June 24: Latest Comments Update

I think cyclists in Toronto are crazy not to wear helmets. Those freewheelin’ tree-hugging radical British Columbians have had to wear them for years and people don’t complain anymore. I mean, sure the drivers are worse on the West Coast, but is that the reason people are more accepting of a good idea? Ontarians still buy their beer on a conveyor belt, so it’s not like they are generally more hostile to government intervention. Don’t you people wear seatbelts either? Aren’t there better ways to rebel against “the man” than risking your own life because you bike helmets are kind of ugly? Is this a city of angsty teenagers?

If you don’t know at least one cyclist that’s been doored, you don’t know many cyclists. No, a helmet obviously isn’t going to protect you from a direct head-on collision (or a homicidal taxi-driver), but those are pretty rare according to the Toronto Police Bike Collision stats. You’re much more likely to get hurt by dooring, getting stuck in streetcar tracks, or getting knocked over somehow in traffic. A helmet helps in all these cases.

Thanks for the comment Mat. This topic has been raised in the BikingToronto Forum as well.

I compel anyone interested in this matter to look into it more closely. The city was actually approached by two companies, both with good ideas, albeit very different from one another. Both are logical and compelling ideas, and the city has decided to only include one in the bidding process. As far as I am concerned, a non-competitive process that isnt open to public scrutiny wont be succesfel.
But hey…You decide.
There other option by the way included lots of goodies…
regenerative breaking
mobile internet support
smart electrical assist
and weighs 20 pounds less than the competitor.
hmmmm………

My prefered route in Mississauga was recently under construction. That forced me onto the only viable option. Derry rd is a 60km road, but motorist frequently exceed that limit. I tried it for about a week but decided it was too dangerous. For my own safety, I road on the side walk for a few days. I used extreme caution at all intersections and deferred to the single pedestrian I encountered. I want to be on the road where I belong but not at the cost of my life.