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Bike lanes – useful, cheap, easy, efficient and cost
effective (certainly when compared to the cost of roads) and absolutely
necessary in our current condition of obesity, weight related health issues,
congestion, environmental issues and rising fuel costs.
Motorists and cyclists do not happily co-exist where I live.
It is an openly hostile relationship with a lot of finger pointing and blame.
Motorists think that bikes belong on the sidewalk and that when they are on the
road they are doing something wrong, something illegal even though the website
for the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario clearly states:
The Ontario Highway Traffic
Act (HTA) defines the bicycle as a vehicle that belongs on
the road. Riding on the road means riding with other traffic. This is only safe
when all traffic uses the same rules of the road.
A bicycle is a vehicle
under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA). This means that, as a bicyclist, you have the
same rights and responsibilities to obey all traffic laws as other road users.
Cyclists charged for disobeying traffic laws will be subject to a minimum set
fine and a Victim Surcharge fine of $20.00 for most offences (please note set
fines below are subject to change).
Yet I even know a cyclist who was stuck by a vehicle while
riding through an intersection and the police officer who arrived on the scene
told him he should have been “walking” his bike through the intersection. I
have read through the sections of the HTA which relate to bicycles and no where
have I read that a cyclist must walk their bike through an intersection. In
fact, doing so directly contradicts the statement “a bicycle is a vehicle under
the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. This meant as a bicyclist you have the same
rights and responsibilities…” However even the police seem to accept the urban
myth that there are different regulations for cyclists. I believe this is why,
in collisions between cyclists and motorists, the motorist is rarely charged.
The assumption seems to be that the collision is the cyclist’s fault for being
on the road.
In my own experience I have had most of my near misses
(thankfully) from drivers breaking the law. The following is a shortlist of the
worst and yet most common offenses:
- Passing me on the left and then making a right hand turn directly in front of me
- Making a turn (into me) while I am traveling straight and have the right of way.
- Swerving toward me and then swerving quickly away, in an attempt to intimidate me – this one always puzzles me as, presumably the reason motorists resent my riding is that I am impeding their progress, yet it takes more time and effort to intimidate me than to just pass me.
- Crossing a solid line to pass me on a hill, while unable to see oncoming traffic
- Passing me so close that I have been hit by the vehicles side mirror
- Passing me, while I am stopped for a red light or stop sign, in order to stop directly in front of me (and partially in the intersection).
Everything I have listed is a
direct contravention to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. All of these things
happen every time I ride my bike (which is pretty much daily in the summer) and
all of my cycling friends report the same or similar experiences and yet when
one of these illegal behaviours results in a collision, the assumption is that
the cyclist is in the wrong and thus no charges are laid. This is outrageous.
This is an assumption that “might equals right” and it is wrong, illegal and
short sighted. Cyclists pay taxes, vote, hold high paying positions (let’s face
it, cycling is not a cheap hobby) and contribute to the community as much and
often more than anyone else. We are not a special interest group; we are
citizens with rights and responsibilities under the law. I keep hearing about programs to educate cyclists yet I see nothing being done to educate drivers. Apparently the sentiment is that the entire onus for safety lies with the cyclist.
So why are so many motorists and politicians against bike lanes? It is absurd to state that bikes don't belong on the road and then say you don't want bike lanes, the only safe solution to getting bikes out of the way of motorists. I have heard many excuses "the roads weren't built for bikes", yet bikes and motorized vehicles co-exist in many European cities where the roads are much narrower than they are in North America. "They are too expensive" - Bogota Columbia has a completely integrated network of trails and bike lanes but Oshawa, with some of the highest property taxes in Canada, can't afford it? Dubious. "It's too cold most of the year" - two words; Copenhagen, Ottawa
Recently there was a man in his 50’s riding his bike to work in a neighbouring community, like he did every day, trying to lead a healthier, cleaner lifestyle. Anecdotal reports suggest he wore a helmet and safety vest and had both front and rear lights on his bike. He was struck by a vehicle and died on his way to hospital. The woman who struck him had seen him cycling to work many times before. No charges were laid.
Until the day my Utopian Dream of being able to ride safely on bike lanes in my community becomes reality, please remember the “bicycle” in front of you is
not an object slowing you down or intentionally trying to provoke you or doing
something wrong just by being there. There is a PERSON, a living, breathing
person who is somebody’s child, somebody’s parent, somebody’s partner, somebody’s
best friend, somebody’s everything. Stop thinking they are making you late, you
are late because you are disorganized and didn’t give yourself enough time, not
because a cyclist is in front of you for an extra 50 seconds. Stop looking at
the object and see a person before you lose your humanity all together and
because IT’S THE LAW!
For more information about bicycle friendly initiatives or to help this cause see the following links. Also, write your MP and MPP and let them know that bikes do belong otherwise this issue will never be on the agenda:
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