Cycling

A report from the Mountain - Plains Consortium answers the question of why bike friendly cities are safer for all road users. From the document abstract:

Despite bicycling being considered on the order of ten times more dangerous than driving, the evidence continues to build that high-bicycling-mode-share cities are not only safer for bicyclists but for all road users. This paper looks to understand what makes these cities safer.

I found this Tweet from a cyclist on southern Vancouver Island yesterday: A #RCMP told me today it was too dangerous to ride a bike on the roads and I should find another hobby. In their view going to the grocery store on a #bike is a hobby. #Police and the public need to wake up #bikes are a serious mode of transport.

Here's an image of a cyclist caught on dashcam riding along Garden City Road between Westminster Highway and Granville Avenue in Richmond, B.C. He is riding the wrong way, without a helmet, failing to keep at least one hand on the handlebars and appears to be texting on a cell phone. Four separate Motor Vehicle Act violations!

This video is a news story carried on CTV Vancouver Island. It explains that helmet use has been mandatory for a long time but may cyclists don't bother wearing them. Those that don't believe that it should be a personal choice. This is balanced by those who wear one and have avoided serious injury in a crash because of it.

Not all collision litigation resulting from crashes on our highways involve motor vehicles. In this case, the collision occurred between Rosario Perilli, a jogger, and Wendy Marlow, a 10 year old youth riding a bicycle. Mr. Perilli fell to the ground in his attempt to avoid the collision and suffered injuries, including one to his shoulder that required surgery to repair.

I wanted to turn left from one angled road onto another angled road.

Two vehicles were stopped at the stop sign.

The first vehicle was turning right and as he did, I prepared to turn left...suddenly I have a cyclist turning left from the same spot as the car; the cyclist was not obvious tucked beside the car. I could have hit the cyclist.

Misbehaving and incompetent drivers get off too easy in the media. How many times have you seen news headlines like these?

Douglas Heuring was riding his bicycle eastbound on 13 street approaching Grand Boulevard East in North Vancouver, B.C. He stopped for the stop sign about 10 feet back from the marked stop line at the intersection.

British Columbia's Motor Vehicle Act came into effect in 1957 with the main focus of regulating motor vehicle traffic on our highways. It is very similar to the current version save for the legislation on impaired driving, the use of electronic devices, driving while prohibited and vehicle impound as a penalty.

The case of Salo v ICBC involves a bicycle collision that took place at an intersection with North End Road on Saltspring Island. Mr. Salo was seriously injured in the incident and sued ICBC. He claimed that an unidentified driver who was at the scene was responsible for the collision and asked the court to determine liability.