law

Did you know that Canadian provinces are falling behind many of our American cousins who have been creating Vulnerable Road User Laws, that is laws that provide additional legal protection for those who are more likely to be injured on the road?

(Aren't we all vulnerable road users at some point every day? Everyone takes crosswalks and sidewalks. Many people cycle at least some time of year. This applies to us all.)

Patrick Brown, a lawyer at Mcleish Orlando, has provided his advice for people who have been hit by cars and would like to make claims for damages to their bicycles. I often get emails looking for advice on matters such as this but I'm just an opinionated blogger.

Contra-flow bike lanes have been stuck in legal limbo in Toronto for the last few years. Looks like this might soon end as the province may clarify the law by year end for hesitant Toronto City Staff who've held off on putting in the bike lanes.

Every once and a while the subject of bicycle licensing (whatever that means) comes up. In this case, it was Forum Research, a polling firm that decided to include it as one of their questions. There's no better way to raise the profile of a polling firm by addressing controversial topics and then get the results printed in a newspaper.

The media is reporting that prosecutor Richard Peck has dropped criminal charges against Michael Bryant, who was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, after the incident that left Darcy Allan Sheppard dead.

Richard Peck felt there was no reasonable chance of convicting Bryant.

Quote from The Star:

Igor Kenk has plead guilty to bike theft and drug possession. Here's the detail: he's plead guilty to just 10 bikes out of the original 48 that he was charged with by the Crown to keep the court case manageable. Charges against his wife Jeanie Chung were dropped. Igor has only 4 months left to serve of this sentence, but still has to face separate assault charges. There's no word yet on when the 2200 bicycles will be auctioned off.

The following email comes from Patrick Brown, a cyclist-supporting lawyer here in Toronto. Could cyclists be getting screwed over with insurance settlements in the future? Read on.

This morning I attended a stakeholders meeting with the Ministry of Finance regarding the new changes to auto insurance. It is now on the news.

The present law reform is not fair to cyclists, public transit users or pedestrians.

Is a cyclist at fault for riding through an intersection? In the Star's Wheels section a cyclist asks Eric Lai whether he was wrong to ride across an intersection. This cyclist was told by a cop that he was at fault for getting hit by a left turning vehicle while crossing the intersection.

Here's the Question:

Q: While riding my bicycle on the road, a car traveling in the opposite direction turned left in front of me at an intersection, causing me to collide with it.

Photo by swanksalot (yes, that's right)

It's Independence Day in the USA, so let's have a look at what cyclists down there are doing. Looking south once in a while (at least once a year) can give hints as to what ideas our politicians might be willing to try next.