OT: Any Cyclists?

[Thomas Milne]

On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 9:34 AM, William O'Higgins Witteman
<william.ohiggins-H217xnMUJC0sA/PxXw9srA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 09:05:40AM -0400, Christopher Browne wrote:
>
>>There's rather less incentive for cyclists to follow the law, and
>>there is even ambiguity (e.g. - is "road=motorists+cyclists" a better
>>fit than "sidewalk=pedestrians+cyclists"?)  To an extent, cyclists are
>>"not perfectly welcome" on either sidewalk or road.  That's somewhat
>>codified in law, for Segways, but "where should cyclists be?" is
>>rather less clear.
>
> Not so unclear - perhaps unknown.
>
> A City bylaw allows cyclists with a tire size of 61cm or 24 inches or
> less to ride on the sidewalk. The intent of this bylaw is to allow young
> children to cycle on the sidewalk while they learn to ride. The bylaw is
> based on wheel size because it is difficult for Police to enforce
> age-based bylaws, as most children do not carry identification. This is
> a municipal bylaw and rules vary in communities across Ontario.
> http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/safety/sidewalk/sidewalk.htm
>
> A bicycle is classed as a "vehicle" under the Highway Traffic Act, and
> is subject to the same laws as cars.
> http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm#BK0
>
> Bike lanes are municipally created and maintained, and governed by
> municipal bylaws.
>
> I take your point that many cyclists routinely disobey the law, and this
> casts all cyclists in a poor light.  However, I once tracked driver
> errors over a month and found, in 1 hour of commuting per weekday, 11
> instances per week (average) of failure to stop, left turn not in safety
> and failure to signal.  These errors might be overlooked by drivers, but
> to cyclists and pedestrians they are potentially fatal (potential
> fatality was my threshold criteria for counting an error).

Absolutely, positively, right on the money. Well said.

> --
>
> yours,
>
> William
>
>
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