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Slow Down – Other People Make Mistakes 3

Slow Down – Other People Make Mistakes
Speed ad – Mistakes – Screenshot from YouTube video  Here is a very powerful video highlighting the virtue of driving cautiously and slowing down in anticipation of somebody else making a mistake: When you are behind the wheel of a car, please know that you are in a killing machine, and your actions can negatively ...

Taming The Beast On Our Streets

Taming The Beast On Our Streets
Toronto crosswalk photo courtesy of Ashley Buxo  My daughter Sofia has been home from daycare for the past couple days with a fever. While walking to the pharmacy this morning, I was crossing a busy downtown street with Sofia in the stroller and my dog in tow. I waited about 20 seconds for a small ...

Blaming Victim Gives Society False Sense of Security 8

Blaming Victim Gives Society False Sense of Security
  Tom Samson – the cyclist killed on Nov 23, 2012 with his family prior to his death – Photo courtesy of the Samson family When Grade 2 teacher Tom Samson was killed on his bicycle early in the morning on November 23rd 2012, Toronto Police had told Samson’s wife that he was struck and ...

Scofflaw Drivers Get Free Pass In Media 4

Scofflaw Drivers Get Free Pass In Media
Police Radar – Trois-Rivieres – Photo Courtesy of Axel Drainville  In a recent media flurry, “scofflaw cyclists” were repudiated by several outlets after prominent Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki railed against bicyclists who break the rules. What these media articles fail to mention is that virtually all drivers break the law every single day. Photo ...

Grandmother Writes Apology Letter After Driving Like “Idiot” 2

Grandmother Writes Apology Letter After Driving Like “Idiot”
BMW – Photo courtesy of Barry After carelessly driving like a “maniac, dangerous idiot”, a 52-year-old grandmother wrote an anonymous letter of apology to a man whom she cut off on the highway, narrowly avoiding what could have been a deadly collision. From the letter posted on the Toronto Star: “I would like to put in ...

Volvo Technology For Inattentive Drivers 1

Volvo Technology For Inattentive Drivers
Photo screenshot from Volvo YouTube video Volvo has recently announced new sensor technology that automatically applies the brakes if a cyclist obstructs the path of the car. From the YouTube video: All of Volvo’s new cars sold from May will include the sensors, which initially warn drivers with a row of red lights that flash ...

External Airbags on Cars: Novel Idea? Or Band-Aid Solution? 11

External Airbags on Cars: Novel Idea? Or Band-Aid Solution?
External airbags photo courtesy of Fast Company There has been talk for several years now about putting airbags on the exterior of automobiles to protect pedestrians and bicyclists if they get hit. The idea originated in the Netherlands and was lauded by our friend Mikael at Copenhagenize back in 2010. Mikeal wrote in 2010: So, ...

Motorist Convenience Trumps Safety 43

Motorist Convenience Trumps Safety
“Driving the Volvo” – Photo by Thomas Anderson Toronto’s chief medical officer made headlines in the Toronto media for recommending that the city reduce its speed limits to 30km/h on residential streets, and 40km/h on other city streets to “support the increased use and safety of walking and cycling”. The Doctor’s recommendations were mocked by ...

Baby On Board: A Desperate Plea 21

Baby On Board: A Desperate Plea
Photo by Steve and Sara Emry Driving in North America has reached such a low level of selfishness and entitlement that many parents with young children in their car have succumbed to a desperate plea for safety for their children by erecting a “BABY ON BOARD” sign in their car. I view these signs as ...

Wobbly Bicyclists Calm Traffic 40

Wobbly Bicyclists Calm Traffic
Bixi Montreal – Photo by Xander / RateMyVelo.com I was a passenger in a friend’s car a couple months ago while she was driving approximately 55km/h in a 40km/h zone in downtown Toronto – a speed deemed acceptable by our car-centric society. A cyclist who was riding in the bike lane was swerving somewhat erratically ...