You may have seen this news in your local paper, or in yesterday’s “Headlines” post, but in case you haven’t…
The driver who opened their car door and hit a cyclist in May, resulting in that cyclists crashing and then getting run over by a van is being fined $110 for it.
The Toronto Cyclists Union has been active in getting police to charge the driver with something, but a fine of $110 for “Open Vehicle Door Improperly” is falling rather short of what should be done. Wouldn’t something like “negligence causing death / bodily harm” be more appropriate?
The Highway Traffic Act doesn’t agree with me:
The Highway Traffic Act, Section 165, requires that:
No person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on a highway without first taking due precautions to ensure that his or her act will not interfere with the movement of or endanger any other person or vehicle: (Fine $110 and two demerit points). [source]
If a driver was backing out of a parking space without looking and ran over a child, they’d have some answering to do, wouldn’t they?
I’m glad to report that yesterday’s “Headlines” post alerted TreeHugger to this, and they’ve posted about it here.
