Just a few seconds: It’s the difference between protecting a life and altering one forever

[guest]

Taking a few seconds to exercise caution with cyclists doesn’t cost you much time. But the consequences of not doing so can result in a person suffering from lifelong injuries or, even worse, costing that person their life.

Between 2016 and 2020, 1,272 collisions involving cyclists (including e-cyclists and e-scooters) occurred on our roadways, all preventable. Eleven of those collisions were fatal.

Cyclists are vulnerable road users. A cyclist is more than just a road user classification or statistical number; each figure is an actual person. It’s someone’s parent, son or daughter, husband or wife, and a friend. So, the impact of one single life can be multiplied several times.

Here are simple tips for both drivers and cyclists to help prevent collisions and promote cycling as a safe, healthy, and enjoyable form of transportation.

Drivers

• Keep an eye out for bicycles and give them ample room on the road.
• Before opening your car doors, check for cyclists by looking in your side mirror and shoulder check.
• When passing a cyclist, leave a safe distance between your car and the bicycle – at least one metre.
• Always check for cyclists when making right-hand turns.
• On shared lanes, stay behind the cyclist and don’t tailgate or move around the bike. Treat it as any slow-moving vehicle.
• Larger vehicles should be cautious when passing a cyclist particularly on rural roads.

Cyclists

• As a cyclist, always signal to traffic when you are about to turn either direction or stop.
• Always wear a helmet; it can be the difference between life or death.
• At all intersections, be sure vehicles see and acknowledge you before moving into the intersection.
• Have a working bell or horn on your bike.

Be sure other road users can see you

The Highway Traffic Act also requires cyclists to have lighting and reflectors on their bikes – especially between the half hour before sunset and after sunrise. Your bike should have:

• A white light at the front of the bike.
• A red rear light or red rear reflector.
• Two strips of white reflective tape on front forks (each strip to be 125mm by 25mm).

Road safety is a shared responsibility by all road users. To promote greater safety and mobility, the City continues to expand its extensive cycling infrastructure network across the city – including complete streets, designated bike lanes, multi-use pathways, and cycle tracks.

Additionally, the City continues to implement education and enforcement strategies through the Safer Roads Ottawa program, as well as engineering measures to improve road safety for all. These include, for example, the installation of amber-lock technology to hundreds of high-cycling volume intersections, automated speed enforcement cameras in community safety zones, and extensive road safety messaging campaigns.

While these safely help everyone share the road, we still have responsibility to look out for each other’s safety and well-being. Yes, it takes a few seconds. But if we fail to do so, those same few seconds can change lives forever.

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