I was riding my bicycle (Ottawa) and went through a stop sign then rolled through on a right at red light shortly after. The officer followed me from basically my home to work. (quick bike ride, should have walked that day...)

Seeing I had a clean driving record he didn't want to issue a ticket for the red light so it didn't effect my clean record. So they threw me a bone there. But I was charged for the stop sign. I'm a bit concerned that it might effect my insurance at some point. At least that's what some Google searches said. Is this true, can getting tickets on a bicycle effect your license or your vehicle insurance?

The officer did not say I was on a bike on the ticket. I also noticed there was a minor mistake on the ticket. They wrote down an intersection that does not exist... Is that grounds for the ticket being dismissed in court? What would you guys do? I'm leaning towards just paying the ticket if it has no effect on anything for me.

Yes, I learned a lesson that day.

This is my understanding of it, but it's possible I may be wrong somewhere.

There's conflicting answers to this question, probably because the tickets aren't dealt with properly.

Bicycles are considered vehicles, so any relevant charges under the HTA would apply.

The problem is bicycle tickets should be labeled as such. From what I understand, they are not supposed to be sent from the court room to the MTO. Once you pay your fine, that should be the end of it.

If the officer issuing the ticket doesn't make that distinction (that its a bicycle) , by default, your ticket will find its way back to your record as a motor vehicle ticket.

This is why plenty of individuals find themselves in a situation where their bicycle tickets are impacting their insurance.

@bend

Thanks for the clarification and your reply.

Maybe someone that knows tickets well could provide me with more details. On my ticket I see that next to my birthdate, there is a checkbox which says "Motor Vehicle Involved" with an "N/N" above a checkbox. This box has not been checked. I'm assuming the "N/N" means "No"... The officer did not check this box. Does this ticket now imply that I was in a motor vehicle for this charge?

If it does, is it worth going to court to dispute the fact that it was not specified I was on a Bicycle and ask for this to be changed at least? Additionally the intersection on the ticket is one that does not exist at all? Might that be a point to argue?

I asked the officer if this would effect my license and they told me "No". I have a strong feeling that it has the potential to effect my insurance. Can't seem to figure out what's going to happen, haha. I just got insurance and a vehicle 2 weeks ago to add...