Spring Is Here, Look Out For Cyclists!

With spring weather upon us, we can expect to see many seasonal cyclists back out on the road. All users of the road need to exercise extra care as they share the road with others. Unfortunately, not all drivers take the caution they should around cyclists. As a result, the law requires that a motor vehicle operator who is involved in a collision with a cyclist prove that they were not negligent.

In 2013, four cyclists were killed in traffic accidents in the City of Toronto. That same year, the website BlogTO published a list of the 10 worst intersections for cyclists in Toronto. This list was compiled by Adrian Verster by crunching more than 25 years of GPS tagged statistics from the Toronto Traffic Safety Unit on injuries involving cyclists. The intersections where the most cyclists suffered personal injury are:

1. Lake Shore Boulevard East & Carlaw Avenue;
2. Queen Street West & Niagara Street;
3. Queen Street East & River Street;
4. Bathurst Street & Davenport Road;
5. Avenue Road & Lonsdale Road;
6. Bloor Street West & Brock Avenue;
7. Bloor Street West & St. Thomas Street;
8. Lake Shore Boulevard West & Jameson Avenue;
9. Bloor Street East & Castle Frank Road; and,
10. Bloor Street East & Parliament Street.

(source:

Another danger facing cyclists is poor road conditions. Roads may have eroded during the winter.  If you are involved in a cycling accident due to poor road conditions that results in personal injury and wish to bring a claim against a city, province or agency, you will have to prove the following elements:

1. You must show that the poor road conditions actually caused the personal injury. In doing so, you will have to show that you were driving safely given the conditions of the road;
2. You must show that the city, province or agency, or a contractor that they hired, had a duty to maintain the road in question and keep it safe; and,
3. You must show that the city, province or agency was negligent in maintaining the road in a safe condition for cyclists.

So how can you protect yourself from personal injury as a cyclist? Here are our top safety tips for preventing personal injury as a cyclist:

1. Wear a helmet – it could save your life;
2. Stick to cyclist-friendly roads with wide shoulders or bike lanes;
3. Approach parked vehicles with caution – cyclists have sustained personal injury and even perished due to drivers opening their car doors;
4. Be visible – wear reflective materials, bright colours and use lights at night; and,
5. Obey the rules of the road – treat other road users with respect, obey traffic signs and signal your intention to other road users.

If you are a loved one has suffered personal injury as a cyclist, please contact our Oakville personal injury law firm. At Will Davidson LLP, our expert personal injury lawyers have helped many cyclist personal injury victims receive compensation they deserve.