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On Tuesday, cyclists were given more legal protection under the Highway Traffic Act.
The same day, Andrew Cameron and I wondered the same thing: Who is going to enforce these wondrous new rules, like the one-metre buffer?
On June 9, he was cycling home from his office downtown when he became involved in an altercation with a motorist.
Unlike most of these confrontations, we know exactly what happened: Cameron, 35, had a digital video camera on his helmet.
The most memorable part of the exchange was when the driver threw a banana peel at Cameron along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The most dangerous part was when he gunned his engine in Cameron’s direction, in an apparent intimidation tactic.
Curiously, after Cameron complained to police and provided the licence plate number, investigators did not ask to see the video. Weeks later, they told Cameron they unsuccessfully tried to reach the motorist a couple of times, and pretty much closed the file.
“If he had come at me with a kitchen knife, you can bet the Ottawa police would be taking it a lot more seriously,” said Cameron.
“He threatened me with a lethal weapon.”
Cameron, 35, an Alta Vista resident, is an avid cyclist and advocate for the biking community. He sat down and showed us the clip.
It begins with him, cycling eastbound along Laurier Avenue in a designated bicycle lane, near Elgin Street. First, a pedestrian is incorrectly walking in the bike lane, then a car exits to Laurier from the underground parking lot serving the courthouse, nudging its bumper slightly into the bike lane.
Cameron makes a gesture at the blue Toyota, the driver snaps back, and Cameron responds: “C’mon man, it’s a bike lane.”
About 300 metres later, the two have veered south on Queen Elizabeth when Cameron sees something fly over his head. It was a banana peel from the Toyota. When they stop for traffic, the driver, with a rolled down window, says it was just “compost”, adding improbably, “Didn’t see you there.”
Some barking and some ‘effing barking ensue. The man then rolls up the passenger window and, from a distance of maybe 20 metres, appears to gun the car in Cameron’s direction, which leads Cameron to shout about the “crazy” driver. A woman in a following vehicle slows down to say she has the licence plate of the car that “took a run at you.”
“Who throws a banana peel at a cyclist?” he asked this week, saying his “fight or flight” instincts kicked in when he heard the motor revving in his direction.
Initially, Cameron says he didn’t want much, only that Ottawa police would contact the driver and give him a stern warning or reminder. Now he’s doubly disappointed because, not only did the driver walk away, the police apparently gave up because he lived in some distant jurisdiction.
So, now, nothing happens. (Police say they’re still looking into the matter.)
“It was kind of just sloughed off, you know, like just one of those things that happen in traffic.”
Cameron cycles everywhere. He’s been yelled at and clipped on the wrist by a passing mirror. Some of these infractions he posts on YouTube.
His main complaint, after years on the roads?
“The lack of awareness of the rights and responsibilities that cyclists have on the road,” which include taking up the entire driving lane when it is the only safe way to go.
He believes 99 per cent of motorists are respectful and he supports the cycling infrastructure the city has added — segregated bicycle lanes on Laurier — not to mention the enhanced safety laws.
But it’s the “get out of my way” syndrome that is hard for motorists to shake, he says.
Well, let’s face it. We aren’t going to regulate our way of this conflict, come laws by the truckload.
In partial defence of the motorist, the painted markings coming out of the courthouse lot are all faded, so Lord knows if he even knew about the bike lane. Same for the pedestrian. And if city hall can’t paint road markings properly — at City Hall, for pete’s sake — then what hope for the rest of the city?
More laws, more infractions, more investigations, the greater burden on police, who have better things to do than referee street shouting matches and do DNA on banana peels. So one has to ask where this is getting us.
However, it’s the anger — really the rage — on the roads, that is so difficult to comprehend or control. And, good grief, that’s a question we need to ask ourselves, not our legislators.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ottawacitizen.com.
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
The same day, Andrew Cameron and I wondered the same thing: Who is going to enforce these wondrous new rules, like the one-metre buffer?
On June 9, he was cycling home from his office downtown when he became involved in an altercation with a motorist.
Unlike most of these confrontations, we know exactly what happened: Cameron, 35, had a digital video camera on his helmet.
The most memorable part of the exchange was when the driver threw a banana peel at Cameron along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The most dangerous part was when he gunned his engine in Cameron’s direction, in an apparent intimidation tactic.
Curiously, after Cameron complained to police and provided the licence plate number, investigators did not ask to see the video. Weeks later, they told Cameron they unsuccessfully tried to reach the motorist a couple of times, and pretty much closed the file.
“If he had come at me with a kitchen knife, you can bet the Ottawa police would be taking it a lot more seriously,” said Cameron.
“He threatened me with a lethal weapon.”
Cameron, 35, an Alta Vista resident, is an avid cyclist and advocate for the biking community. He sat down and showed us the clip.
It begins with him, cycling eastbound along Laurier Avenue in a designated bicycle lane, near Elgin Street. First, a pedestrian is incorrectly walking in the bike lane, then a car exits to Laurier from the underground parking lot serving the courthouse, nudging its bumper slightly into the bike lane.
Cameron makes a gesture at the blue Toyota, the driver snaps back, and Cameron responds: “C’mon man, it’s a bike lane.”
About 300 metres later, the two have veered south on Queen Elizabeth when Cameron sees something fly over his head. It was a banana peel from the Toyota. When they stop for traffic, the driver, with a rolled down window, says it was just “compost”, adding improbably, “Didn’t see you there.”
Some barking and some ‘effing barking ensue. The man then rolls up the passenger window and, from a distance of maybe 20 metres, appears to gun the car in Cameron’s direction, which leads Cameron to shout about the “crazy” driver. A woman in a following vehicle slows down to say she has the licence plate of the car that “took a run at you.”
“Who throws a banana peel at a cyclist?” he asked this week, saying his “fight or flight” instincts kicked in when he heard the motor revving in his direction.
Initially, Cameron says he didn’t want much, only that Ottawa police would contact the driver and give him a stern warning or reminder. Now he’s doubly disappointed because, not only did the driver walk away, the police apparently gave up because he lived in some distant jurisdiction.
So, now, nothing happens. (Police say they’re still looking into the matter.)
“It was kind of just sloughed off, you know, like just one of those things that happen in traffic.”
Cameron cycles everywhere. He’s been yelled at and clipped on the wrist by a passing mirror. Some of these infractions he posts on YouTube.
His main complaint, after years on the roads?
“The lack of awareness of the rights and responsibilities that cyclists have on the road,” which include taking up the entire driving lane when it is the only safe way to go.
He believes 99 per cent of motorists are respectful and he supports the cycling infrastructure the city has added — segregated bicycle lanes on Laurier — not to mention the enhanced safety laws.
But it’s the “get out of my way” syndrome that is hard for motorists to shake, he says.
Well, let’s face it. We aren’t going to regulate our way of this conflict, come laws by the truckload.
In partial defence of the motorist, the painted markings coming out of the courthouse lot are all faded, so Lord knows if he even knew about the bike lane. Same for the pedestrian. And if city hall can’t paint road markings properly — at City Hall, for pete’s sake — then what hope for the rest of the city?
More laws, more infractions, more investigations, the greater burden on police, who have better things to do than referee street shouting matches and do DNA on banana peels. So one has to ask where this is getting us.
However, it’s the anger — really the rage — on the roads, that is so difficult to comprehend or control. And, good grief, that’s a question we need to ask ourselves, not our legislators.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ottawacitizen.com.
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
