Kitchener cyclist advisory committee member calling for mandatory bicycle training
Posted Jul 11, 2016 10:58:53 AM.
Last Updated Jul 12, 2016 05:25:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A member of Kitchener’s cyclist advisory committee is calling for mandatory training in schools following the death of a 19 year-old women last week and injuries to two other cyclists.
Peter Dedes says there needs to be more education for cyclists and it needs to start early.
“The real issue is knowing where to place yourself on the road,” says Dedes. “What the signs mean, what your responsibilities are, and what your rights are, and that’s really what needs to be taught.”
In-school training was discontinued nearly 20 years ago–but there is a pilot program on bicycle safety for grade 5 students, however it is short on instructors Dedes says.
The 19 year old woman who died last Wednesday was riding on the wrong side of the road on Ginger Avenue and rode past a stop sign on Laurelwood with out stopping when she was hit by an SUV.
On Friday, a 39 year old cyclist was sent to hospital after she was struck by a truck when she rode into the crosswalk from the sidewalk at Erb and Weber in Waterloo.
Dedes says that although cyclist accidents aren’t nearly as common as motor vehicle accidents, the outcomes are often far worse, as someone on a bicycle is far more likely to get seriously injured when struck by a vehicle, than someone in another vehicle.
He adds that mandatory cyclist education is already in place in some European countries and hopes that Canada will follow suit. However, a program of that nature would be volunteer-run, and there isn’t enough staff to be able to make it happen currently.
Toronto Councillor Stephen Holyday is set to introduce a motion today to study bicycle licensing, and Dedes says costs are the main reasons they have not happened in the past.
“One reason that we run licensing programs for motorists and drivers is that these vehicles that are being operated can cause all sorts of damage,” says Dedes. “The second reason is that a bicycle licensing system would place an unfair burden on poor people who can’t afford courses or licenses, and a bicycle is the only way they can get around.”
