non - City of Toronto based cyclist accident reporting?
I'm wondering if anyone knows of any system for reporting / tracking cycling accidents that is not based through the City of Toronto. Over the years - this is something I've thought about many times after I've been doored, nicked, or outright hit by drivers who refuse to stop or do anything. To my knowledge, my option for reporting these incidents has been to call the police and file a police report, which frankly is at best a ridiculous time consuming process and at worst - is outright offensive. In my recent experience of being hit by a TTC Streetcar, the police failed to even ask me what happened or file a report - and I"m left wondering whether these accidents are included in any of the statistics about cycling accidents in the City of Toronto. This sort of thing has also happened to me before. I have a feeling that cycling accidents are incredibly underreported and under represented in statistics. And these are critical statistics to use to advocate for changes in policy.
I'm wondering about the idea of creating an online or alternative reporting system for cyslits to report these types of incidents. I realize that it would be a one sided reporting system, only recording cyclists stories; however, my sense is that its no different than the City of Toronto reporting processes with the Toronto Police Services.
I've also been wondering about creating a small, cute little tip booklet / postcard of some sort coaching cyclists what to do at the scene of an accident. Things like taking the license plate number, taking names of witnesses, immediately photographing or videoing anything including damages, the face of the person that hit you (or the back of their vehicle as they drive away)...that sort of thing. And then options about what to do with this information. I've relied on the police multiple times for this sort of thing and been hugely disappointed about the disregard the police have towards cyclists. Does anyone know if this sort of thing has been done before?
Thanks for any feedback!
Petunias
it may end up being abused though?
i wouldn't look to police reports to get an idea of how safe a city is for cyclists... ER and hospital records are the best since the injury is often classified as cycling related. Some recent comparisons of hospital records to police records in GB lead to accusations of police white-washing the statistics to make the roads look safer.
my general dislike the legal process, I have heard too many stories of or from cyclists who felt the police trumped up a charge against them to avoid having to charge the motorist. These stories, as well as recent court decisions, strongly reinforce my innate inclination to just forgive an errant motorist.
John G. Spragge
Mariner, cyclist, pilot
The police are somewhat carist, as are the courts, politicians and the City.
So there is a tendency to avoid truly registering all the harms to cyclists, and in quite a few cases, avoiding looking at specific instances, and even going to blame the cyclists, some of whom aren't entirely blameless either at times.
I thought I'd tried nudging the City at the last TCAC meeting to at least BEGIN! to count the various harms to cyclists from the streetcar tracks, but it may just have been in the written comments, but that's an entire large category of harms that is "off" books, and makes the east-west cycling in the older core far more hazardous, and under-represents the dire need for a single safe smooth, straight route for cyclists especially in the west end. one eg. being Bloor St.
Repainting a street like Bloor St. is only c. $25,000 a km - so one has to wonder where the multi-millions in the bike budget are going at times, and the bike budget is soo much of a better deal than much of the roads budget etc. etc.
And odds are that the cost of the repainting of 8kms of Bloor, first ok'ed for study 4+ years ago, would be rapidly paid back in the first year by avoided public costs of police time, the ambulance time, the court time, etc. etc. etc.
Like even the new Class C EA for Bloor/Danforth is - at around $530,000 about the cost of repainting the entirety of the Bloor/Danforth bikeway....
And we can't even get the tiny dangerous bits of Bloor biking under those hazardous rail crossings done between Lansdowne and Dundas St. W....
Thanks for your thoughts Hamish. I've got to admit that I'm more and more against the idea of repainting and adding bike lanes. Cyclists are hit all the time while biking in bike lanes - whether its being straight up hit by drivers, or doored by people parking .. its still dangerous. Plus, increasingly, the Ciity is looking for easy and cheap ways to achieve the "bike plan" goal in km's. They're adding all those chevron-like bike lanes (I can't think of the proper name for them right now), and what about the quasi bike lane on Lansdowne? What's up with that? More and more i think that we should be pushing for separate bike lanes that are actually raised, or curbed, or something to separate them from cars. In some cases, I also think it would create less disruption to some streets. For example, on Jarvis they could add this to one side of the street and it would probably take up less room overall - and it would be much safer.
while I support bicycle infrastructure everywhere, I have to admit that as someone who regularly rides Bloor West, the underpasses at Bloor/Landsdowne and Bloor/Symington don't bother me. In fact, aside from the Dundas/Annette/Dupont intersection which the city has already improved with bicycle lanes, and the new "improved" (for cars) Dufferin/Queen, for which we had better get bike facilities, I have to admit the few Toronto underpasses really frighten me (which doesn't mean they don't pose any hazard).
John the issue with underpasses is the rapidity with which light levels change and the inability for the human eye to respond. Drivers are for all intents blind when driving into an underpass and blinded again departing them. Any bicyclist in these transition zones will not be seen. True, the Bloor ones in that vicinity are not as severe as say the Cherry, Parliament, Jarvis or Yonge railway underpasses north of Lakeshore. That said drivers still undergo temporarily blinding changes in light levels in negotiating these. Wide bike lanes need to be required in all underpasses.
not t mention shoved into the kerb by a @$%#!! pickup truck in the Jane/Dundas railway underpass, I have to pretty much agree with you. We do need bike lanes in underpasses, preferably stepped (i.e. lanes with kerbs). I notice that cars regularly impinge on the west-bound bike lane in the railway underpass on Dupont.
John G. Spragge
Mariner, cyclist, pilot
Hi Noticed tonight in the Toronto Cyclist Union Handbook that there is reference to cyclists rights to benefits / coverage - even if an accident is their fault. The handbook indicates the importance of calling the police. Again - anyone who has done this, has probably had experiences of being dismissed either by the police, or later by the justice system.
I've also had conversations with individuals over the past week about the idea of developing a tip booklet / pamphlet / postcard with information for cyclists about what to do if they're in an accident. I had no idea how few people know what they can do or how they can record the information.
I'm interested in pursuing this idea. But first I'd still like to hear people's thoughts / experiences / stories of reporting accidents. Please share?
Thanks!
I noticed tonight in the Toronto Cyclist Union Handbook that there is reference to cyclists rights to benefits / coverage - even if an accident is their fault. I'd love to know more about benefits or coverage. Most people I know end up paying out of pocket to fix or replace their bikes.
The handbook also indicates the importance of calling the police to report accidents. Anyone who has done this has probably had experiences of being dismissed either by the police, or later by the justice system.
I've had conversations with individuals over the past week about the idea of developing a tip booklet / pamphlet / postcard with information for cyclists about what to do if they're in an accident. I had no idea how few people know what they can do or how they can record the information.
I'm interested in pursuing this idea. But first I'd still like to hear people's thoughts / experiences / stories of reporting accidents. Please share?
Thanks!
With the two Bloor under-rail passes - not everyone is comfortable travelling with enough speed and confidence/aggression to take the lane and not be run down from behind from cars.
Due to flow and seepage, extra freeze-thaw and degradation, biking under some of these underpass situations is a bit nervous-making for many I think.
And even though the Blessed Plan makes mention of underpasses needing extra attention, it does not seem to happen of its own accord. So maybe there needs to be pushing?... Start with these two bad-for-me underpasses to connect Dundas St. W. with Lansdowne. Heck even signage saying "CYCLISTS MAY TAKE LANE" instead of some "cyclists dismount" signs would be good.