SAAQ doesn’t cover cyclist hitting walker
Q This morning, on my way into work, I was narrowly run down by a speeding cyclist who disregarded a red light (even pulling out to pass other cyclists who had stopped for the light) along the de Maisonneuve Blvd. bike lane. This makes me wonder: what would the legal protocol be had there been a collision between me (walking) and him (cycling)? Is it the same as when vehicles are involved in a collision (exchange identification, get a police report if necessary) and does the SAAQ cover injuries and damage that arise, or does one have to sue in court? Also since motorists risk arrest and imprisonment if their driving is deemed to be deliberately dangerous, can aggressively dangerous cyclists face similar consequences? David Hogarth, Beaconsfield
A: The Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec, which insures all drivers on the road, does not cover accidents between pedestrians and cyclists, or between two cyclists, said Mario Vaillancourt, a spokesperson for the auto insurance board.
He explained the SAAQ only covers accidents involving people inside vehicles, though it’s not limited to accidents between two cars.
The SAAQ insurance would apply when there is an accident between a car and a bicycle, or a car and a pedestrian.
Quebec’s no-fault insurance policy means the auto insurance board settles most claims. This policy has drawn criticism in the past because of the way a road accident is defined. Among the examples cited were a driver who was injured after her car was hit by a metal pole from the Turcot construction site, a 100-yearold tree that fell on a car on Côte-des-Neiges Rd., killing the occupant, and the collapse of the de la Concorde overpass in Laval, which killed five people and injured several others 10 years ago.
If someone suffers material damage or personal injury in an accident not involving a vehicle, their personal insurance coverage would apply, Vaillancourt said.
“The parties would have to contact their own insurance companies and make a claim,” he said.
As for following the rules of the road, cyclists are obliged to follow the same regulations as drivers, and they risk the same traffic tickets if they violate the highway safety code.
Q For the last few years, I was a regular on the STM shuttle bus to the West Island. They cancelled that halfway through the year. This year, traffic is going to be particularly bad with the Ville-Marie expressway going down to one lane on many weekends during the season. Can Montreal Gazette readers put some pressure on the STM to restore this valuable service to the loyal Canadiens fans from the West Island? Roy Cadden, Pointe-Claire
A Unfortunately, it seems you were one of a small number of people who used this bus. Route 709, a shuttle leaving the Bell Centre after Canadiens games, was instituted in 2009 to bring people home to the West Island, since there are no commuter trains scheduled on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line after 9:15 p.m.
However, few people took the bus, said Amélie Régis, a spokesperson for the Société de transport de Montréal. An average of 18 to 20 people used the service between 2009 and 2011. It went down to 15 passengers for the 2013-2014 season. The STM cancelled the service last year because of the low number of people using it.
Because of the roadwork, the STM has added service to several bus lines, including the 411-Express leaving from the Lionel-Groulx métro station, but that bus doesn’t run after the evening rush hour. The best option for you to get home after a game appears to be the 211 bus from Lionel-Groulx. You can get to it either by métro, or by taking the 747 bus, which runs along RenéLevesque Blvd., and comes every 15 minutes on off-peak hours.