Interesting yet alarming article but this quote here just doesn't seem right:
But studies performed in Arizona, Minnesota and Hawaii suggest that drivers are at fault in more than half of cycling fatalities. And there is something undeniably screwy about a justice system that makes it de facto legal to kill people, even when it is clearly your fault, as long you’re driving a car and the victim is on a bike and you’re not obviously drunk and don’t flee the scene.
Great Article! It would sure be nice to see ICBC step up and also to see our politicians pass some laws and spend some money to make cycling far safer! I particularly like the last paragraph:
So here’s my proposal: Every time you get on a bike, from this moment forward, obey the letter of the law in every traffic exchange everywhere to help drivers (and police officers) view cyclists as predictable users of the road who deserve respect. And every time you get behind the wheel, remember that even the slightest inattention can maim or kill a human being enjoying a legitimate form of transportation. That alone will make the streets a little safer, although for now I’m sticking to the basement and maybe the occasional country road.
We as cyclists really need to be overly diligent in doing our part to make sure we follow the rules of the road and make sure the vehicle drivers know we respect them and the laws of the road.
So many times I have heard or read the phrase "It was an Accident" when a driver has an at-fault crash. Police don't even ticket drivers sometimes when they say "It was an Accident"
Well I say more often it is a 'poor choice', 'incompetence' or 'negligence' that leads to the totally avoidable collisions that so many motorists are involved in. I cringe when people use the term "Accident" to either get out of responsibility or to let someone out of the very big responsibility that it is to drive a motor vehicle on public roads.
Bottom line, people are being killed and injured at an incredibly alarming rate on our roads and it just doesn't have to be that way.