On 11/23/2014 10:38 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:

A warning device such as a bell or horn certainly is required in Ontario and
most other provinces in Canada under their various versions of a "Highway
Traffic Act." If you strike a pedestrian or another cyclist and do not have
one, they will likely charge you. The warning device does not have to be
eleborate, just a single-dinger will do. Mine is a compact bell, and I had
to attach it to the handlebar stem since it will not fit around the Cinelli
bars I ride.


When I looked up the bicycle ordinances in our little town, I found that
not only was a bell required, but it was actually illegal to verbally
warn a pedestrian! The ordinance said a bicyclist must warn a
pedestrian, and "the warning must be made only by a bell." In effect,
it was illegal to say "I'm passing on your left," or even "Excuse me."

And that wasn't the most ludicrous ordinance, either. Fortunately, it
wasn't too difficult for me to get Council to repeal _all_ the local
bicycle ordinances. That's because the Ohio Bicycle Federation got a
law passed that prohibited local bike ordinances that are fundamentally
different from state laws.

So now, the local cops are supposed to enforce only the much more
logical state laws.


--
- Frank Krygowski