Cyclists share responsibility for their safety
It’s just a few seconds of YouTube footage, but it’s harrowing. The dashboard camera in Nick Fleury’s car captures the horrifying moment when a cyclist pedalling through a red light is smacked by a car at the intersection of Lyon Street and Laurier Avenue. The impact flings the bike clear across the intersection; its rider bounces off the car’s hood and, miraculously, rises to his feet.
The cyclist reportedly was not seriously injured, nor were the occupants of the car that accidentally whacked him. He was charged with a traffic violation. But this could have been much worse: For example, the video shows a transport truck parked in the same lane near the accident site. Does anyone doubt what the outcome would have been if that vehicle had accidentally struck the red-light-running cyclist?
The video will strike a chord with people sick of cyclists disobeying the rules — and will also spur complaints against drivers from the many bike owners who conscientiously follow the law. But today, we give voice to the frustrated motorists, and indeed the many pedestrians, who put up with cyclists flouting both regulations and common sense. For example: You’re on a sidewalk with your child. A cyclist whizzes past you on that same sidewalk, when she should be using the road. You’re strolling along the western parkway. You stay to the right, since it’s a shared pathway, yet several cyclists zoom past without so much as sounding their bells. You’re behind the wheel of your car and sigh, as you do every day, at the cyclist who doesn’t know how to signal, or who can’t be bothered. There are the night cyclists who don’t use lights; the distracted cyclists glancing at their smart devices; the ones who, like our very lucky rider at Laurier and Lyon, think red lights don’t apply to them. There are the idiots who don’t wear helmets.
We know what you’re thinking: Motorists commit just as many, and often worse, transgressions. True. Indeed, in January, another video caught a driver on Bronson Avenue actually pushing a cyclist across an intersection with his car following an argument; the motorist later pleaded guilty to assault. Even in a world where we admire healthy pursuits, car drivers don’t give cyclists enough respect. Vehicles illegally “buzz” bike riders; city planners foist confusing signage on everyone. Many roads and bridges remain unsafe for the twowheeled.
To fix this, all road users must take responsibility for safety. That means cyclists too. Let’s not see another accident like the one recorded on the weekend.