7 People
This is the number of cyclists who have been taken to hospital since Saturday morning due to collisions with vehicles. 5 cyclists were hit on Saturday morning in a hit and run on March Road in Kanata , on Tuesday night a man was hit on Ogilvie Road and on Wednesday morning a man in Gatineua was struck by a pick-up truck . The easy response to these tragic events is to say that the cyclists should have been careful and while it is true that cyclists should be visible at all times (night or day), be aware of traffic, signal and wear a helmet, certainly in the case of the March Road incident that was not enough. The five who were injured did all they could.
It is easy to say this was a random act which could not be predicted but I think what this really demonstrates is in order to make cities safer for cycling the municipal government can’t just paint some bike lanes on a road, call it a cycling plan and then sit back. In order to make cycling truly safe, other vehicles have to respect cyclists for the vehicles they are under the law. This necessarily means a shift in how drivers think when they are behind the wheel of a car. It means checking for cyclists as well as cars when they open doors, turn right and fly down the road at night. I believe that both the provincial and municipal government has a role to play in changing the driving culture of their particular city and province. While a previous commenter pointed out that thousands of cyclists co-exist with cars without problems every day, these events clearly show we are a long way from where we need to be.
Finally though, how do you do this:
“He angled into the lane, brushed up against the female cyclist, hit the other four — who are the ones who are in bad shape — and then carried on out,” he said.
Then just keep on driving? He is charged with five counts of failing to stop at the scene of a collision causing bodily harm but in my mind this should be on par with attempted murder. He had no idea if any of the people he hit were alive when he left the scene. His intentions were exactly the same regardless of the condition of the victims, the law should treat them the same not be subject to whether all of the victims survive.
It will be very interesting to see if the driver is convicted how serious the penalty will be.
I certainly get the impression that when a driver hits a cyclist it is not treated as severely as when a pedestrian or another driver is struck.
How anyone can do that and drive away is difficult to comprehend.
Comment by Bandobras — July 22, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
Regarding the March Road incident:
“Darryl Wilton, Ottawa Paramedics superintendent of operations, told CTV.ca that the distance between the point of the first impact and the patient furthest away was 120 metres.”
That kind of stopping distance is consistent with going at 120 to 130 km/h, and failing to pull out of the bicycle lane. Faster, actually, since the driver was still going fast enough at the end to injure the last cyclist.
I hope the police seriously investigate rather more severe criminal charges than just fleeing the scene.
Comment by Milan — July 22, 2009 @ 10:55 pm
The way drivers and cyclists think is definitely a key to cycle safety.
I’ve lived and biked in a number of cities and Ottawa actually has relatively good cycle lanes, but I do feel the general levels of driving and concentration are poor.
I was recently in Paris, using the velib bikes. Parisian drivers are notorious, but they are invariably very aware of cyclists and go out of their way to accommodate them.
This contrasts with a recent experience of mine in Ottawa, in busy traffic a bus insisted on passing me, but cut in before fully past — when I protested the driver claimed to have passed me — which was just not true and in any case utterly pointless as there was a huge queue of traffic ahead.
Re: the March Road incident, truly shocking. As mentioned above any charges ought to reflect the recklessness of the driving rather than whether the victims are lucky enough to survive or not.
PS the captcha for this posting is a bit disconcerting: fatality harper
Comment by John Gill — July 23, 2009 @ 11:28 am
good lord,
check out the OBC site!!!
Someone wants more laws for cyclists!!!!
Stupidity!!!
Shouldn’t it be the other way around.
Good god, these people represent us (people like Anna and Avery)
No wonder why we have cyclists being hit.
These people preach that “cyclists are at fault - always!”
sick bastards!
Comment by jim — July 23, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
http://www.ottawabicycleclub.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2162#35051
Anna and Avery go to hell!!!
part of the problem.
Not the solution.
Comment by jim — July 23, 2009 @ 3:24 pm