Calgary man fined $162 after bike rack obscures licence plate
The man and his wife had used the rack for a weekend of riding
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Example of a bike rack, Getty Images
Oscar Castellanos was shocked when police pulled him over and fined him $162 as a result of his bike rack blocking out his licence plate.
According to a report from CTV, Castellanos and his wife had gone for a cycling weekend and had installed a bike rack. When they returned home they took their bikes inside, but kept the rack on.
“So Monday came, we took our bikes down, and then we were driving and a policeman stopped us,” Castellanos said to CTV News. “He asked for our documents and he told us pretty much that because we had a bike rack, he couldn’t see our license plate so he had to give us a ticket.
Castellanos said he wasn’t really aware of this. He realized that of course is not an excuse, to not know that is the law. “But I am sure there’s higher priorities than trying to tackle these types of issues,” he said.
The law falls under ticket section 71(1) of Alberta’s Highway Safety Act which states: “No person shall drive a vehicle if the licence plate is not securely attached in accordance with this regulation, legible and clearly visible at all times.”
The Calgary man completely understands his bike rack does break the regulation, but is at a loss as to how to take his bikes on future trips.
There may be a solution to the problem however. There are bike racks now that provide licence plate holders, but according to Scott Clark, manager of Ridley’s Cycle in Alberta, they are not always so easy to install, and not everyone is aware they exist.
Although Scott believes that some drivers may keep the racks on to fool photo radar, he believes that is a very small number of people. He is quite confident the majority of bike racks are used for the sole purpose of transporting bikes.
