Transportation - Cycling

A Court Case - Conclusion

June 2004

1. Exclusive reference to the HTA.
   Police officers, lawyers and the Insurance company disregarded the Municipal By-Laws and addressed infractions referring exclusively to the HTA . Municipal By-Laws are passed to enhance or supplement the requirements of the HTA and should be applied concurrently, but they result in misinterpretation of law if excluded, affecting both cyclists' and drivers' rights and ultimately collisions and fatalities.


1. According to the advice I was given by so many, the "correct" thing for a driver making a right turn, is to drive on the "dashed portion" of the bicycle lane while waiting to turn right, so that no one can pass on the right. By-Laws #62-91, (2) in concurrence with HTA #170. (1). were disregarded completely. They paid attention exclusively to HTA rule #14l. (2) which should be adhered in agreement with Municipal by-laws.

A bike lane is not "an adjacent traffic lane" as the insurance company, police officers and lawyers conceded, and so totally disregarding By-Laws. Although drivers are allowed to make a right turn on the "dashed portion" of a bike lane, they have to comply by ordinary rules of the road and not misinterpret it as a regular right lane. Therefore, since the bike lane is not a car lane, passing on the right on a single lane road going in same direction, is illegal HTA 148. (8). Hence, "who is passing whom on the right", was questioned in the Toronto Bicycle/Motor-Vehicle Study, 2003, should not be an issue at any intersection with a designated bicycle lane, because a driver making a right turn will not enter the lane unless it is safe to do so; he will have to wait until a cyclist gives the driver the right-of -way, otherwise the driver will have to proceed straight ahead.


2. Police officers do not receive thorough training on Municipal By-Laws. They concentrate on the HTA even though they work in the city and not on provincial roads. I contacted police officers of the Collision Reporting Centre (West), the 52nd Division, Traffic Services and officers on bikes. They all quoted the HTA, totally disregarding the by-laws in which case the interpretation of the law is incomplete and misconstrued.


1. Lack of effective and appropriate enforcement is the result of insufficient education, a skewed perception of priorities in what is legal or not and who should be charged with traffic violations. The article: Bike Couriers unimpressed with safety effort, Toronto Star, June 8 is the typical example of everything gone wrong with law enforcement and the corresponding counterproductive social attitude. By-Laws state no stopping or parking on bike lanes, yet they are ignored by delivery vehicle drivers and this practice is permitted by police officers. This is failing to enforce the law by allowing traffic violations by truckers; furthermore, police fails to apply the law evenly to all by not ticketing delivery vehicles, as in "selective prosecution".


2. A comprehensive education system to police, drivers, and cyclists regarding rights and priorities to prevent collisions. A letter to that effect was addressed to Chief Julian Fantino, with a copy sent to Superintendent Keith Forde at C.O.Bick College, 2 June, 2004 stressing the importance of establishing an extensive course on the Municipal By-Laws in the curriculum to complement training on the HTA.


3. The effect of the automobile accommodating mentality prevalent in this city, has affected negatively interactions among drivers, cyclists and police.


1. This mentality has permeated both elected officials and city staff to the point of expressing faulty and dangerous reasoning in interpreting the law. The letter to the NOW Editor by CanBike instructor, "Hazards Bike Lanes Create", April 1-7 2004, clearly indicates his lack of knowledge of our by-laws and of rights and priorities of cyclists. By counselling cyclists to move out of the legally designated bike lane into the traffic flow in order to accommodate the driver making a right turn, he is endangering the cyclist's safety and allowing the driver to use unsafe driving tactics. Thorough education of both HTA and By-Laws is in order here.


2. Likewise, the so called "gentler approach" and "urging" motorists not to park on bike lanes, that Councillor Adam Giambrone expressed in the article: "Bike couriers unimpressed with safety effort", Toronto Star, June 8, 2004 is nothing more than a slap on the wrist, perceived as overlooking traffic violations to accommodate motorists. Offences require punitive measures to deter such dangerous and unlawful actions; unassertive and innocuous talk is totally ineffective in changing behaviour.


4. Insurance companies have profited by such rush and unsafe driving tactics; they invariably rate drivers at fault and hike up premiums.