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By kevlahan (registered) | Posted May 29, 2014 at 09:25:37 in reply to Comment 101747
Since you are asking for an explanation of what you're missing, I'll answer in good faith, since you are clearly confused about relative risks.
You completely mis-stated the potential and actual risk from cyclists and motorists. Motorists kill between 2200 and 3200 Canadians each year and seriously injure between 11,500 and 19,000 each year. http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafe... and this doesn't count the direct and indirect social costs and costs to property.
The danger posed by motor vehicles is clear and well established. And 13% of the deaths were pedestrians and the motorist was found at fault in 67% of cases.
The deaths and injuries to others caused by cyclists are completely negligible.
And it should be obvious why motor vehicles are so much more dangerous: they weigh over ten times as much as a cyclist, typically travel two to three times faster on urban roads, which means they have 40 to 90 times the energy, and they are far more powerful. In addition, motorists have far worse visibility than cyclists.
Yes, the fact cyclists do not and are not capable of causing injury and death to others except in exceptional circumstances does make a difference in how much resources are put into enforcement.
Why should this be surprising? The police also put far more effort into serious crimes than minor crimes, and they tend to ignore some parking violations (e.g. parking on the wrong side of the street, parking in no parking zones on Sundays) because they have more important things to do.
It's not "OK" for cyclists to roll through stop signs, but it is ridiculous to claim that the risk is the same as a motorist rolling through a stop sign, or speeding or running a red light. The fact that "they are not big enough to hurt someone" really does make a difference!
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