Montreal cyclists continue to skirt rules despite 4-year-old getting hit

Ten days after a four-year-old girl was struck by a cyclist while crossing Jeanne Mance Street in Montreal's Plateau borough, another video was posted showing multiple cycling infractions on the same stretch of road.

The video circulated widely and many Montreal cyclists have seen more police presence.

"Police are out in force and ticketing cyclists for wearing music [headphones]," said cyclist Michel Richoz, who rides to work every day.

The cyclist who hit the young girl received a ticket for $131 for not stopping at least five metres from the school bus that had its stop sign extended. Cycling infractions can incur penalties from $80 to over $100.

Stanford University post-doctoral physicist Soud al Kharusi said he usually wears a helmet and stopped wearing earbuds.

"Not listening to music? That's the biggest thing," he said. "Also, avoiding cars that are parked. I'm worried about people opening their doors. That's already happened a couple of times. So that's the main thing."

Al Kharusi said Montreal is a better cycling city than others he has been to.

Montreal police (SPVM) said patrollers from all 29 stations are out monitoring cyclists, but al Kharusi said it shouldn't take the fear of a police stop to get cyclists to be safer on the road.