Cycling and staying alive

Editor:

I’ve read with interest some of the letters recently on the topic of cycling safety, etiquette etc…

As someone who drives and cycles and who has been hit once by a car and again by a truck – both oncoming and impossible for me to avoid – I am very familiar with the frightening statistics in Ontario for cyclist and pedestrian fatalities.

To be fair, there are innumerable cyclists who have a very poor sense of their place on the road, however there are an equal number of drivers with a similar lack of skill or judgement. The difference is that a car/truck can kill easily while a cyclist is highly unlikely to cause a death other than their own.

Many readers may not be aware but it’s almost impossible to prove that a vehicle was used as a weapon/threat although this happens on a daily basis on our roads (I still don’t know how I wasn’t seen in both “accidents”). It’s scary how much false courage or confidence a few thousand pounds of steel provides.

Cyclists often now aim to take up more of the road not out of entitlement but because they are simply scared of being driven off it. Cycling on gravel roads has helped provide a safer option however, even there, some drivers seem to need to demonstrate ‘who’s boss.’ I hope we can all show each other the courtesy and respect that one would walking by each other on the street.

It’s a pain to slow down and go around – cyclists don’t need to make it harder than it needs to be, trust me, it’s more of a pain to be broken on the side of the road.

Martin Grosskopf,

Mansfield.