The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has been taking it easy on motorists and cyclists so far this year compared with 2009.
The number of Motor Vehicle Act violation tickets that police officers have written in 2010 until October 14 is down for cyclists as well as drivers of cars, trucks and motorcycles.
Many drivers complain that cyclists never get tickets for failing to stop at red lights or stop signs, driving on the sidewalk or for not wearing helmets.
Not true.
According to VPD spokeswoman Jana McGuinness, police have issued 2,448 tickets to Vancouver cyclists thus far this year.
That’s 19.9% fewer than the 3,056 that the VPD issued to cyclists between January 1 and October 14, 2009.
It is, however, 26.2% more than the number of tickets that it issued to cyclists in 2008.
McGuinness declined to speculate on whether the installation of the city’s separated bike lanes are responsible for more tickets being issued to cyclists in 2009 and 2010 compared with the same time period in 2008.
Motorists continue to rack up far more tickets than do cyclists.
In the first nine months and two weeks of:
- 2008, motorists received 68,193 tickets;
- 2009, motorists received 60,860 tickets; and
- 2010, motorists received 44,824 tickets.
Car drivers are hit with the most tickets.
As of October 14, police this year had issued 35,743 to car drivers.
Motorcyclists, in contrast, received only 591 tickets during that same period. Motorcycles have reportedly been driving in the city’s separated bike lanes, but McGuinness was unable to say how many of the tickets against motorcyclists were issued because of that infraction.