Everyone Needs To Pay Attention

There isn't much political news in the local rags this morning, but Advance reporter Matthew Claxton has a thoughtful piece on his blog on cyclists and drivers. Unlike most pieces on the subject, Matthew doesn't get dogmatic or preachy or pit one side versus the other. Instead, he looks at a recent accident in Murrayville and suggests we al need to be more careful:

If the rider was heading east and on the north side of the road, he was on the wrong side of the road. That puts at least part of the blame for the accident on him. If he'd been on the south side, he never would have been hit. That's not to absolve the driver completely. You have to be careful at that driveway. There are kids, dog walkers, and plenty of seniors using walkers, canes and motorized scooters on that sidewalk. Those scooters can move at a good clip, and it's perfectly legal for them to be on the sidewalk. If this driver didn't notice the cyclist, he or she never would have seen a scooter either, and I doubt an octogenarian would have survived being run over. And of course, the driver shouldn't have left the scene of the accident no matter who caused it.

I imagine this is pretty typical of the auto versus bicycle accidents seen around the Lower Mainland. Bad riding plus bad driving equals an injury. Of course, it's always going to be the cyclist who gets hurt the worst.

We all need to be careful out there.