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It takes a lot of energy for a cyclist to make a full stop, she noted.

“You’re requiring the same thing for bikes and cars, but it’s not the same form of transportation,” said Lareau, who favours making the rules for stop signs different for bikes and motor vehicles.

For cyclists, they could become the equivalent of a yield sign, allowing them to slow down, look around and continue if there is no traffic from other directions.

Last year, cycling advocates protested against amendments to the Highway Code that more than quadrupled some fines for cycling violations.

“Right now, it costs you more if your bike is missing one of its reflectors than if one of the headlights on your car is burned out. It’s ridiculous,” Lareau said.

“What bothers me sometimes with police operations is that I have the impression they wait on a street corner to catch cyclists for minor violations,” she added.

Last fall, Montreal police started issuing $127 tickets to cyclists who did not have front and back lights.

But Samaki-Eric Soumpholphakdy, commander of road safety for Montreal Police, said there’s a reason his department has been cracking down on cycling violations: it’s to reduce the risk of accidents for road users who are at greatest danger of being hurt, namely cyclists and pedestrians.

Tickets issued to cyclists have risen gradually in recent years from 8,890 in 2014, he noted, although they dropped slightly in 2018.

Other measures to protect vulnerable road users, including seniors and children, include public awareness campaigns and redesigning streets to make them safer, he said.