14 DAY TRIAL // From the series “bizarre laws around the world,” today we have a piece of news that makes it clear that two is company, three's a crowd. A Winnipeg, Canada man has been recently fined $113.10 (€82.54) for walking side by side with two of his friends.
The police officers cited Manitoba’s traffic laws and motivated their decision to issue a ticket by saying that the men were walking “more than two abreast.”
According to Metro, the ticket was issued under section 143(2) of Manitoba’s Highway Act which states, “Any pedestrian proceeding along a highway where no sidewalk is provided, or where the sidewalk is not passable, shall walk as closely as is practicable … but persons walking on a roadway shall not walk more than two abreast.”
As an act of protest, Chris Herda, a friend of the man ticketed, published a photo of the ticket on Facebook, and his post was widely shared. According to the document, the incident happened on Wednesday near Portage Place mall on Portage Avenue.
“I’ve walked passed people four or five abreast. I personally didn’t know it was a law. I don’t think anyone else knew it was a law either,” Mr. Herda said. He also claimed that he and his friends were walking on the sidewalk at the time, not on the road.
As it turns out, police later acknowledged the wrong offence was cited and issued the man another ticket, but didn't mention what the new offence was.