn’t have the presence of mind at the time to ask him if that meant it wouldn’t affect my car insurance rates.
Wow - @Cardinal Fang - that was an expensive ticket. Fortunately, mine isn’t that much. Maybe I should go to court and ask the judge for leniency. The traffic court is right around the corner from my office. I know for a fact that I won’t be riding through any red lights going forward even if there isn’t a car in sight.
I suspect that is going to come down to the insurance company and state law I suspect, so it will be hard to answer. The fact that it is a zero point penalty makes me think it won’t affect your insurance, but some companies are notoriously looking for anything to raise rates. That said, in many places bike infractions are viewed as similar to pedestrian issues, like the cop that gave me a ticket for walking outside the cross walk (was 75 bucks, no joke), didn’t affect my insurance.
No, don’t pay the fine, go to court and see if the officer shows up.
I’m surprised that the officer asked for your driver’s license. You don’t need a driver’s license to ride a bike so I doubt that state or local law requires you to provide it for a biking violation.
I’m surprised he asked for your license also. I wonder if someone would get in trouble if they said they didn’t have their license. I think there may be a law that says if you are over 18 you have to carry ID.
@Cardinal Fang, what did you do that costs 450?
^^She lives in California, where everything costs $450.
I hadn’t even heard about bike tickets until recently. What if you didn’t have ID with you?
I don’t know the answer to your question but my guess would be that the insurance company would raise your rates unless there was a law specifically preventing them from doing so. That’s their MO.
…
They usually ask for id so when they write the ticket, they have proof of where the person lives and who they are, so they can’t become a scofflaw, they know where to find them and so forth. As far as I know, I know of no state that requires you have id on you at all times, among other things I suspect that it would not pass constitutional muster (too much like the old ‘vere are your papers’ from bad WWII movies kind of thing, or communist block countries). I don’t know what they would do if you didn’t have id, would they take you in until someone could show proof of who you were?
In terms of your auto insurance, call your agent and ask (if you use an agent), or call the insurance company without giving your name and ask them if something like a ticket for illegal use of a bike could cause you to have your rates raised…just don’t give your name and use a phone they don’t have the number of if you are paranoid about that:)
In addition to the reasons given above, California law enforcement officers ask for identification because the law only permits them to “cite and release” you if they are able to verify your identity. If they can’t verify your identity (either through your license or other means), they have to take you into custody and bring you before a magistrate.
I ran a red light (in a bike lane at the top of a T intersection, so it was not particularly dangerous). In California, bike traffic tickets cost the same as car traffic tickets. I might be misremembering the exact cost, but a red light ticket in my area is expensive.
I was wrong to run the light, even at the T intersection. I don’t do that anymore.