Bring back education on cycling safety

The newly created law that requires motorists to keep one metre between them and cyclists is idiotic and one-sided. Sometimes it’s just plain impossible when a cyclist veers into moving traffic. What are the motorists supposed to do when that happens? Apparently, you either follow behind the cyclist until such time as you can have a one-metre space, or go over the centre line to ensure a one-metre space. Seriously? It seems to me that would be far more dangerous than leaving 90 cm between a motorist and cyclist.

I do, of course, see motorists who do not obey the rules of the road and behave badly with cyclists, but I see far more cyclists who behave badly. I’ve seen cyclists blowing through stop signs and red lights without even slowing down; weaving in and out of traffic; riding between lanes of traffic; cutting across three lanes of moving traffic to make a turn; riding in the middle of the road even though there is a bike lane right beside them; travelling the wrong way in a bike lane; riding three-abreast in a bike lane and into the road; riding on a sidewalk; riding at night with no light and no reflectors.

I even watched one cyclist with his hands off his handlebars, ear buds in his ears, fiddling with his phone and paying no attention whatsoever to the road. And not one of them seems to know proper hand signals.

If a motorist did even one of those things, he or she would be fined and have demerit points deducted. What are the consequences for the cyclists? Other than, perhaps, being injured, none. And, when a cyclist is injured, the motorist is automatically blamed. Sometimes it is the motorist’s fault, of course, but more often than not, it is the cyclist’s.

When I was in elementary school, bicycle safety was part of the curriculum. From kindergarten through Grade 6, there was a section on it. I didn’t even realize that bicycle safety was no longer part of the school curriculum, but it explains a lot.

I think cyclists of all ages should be required to take a safety test — written or practical or both — before they can ride a bike.

That way, when someone sees a cyclist doing some of the egregious things I see them do on a daily basis, they can be reported and fined, just like motorists are when they don’t obey the rules of the road. Neena Singhal, Ottawa