P1090660 Ghost Bike For Jack Layton by Martinho on Flickr.
Toronto cyclists gather for ride in honour of fallen cyclist Jenna Morrison
David Rothberg, chairman of Niagara Capital Partners, a Bay Street hedge fund, rode his bicycle from his home in the Annex to the corner of Spadina Avenue and Bloor Street West at 7:30 a.m. Monday. He joined about 400 cyclists who rode silently down Spadina, across Harbord Street, down to College Street and west to Sterling Road and Dundas Street West.
This “ghost bike ride,” organized by Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists, served to commemorate Jenna Morrison, the mom and yoga teacher killed by a truck while riding her bike a week ago. (Photo: Peter Kuitenbrouwer/National Post)
While there is a public perception that cyclists are usually the cause of accidents between cars and bikes, an analysis of Toronto police collision reports shows otherwise: The most common type of crash in this study involved a motorist entering an intersection and either failing to stop properly or proceeding before it was safe to do so. The second most common crash type involved a motorist overtaking unsafely. The third involved a motorist opening a door onto an oncoming cyclist. The study concluded that cyclists are the cause of less than 10 percent of bike-car accidents in this study.”
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Professor Chris Cavacuiti, being interviewed about his research on Toronto area data.
*edit from the original article:
Dr. Cavacuiti is quoted as saying “The [Toronto Collision] study concluded that cyclists are the cause of less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents”. Dr. Cavacuiti has asked us to make readers aware that the Toronto Collision study was actually designed to look at the cause of bicycle/motorist collisions but not culpability.
It is actually several studies conducted by Charles Komanoff and member of the Right of Way organization in New York that concluded that concluded that cyclists were strictly culpable for less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents.
[via Cars Cause Most Bike-Car Crashes on Good Blog, via Cyclists Cause less than 10% of Bike/Car Accidents on Treehugger]
Courier vs. Car! »
Anyway, the whole thing quickly turned into a two-ring circus with all sorts of people sticking their causes to the event:
This morning, bikers got together in the spot where the courier died and staged a demonstration. Or protest. Or something. Some of them shouted out “murderer”, referring to Bryant, but made some strange remarks in a quieter voice (I was within earshot), “Yeah, if murderer means crusher of dreams, you back-peddling son of a bitch.” And so forth.
How come that kind of thing never makes the evening news? Ah, but that’s okay. I don’t think we should give the gathering too much credence. Most of the messages of condolence stuck to the spot mentioned, in one form or another, how this death was a just another demonstration of Toronto’s anti-bike streets. There was also plenty of promotion for United Messengers‘ Bloor bike lanes campaign. Guess they figured, if that bandwagon’s coming, might as well hang off the back:
So if the purpose of the gathering was to remind us about bike safety, I’d say absolutely! We could probably start by educating some of the bikers, huh?
I did an impromptu tally of helmets on cyclists for about six walking city blocks (major intersections). I counted only cyclists who were riding and on the road. Out of a total of 263 bikers, only about 45% were wearing helmets. I would like to do a follow-up study on how many also have earphones stuck in/on their ears. And coast through intersections on reds without a peek to either side.
I wouldn’t go so far as to totally let drivers off the hook either, but their infractions haven’t been as audacious as some of the stunts I’ve seen bikers pull. The only attempt at an explanation I’ve heard so far is, “We’re more vulnerable.” Umm … is that it? That’s why you don’t have to obey the rules of the road? Because you’re more vulnerable? Okay. Yeah.
from Flickr user Martinho
ghost bike for Darcy Allan Sheppard
Bloor Street, near Avenue Road
Toronto, Canada
Dec. 15, 2009
Darcy Allan Sheppard Tribute. From one messenger to another.
Toronto, Canada
On August 31 2009 my friend Darcy Allan “Al” Sheppard was murdered by the former Ontario Attorney General and Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Michael Bryant. The incident started when Bryant struck Allan with his vehicle and drove away. Allan caught up to Bryant at a red light and appeared to be demanding an explination for Bryants actions. Bryant then ran Allan over and dragged him over 100 meters to his death, and left him in the street to die. Witnesses said that the motorist repeatedly mounted the sidewalk and drove near lampposts in what seemed to be an attempt to brush off the man hanging onto the side. The attempt was all too successful.
Allan fathered two children in Ontario and two children in Alberta. He has many friends and family that will not forget.
I made this video to show Al in his element, having fun with friends. The first 3 clips are from various messenger races he had attended. He once told me that all he wanted to do was beat me at one. Im sorry that you will never get the chance now Al. You had what it took. R.I.P.
An extended version will be available for viewing soon at http://biketree.ca/
Donations are accepted at http://www.tobma.com via Paypal, or you can visit any TD Canada Trust location to donate in person, please reference Darcy Allan Sheppard and/or provide account number 06906676860.
Your contribution will go directly toward the costs of arrangements and to support his children. If you feel as helpless as so many do with this situation there is something you can do to ease the burden these terrible events have placed on our comrade’s family.
ghost bike installation for Darcy Allan Sheppard
Bloor Street, near Avenue Road
Toronto, Canada
