Recently proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act don’t do enough to increase cyclist safety.
In addition to raising fines, the province needs to invest in infrastructure that keeps cyclists physically separated from larger vehicles. Cyclists also need to do their part to protect themselves by wearing a helmet.
Cars, city buses and cyclists all use the province’s roads to get around. But motorists and cyclists are not the same.
The main difference between them is that motorists are protected by metal armour. Cyclists are protected by a plastic helmet – and that’s only if they decide to wear one.
This puts cyclists at a huge disadvantage in terms of safety.
About 80 per cent of the 1,556 collisions between vehicles and cyclists in Ottawa from 2007 to 2011 resulted in cyclist injuries, according to statistics by the Ottawa Police Service.
The recently proposed changes are meant to reduce the number of collisions, and the resulting injuries and fatalities, on the province’s roads.
One of these changes would be an increase in fines for “dooring.” This occurs when a driver opens his or her door into the path of a cyclist. The maximum fine would be increased to $1,000 from $500.
There is also a proposed new rule that would require motorists to keep a one-metre distance from cyclists on the road.
While this is a nice idea, it only asks drivers to keep their distance rather than physically separating them from cyclists.
A more effective way to keep cyclists safe is with infrastructure that protects them. Separated bike lanes could prevent “dooring” and keeps all motorists an appropriate distance from cyclists by establishing a physical barrier between them.
Separated bike lanes are beneficial because they require no enforcement, encourage people to cycle by making them feel safer, and preventing crashing from occurring, according to a 2012 study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
The province should do its best to keep cyclists safe by putting the proper infrastructure in place for them. However, cyclists should also do their part to keep themselves safe on the road.
The province’s proposed changes do require cyclists to try to make themselves visible. The fine for cyclists who don’t have required lights and reflectors would be raised from $20 to between $60 and $500.
Lights and bells are considered protective measures for cyclists, but another one that is incredibly effective is a helmet.
Cyclists should wear helmets when on the road to keep themselves safe and minimize the severity of injuries should the worst occur.
The recently proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Act only begin to address the ways in which motorists and cyclists can share the road safely and hopefully collide less often.
But the province also needs to provide the infrastructure to keep cyclists safe, and cyclists in turn need to take measures to protect themselves.