Comment 11616

By seancb (registered) - website | Posted September 11, 2007 at 13:56:23

Great points Ryan, particularly about how to focus enforcement. I also agree that improving cycling awareness is the most important step. This means educating cyclists about how to act in traffic and motorists about how to act near cyclists. In my opinion it also means doing whatever we can to increase the number of cyclists on the road.

Councilwatch, I am sad to hear about your experience. The collision in which you were unwittingly involved was definitely due to a lapse of judgement on behalf of the cyclist. We can only hope that in the cyclist's case, it was a momentary rare lapse and not a habitual one.

I do have to challenge your position however. Even though I know it struck close to home for you, one such experience does not automatically mean that it is a regular thing. And if that cyclist was in a car and made a similar lapse in judgement, it is unlikely you'd be here to tell the tale.

The reason there is no liability insurance requirement for cyclists is because major bike accidents like yours are a minuscule minority when compared to the accidents caused collectively by cars (where even a small "fender bender" can cause injuries similar to or worse than yours -- and huge property damage costs to boot).

As a side note to all of this, I think that the rules imposed on traffic when passing construction workers should apply when passing cyclists as well. That means reduced speeds and increased fines. Signage could be placed along all of the city's designated "safe cycling" routes.

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