Editorial | Fri Jun 22 2012 | Waterloo Region: The Record
http://www.therecord.com/opinion/editorial/article/747763--helmets-not-the-only-answer
Humans naturally crave quick and easy fixes for tough problems, and this holds true whether the human is pedalling a bicycle or driving a car.
No surprise, then, that this week’s release of a report on bicycling deaths by the office of Ontario’s chief coroner sparked heated demands for a new law forcing every cyclist in the province — regardless of age — to wear a helmet.
The coroner’s report recommends precisely this change and a public debate on such legislation would surely be timely. Yet the report’s call to action includes so much more than just a mandatory helmet law that it would be wrong, in fact needlessly distracting, to focus on this issue alone. Too many people are doing this.
The public deludes itself if it thinks a tough new helmet law will suddenly end all the dangers cyclists face on the road or that the passage of such a new rule will free us to move onto other matters, confident our roads are safer. Not so. It might be quick and easy. But it would hardly confer the armour of invincibility on those who mount a bicycle for fun, recreation or a commute.
In fact, to read the Cycling Death Review of 129 fatal accidents involving cyclists in Ontario over a five-year period ending in 2010 is to reach a far different conclusion. Major changes, extensive changes, very expensive changes are needed in how this province builds its transportation networks.
That’s the real point the coroner’s report: There are no simple fixes. We need what the report calls a “complete streets” approach that focuses on “the safety of all road users.” And this would lead to a profoundly new way of redeveloping existing communities and designing new ones. Why can’t we seriously consider putting in segregated cycling lanes whenever we rebuild major municipal roadways or construct new arteries? And why can’t we make it a priority to pave shoulders on provincial highways for the specific use of cyclists?
Of course, this would cost us big-time. It’s so much easier to enter a predictable and somewhat tedious debate about bike helmets, with one side insisting they must be mandated and the other arguing that such a move would unreasonably infringe on personal liberties. Let’s resist that temptation. It won’t solve the problem.
In its analysis of specific fatalities, the report itself is often ambiguous about the effectiveness of helmets in protecting riders. In some cases we know that riders who died weren’t wearing helmets — but the report refuses to speculate on whether a helmet would have made a difference. Similarly, there are other cases where riders wearing helmets were struck and killed by vehicles. No wonder some of the people who wrote this report urged careful study of the pros and cons of a helmet law before bringing one into force.
One of the most stark and disturbing findings of this report is the fact that 71 per cent of the cycling deaths over five years — that’s 91 fatalities — occurred at least partly because of an avoidable cyclist error. Failing to yield the right of way, ignoring traffic signals, travelling against traffic and improperly using road lanes were all fatal errors. Amazingly, in 23 per cent of the cycling deaths that were studied — 30 lost lives in all — the cyclist was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the collision.
All this explains, and supports, one of the report’s other major conclusions. We have to do a better job educating cyclists and some of this could be done in our publicly funded schools. Better instruction on the responsibilities of drivers for those seeking a motor vehicle licence is also in order.
This is an important report, one that should not collect dust on the shelf of some provincial bureaucrat’s office. But if Ontarians agree with its authors that the lives of cyclists should be a higher priority, they will also realize they must commit themselves and their tax dollars to prove it.