Coroner to Review Ontario Cycling Deaths

Here's something interesting in the (old) news. 

Globe and Mail Article

My Word (for whatever it's worth... which is probably a lot. Stop looking at me like I'm crazy):

For those of who don't know what a coroner is, one of the things they do is "investigating and identifying preventable deaths". Note, though, that quote is a mission statement (that I ripped off) posted on the Ontario Coroner's Association website. 

Being a relatively new biker (three years approximately. More on that another time), I say,"Thank God".

Here's a quote that stood out for me: Toronto Cyclists’ Union spokeswoman Andrea Garcia said, “We know that 60 per cent of Ontarians would cycle more but are afraid to do so.”  

60%, of not our massive Toronto/GTA, but the larger Ontario, is a staggering number. According to the Government of Ontario website, the province has a population of over 13 million.

Let's do some math now. First we take the numbers from the Stats Canada Population by sex and age group, by province and territory page. We're going to assume that the 15-64 age group is the 60% Andrea was talking about. The age group consists of a population of 9,270,700, bite off the 60% from that and we get 5,556,420. That's a bit under Toronto's population of 5.7 million.

Imagine the streets of Toronto filled with bikes, bikes being ridden by the old and young. Imagine adorable babies peddling on their bikes with training wheels and tricycles stopping at red lights. Hey, maybe even throw in some adorable police babies on bikes, with tiny little sirens, stopping renegade baby bikers and their baby bike gangs. Yes, I love babies, and I'll stop digressing. 

Picture this, except everything more baby-sized

Back to Being Serious:

Imagine where we don't have to change our underwear each time a car nearly trades paint with our leg (blood can be a paint, right?), or a trucker whizzes by us and throws us off balance. Hopefully we'll get more bike lanes in Toronto, so we don't have to hug the curb in case some angry driver shouts at us for 'taking up the road' (it hasn't happened to me yet). 

Luckily I'm insane enough to brave the roads. I mean, the first time I biked on the road was when I was around 14, and this was my fifth or so time being back on a bike since I was four. 

I take the safety of others very seriously, that's why I'll seldom ride on the sidewalk. I don't care if there are two people on the sidewalk, anything can happen. I'll get off my bike and walk it. Now being on the road, I'm in the position of pedestrians, where I'm at the mercy of drivers. Actually, I’m more at mercy of the drivers because, face it, you can't clothesline a driver out of his car. 

Get to the Point(s)... Darn It

Fine, I will. Jeez, pushy underlined subtitle. 

Really though, it's interesting what the review will come up with. Here are my questions, which you can also answer yourself in the comment section. Feel free to come up with your own opinion on leading causes or factors behind the deaths. 

If you read the article, you can note the part that said "A similar review of 38 cycling deaths in the city of Toronto over an 11-year period was completed in 1998. That review led to a number of cycling initiatives in the city...", so you can also think about possible solutions to the problems. 

Questions that come to mind: 

Are bikers not aware of the rules of the road? Are we reckless?

A rule I like to adhere by (like to, as in I'm human so I'll even forget to do that) is "check myself first". There's no 'bike license test' in order to legally bike on the road. I was surprised to find out that the laws bikers have to follow are really similar to drivers. Some laws include not biking down the wrong way on a road or, not riding on a sidewalk.

Sometimes, bikers assume they have the right of way to everything, but thankfully most of us are clever enough to, again, know that we're at the mercy of the driver. Yeah, sure, I'm following the law and he just cut me the *beep* off, and I'll win in a lawsuit, but I still can't get my legs back.

There's also no point in getting angry, and taking that anger off on the road. Like my father says, whenever he goes to drive his car or his school bus, his thought is "don't bring your anger and problems behind the wheel," because a lot of lives are at stake.

The same goes for biking, because, while you're not paying attention to the road, or biking recklessly, you can, including your life, mess up someone else's. For example: You, the biker, weave into the driver's lane because there's a vehicle parked, and you can't be arsed stopping or slowing down and looking back. An alert driver may slow down because they're expecting you to come in the way. If you jump in, a driver may steer to avoid you and crash into something else.

Many things can happen, but a thing to keep in mind as a biker: We're not invincible, and if we take cautionary steps to keep ourselves safe, it'll probably mean keeping others safe. 

What about the *beeping* driver who just cut me off? (Are drivers not aware of the rules?)

I'd say take what I wrote above and think in similar terms. Sometimes, drivers aren't aware of where they should not cut into the bike lane, or the side of the road reserved for bikers. As opposed to bikers, drivers aren't as much in danger of injury if they hit the biker (as for where the biker will be if they bike into the car), which can mean careless driving.

However, unlike bikers, drivers have to go through tests to receive a license, so they don't have an excuse really. 

________

"Officer, I didn't know that bikers are legally supposed to bike on the right side of the road, that's what I use for weaving around slow drivers," Says a driver in an innocent and sweet tone, with big puppy dog eyes.

The Officer shines his flashlight into the driver's eyes, despite it being 11 AM, "How did you even get your license?" He asked, appalled, "besides, the speed limit is forty kilometres per hour, you were going at eighty."

"Yeah. Well, see," The driver throws open the door and knocks the police back. He jumps on to the road and gets hit by a biker.  

________

Which is the case: careless drivers or ignorant bikers? It can be either, or both, but we'll see what the review comes up with. If we can stop the hate and the careless driving/biking though, that'll help a lot.

Not enough space for bikers/Roads not safe enough

This can be on roads without bike lanes, or lanes not being wide enough at all. How do you feel? Are the vehicles driving too close because they don't have a choice, and have to so they don't hit oncoming traffic?

It's possible that some roads aren't made with bikers in mind. Other than a lot of Toronto roads in terrible condition, I think most have enough space for bikers. Since most roads are built with snow in mind (snowploughs putting snow to the side, and leaving enough space for drivers), that means it's usually spacious (or at least enough) for bikers during the summer. 

Is the law not strict enough?

I don't really have an opinion on this because I haven't been hit by a car, or gotten into any sort of accident yet. Except, I did get into an accident that one time I raced my friend on a road with streetcar tracks, and cars parked on the side. Luckily I wasn't seriously injured, and I've learned from that. Oh yeah… I've learned from that *starts crying at the thought of streetcar tracks*. 

Not only does it mean reprimanding drivers, but also forcing bikers over 18 to wear a helmet (or maybe upping the age limit). I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of deaths could have been avoided because the biker didn't wear a helmet. I don't wear a helmet, and I should. 

There’s a story about a biker who knocked over a woman, while he was biking down the wrong way on a road. The 55 year old woman’s skull was fractured. (See this July 7, 2011 article) Was the $400 fine not enough?

Other factors

Those are the best I can come up with. If you guys have anything else in mind, again, feel free to mention it. 

Written By: Azam Abowath