A major review of Ontario cycling deaths is recommending significant changes to the laws that govern the province’s roads, including making it mandatory for all bicyclists to wear helmets and outfitting all Canadian trucks with side guards.
The Ontario coroner’s report studied all 129 fatal cycling accidents that occurred in the province between 2006 and 2010, and came up with 14 recommendations that it says will make riders safer.
While the most controversial is the suggestion that Ontario join three other provinces that already have mandatory helmet laws, the report also recommends mandating side guards on trucks, enacting a “one-meter” rule for drivers when passing cyclists, ensuring all new roads in the province are built according to “complete streets” model, and making cycling safety a part of school curricula.
“These recommendations, if they’re implemented, allow cyclists to ride the roads without harm, and without fear of injury,” said Patrick Brown, a critical injury lawyer and director of Cycle Toronto, one of the groups that contributed to the review. “It will open the door so that so many more people can enjoy this great form of transportation.”
The proposal for mandatory helmet use stems from data that found 73 per cent of riders who died over the five-year study period were not wearing protective headgear. While Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia already require all bikers to don helmets, Ontario law currently compels only bicyclists under the age of 18 to do so.
Jared Kolb, director of outreach for Cycle Toronto, said he supports all of the report’s recommendations, but stressed that the coroner is calling for the helmet law to be introduced in conjunction with a study on how it would affect cycling activity.
Kolb is concerned by studies that found cycling rates in other jurisdictions dropped as much as 40 per cent after helmet laws were introduced. He believes that the overall benefits of encouraging cycling may outweigh the positive effect of mandating safety gear.
“That’s a tough one,” he said of the helmet law suggestion. “There’s a public health issue here that the mandatory helmet law doesn’t necessarily speak to.”
The report was drafted with input from an expert panel that included representatives from cycling groups, the police, and the provincial and federal governments. Several of its recommendations are similar to the findings of a 1998 coroner’s review of Toronto cycling deaths. That report led to beefed up collection of cycling collision data, but its most important suggestions, such as investigating the feasibility of outfitting all Canadian trucks with protective side guards, have not led to concrete changes.
Bike advocates believe that side guards, which prevent pedestrians and riders from falling beneath trucks, could drastically reduce the incidence of serious accidents like the one that killed Jenna Morrison in Toronto’s downtown west-end last November.
Despite inaction on the 1998 report, NDP transportation critic Jonah Schein believes the growing number of cyclists in the province could make the latest review hard for Queen’s Park to dismiss.
“[Look at] the incredible cycling community we have in Toronto. It might not have been that way 20 years ago,” he said. “Cyclists are active, they’re intelligent, they’re leading the way. I’m absolutely grateful for that but we need the provincial government to catch up.”
Schein is calling for the Liberal government to enact all 14 of the coroner’s recommendations, although some, like the side guards issue, would also require federal law changes.
A statement released Monday by transportation minister Bob Chiarelli said that the government supports the review “in principle” and will study the coroner’s report as part of an ongoing update of Ontario’s cycling policy.
The coroner recommends that:
- The Highway Traffic Act be amended to make helmets mandatory for all cyclists, in conjunction with an evaluation of the rule change on cycling activity
- Drivers be required by law to give cyclists a one-meter berth when passing
- That Transport Canada make side guards mandatory for heavy trucks in Canada
- all (re)-developments in the province be guided by a “complete streets” approach that accommodates all road users through measures like bike lanes and reduced speed limits
- the province develop an Ontario Cycling Plan to guide policy and regulations for bike infrastructure
- paving the shoulders of provincial highways be made a priority of the ministry of transportation
- the ministry of transportation develop a comprehensive cycling safety education program that includes a public awareness campaign and targets new drivers and truckers
- that bike safety information be provided to anyone purchasing a new bike
- that the ministry of education incorporate cycling safety into the public school curriculum
- that portions of the Highway Traffic Act that pertain to cyclists be reviewed to ensure they are understandable and enforceable
- that the government promote helmet use through public awareness campaigns and tax rebates on helmet purchases
Key findings:
- 86% (111 of 129) of those killed while cycling were male.
- Approximately two-thirds (84 of 129 65%), of fatal cycling collisions took place in an urban environment, with the other one-third (45 of 129 35%) occurring in a rural setting.
- The peak age for cycling deaths was 45-54 years over half of cycling fatalities (66 of 129 51%) occurred in persons aged 45 and older.
- Numbers of cycling fatalities in Ontario declined each year from 2006 (41) to 2009 (14), but rose again (to 25) in 2010.
- The vast majority of cycling deaths occurred during clear weather, on dry roads, with good visibility.
- Only 27% (35 of 129) of those who died as the result of a cycling collision were wearing a helmet. Those cyclists whose cause of death included a head injury were three times less likely to be wearing a helmet than those who died of other types of injuries.
- 63% of fatal collisions occurred during recreational activities, and 31% during commuting.
- In 44 cases, only the cyclist was found to have contributed to the accident. In 33 cases, only the driver was found to have contributed to the collision. In 48 cases, contributing factors were identified on the part of both the cyclist and the driver.
