You may have seen the news of a man hit from behind by a garbage truck on Monday morning. Two days later, he died in hospital from his injuries.
Both vehicles were heading north on Queen Street through Streetsville in Mississauga.
The story is in the Mississauga News.
Comments
Large Marge
Garbage truck from behind - not much of a chance.
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 10:25Did this happen at night? Seems odd they wouldn't lay charges on the driver if he plowed down a 77-year old man from behind.
jamesmallon (not verified)
must have been wearing a helmet
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 10:30He must have been wearing a helmet, because the media did not make a point of mentioning that he wasn't. I always wear mine, though I know it will do f*&$-all good against a garbage truck. Media won't say that.
AnnieD
No, it was early morning
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 11:19No excuse for hitting someone heading in the same direction in front of you. Trying to pass too close? Is it just me or are garbage trucks involved in collisions with cyclists at a rate that is way out of proportion to their numbers (compared to other large vehicles)?
Luke Siragusa
Re: No, it was early morning
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 12:45My impression as well though I've no recourse to stats on the issue. Not surprising though when the MO of garbage trucks is considered: they predominate in curb lanes as do cyclists, constantly pulling over and re-entering traffic flow with the attention of the driver inordinately focused on the passenger side rearview mirror and the loader's status -- that's a distraction that other truckers do not have to contend with.
But to be mowed down from behind; it's a cyclist's worse nightmare.
Kevin Love (not verified)
We need Dutch-style laws
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 16:17In the Netherlands charges are almost always laid when someone hits a bicycle. And it is the legal responsibility for larger vehicles to drive defensively so that they do not cause crashes with bicycles. And deaths or serious injuries lead to serious jail time.
Time for me to write another letter to my MPP requesting that our legal system be reformed to bring similar laws here to Ontario.
fred_ (not verified)
not alone
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 17:01This isn't a problem specific to Toronto. Recent tragic news from DC:
http://www.waba.org/areabiking/safecycling/CyclistStruck.php
"On July 9th, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association held a press conference and ghost bike dedication in honor of Alice Swanson, a 22-year old cyclist from Washington, DC, was struck and killed on July 8th by trash truck at the intersection of 20th and R Streets, NW in Washington, DC. At the press conference WABA called for a thorough investigation into the tragedy and called for getter traffic enforcement efforts and improved education of cyclists and drivers. "
hamish (not verified)
trash trucks
Fri, 07/11/2008 - 10:36It would be of interest to more accurately assess the types of trucks. Maybe 15-12 years ago there was a core woman cyclist killed in Cabbagetown by a city trash truck, though it might have been on contract, and I think the woman's name was Karen Black.
Different laws would make a huge difference, but my understanding it's a broader EUnion sorta thing, where the onus is on the driver to drive defensively and there's an automatic presumption of guilt to the four-wheeler/truck.
But our Premier has been slow to even suggest that driving with using a cellphone is worth regulating; and Ontcario is as "carrupt" as Caronto, if not moreso.
As many traffic regs are provincial, let's feed some righteous anger into that sphere, including the Metrolinx white/green papers, with extended comment periods now.
And can you imagine a $5,000 fine and jail time and loss of driving privileges for the motorist who doors a cyclist to cause her or his death? It wouldn't be enough for the lost life of course, and the $5,000 should be applied for funeral expenses, but it might penetrate the car-cooned consciousness.
Safe journies all.
IronMac
Odd
Sat, 07/12/2008 - 06:13Isn't it odd that on our lakes and streams (from what I recall) it is the responsibilty of motorised watercraft to give way or to be on the lookout for sail-and human-powered craft yet here it is the other way around?
Anyways, at the risk of being accused of speculating I don't see how the driver in this case could not be charged with hazardous driving. If they were picking up trash, there is no way that they'd run down someone from behind, they'd have been looking to their front, side and rear and moving at an almost walking pace. No, he must have been driving to somewhere and either didn't see or misjudged.
Btw, how come there's no posting on that cyclist on the DVP a couple of days ago?
Luke Siragusa
Re: Odd
Sat, 07/12/2008 - 20:31Referring to that recent casualty on the DVP as a cyclist is tenuous at best. Headlines aside, the reports I've read describe him as walking with a bicycle across the parkway at the time he was struck. Technically that would make him a pedestrian no?
I consider the emphasis on the presence of a bicycle in the news stories to be dwelling on a irrelevancy; the victim shouldn't have attempted crossing there on bicycle, foot, or by any other means.
If the aspiring corpse attempted the same maneuver while carrying a lap top would it then be accurate that he be characterized by the press as a rogue computer geek?
Anonymous (not verified)
Is there no pleasing you!!!
Thu, 07/17/2008 - 18:00I am starting to believe all cyclists are only happy when they are miserable. If a cyclist goes through a stop sign and gets smoked by a car, the car driver is a murderer. If a car passes too close to cyclist and the cyclist panics and falls down, the driver should be charged with attempted murder. But a moron walks across a highway with a bicycle you try disassociate yourselves from him as a cyclist. Guess what, he had a bicycle that people saw him riding just before he got hit. That would make him a cyclist....and a great advocate for why all cars should be banned in North America. If there were no cars, there would be no one to blame for your lack of talent and obeying laws.
How about trying this....follow the rules that you are supposed to, take a professional cycling course so that you don't all ride like idiots and then you might be able to get some respect on the roads. I am all for cyclists needing licences.
hamish (not verified)
more a cyclist than a pedestrian.
Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:32Technically, you're absolutely right Luke, but usually peds aren't walking around with a bike. I haven't chased details, but what might be at issue is being caught on one side of the carridor and wishing/needing to get to the other side. So this may be a reflection of inadequate crossings having given preference to moving cars at faster speeds.
jamesmallon (not verified)
"I am all for cyclists needing licences."
Thu, 07/17/2008 - 20:52I am for all motorists shutting up.
Todd Tyrtle (not verified)
Don't feed the trolls!
Thu, 07/17/2008 - 21:49Do Not Feed The Trolls!
Seriously, the bickering, of which I admit to having been a part, is totally counterproductive. As long as we fight amongst ourselves.
I'm all for productive debate but there are some issues (helmets, cyclist licensing, critical Mass vs. Manners, stopping at stop signs, etc), that I feel are hot button issues that are unlikely to do more than inflame folks on both sides of the fence.
On the other hand there are tons of issues we do, for the most part, agree on. Why not put the energy spent tilting at "windmils" like the one a couple posts above me and write a letter to a councilor to try to get some real change.
In my opinion, while it may seem counterintuitive to many motorists, I feel as if providing good cycling infrastructure in our city will do far more to ease the pressure between cyclists and drivers than rules blitzes, and certainly more than firing off pissy comments at each other as satisfying as it can be.