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34 Comments

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Stay Alert! Stay Safe!

By Roxanne Bielskis

torontoist_comic_16_05102007.gif

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  • mathew

    I don’t actually get this?

  •    

    Given the terrible state of bike lines in the city, the cyclist in panel two is actually sharing the lane with the other vehicle on the road. “Veering into my lane” implies that roads are meant for cars, which is completely ignorant.

  • Roxanne

    I totally agree about the crapness of this city for biking in. The woman I feared I would hit on her bike was in a spot where there was adequate room for her to bike closer to the curb — I think she just didn’t really realize how close she was to other traffic. I’m not “completely ignorant” — I know that she is traffic, too.
    I think it’s great to be political about public space, and to be active in demanding that pedestrians and cyclists get the respect they deserve. I am a very occasional driver, and only had access to a car for a week, and I couldn’t believe the number of dangerous situations I saw drivers and bikers/pedestrians get into. It really made me see how much more drivers and pedestrians/bikers need to work together to raise awareness to keep the streets safe for all kinds of traffic.

  • S

    This debate about bikes sharing the road with cars is a little tiresome. I think it can be generally agreed upon that cyclists need more space on the road. But they don’t at the moment. And while it’s all well and good to demonise drivers for not being as environmentally friendly etc, cyclists have to appreciate that they are one human, on two wheels, held together by a very light-weight frame sharing the road with 1000+lbs of steel balanced on four wheels. If you think drivers are not considerate in regards to cyclists you should see how drivers treat each other. There are a lot of crappy drivers in this city, and while you may be correct in that the road is not just for drivers I really do think cyclists also have to be more conscientious of who they are sharing the road with, it works both ways. As a driver I just as readily advocate better biking lanes because there is nothing more nerve-wracking then having to try and pass a cyclist on their left-side and hoping you don’t whing them with your mirror. Of course you never do, and there’s always more than enough room, but it’s hard to tell when you have to judge from your right-hand mirror. Likewise when cyclists turn with us in the left-hand lane, again it’s difficult for drivers to judge how wide we are turning and paying attention to a cyclists who may just be hiding in our blind spot.
    So, until the day this city finally gets more bike friendly, bikers and drivers alike should have mutual respect for each other. It’s just as hard for drivers to share the road with bikers as it is the other way around.

  •    

    “Adequate room for her to bike closer to curb” is ignorant. Cyclists need to respond to road conditions, as well as things like sewer grates, in the curb lane. It is not the responsibility of cyclists to move as close as physically possible to the curb—they are required to be in the curb lane, unless making a left turn. Cyclists very frequently need to move away from an obstacle and safely pass it, within the curb lane. Drivers like you need to be realize and accept that.
    It is not about getting respect. It is about safety and obeying the rules of the road.

  • Roxanne

    Oh militant anonymous bike commenter, you’re missing a huge point: no two vehicles should be in the same lane of traffic at the same time. Ever. If bike woman wanted to go ahead of me, I wouldn’t cut around her, and if she wanted to bike behind me, that’s fine with me. But to try to get in the lane with me is just unsafe.

  •    

    That huge point is not the law. Cyclists share the curb lane with other vehicles.

  • Occasional Driver

    Really? The law is okay with two vehicles moving adjacent to one another in the same lane? That seems hard to believe, anonymous bike commenter.

  •    

    147. (1) Any vehicle travelling upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at that time and place shall, where practicable, be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right hand curb or edge of the roadway. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 147 (1).
    150. (1) The driver of a motor vehicle may overtake and pass to the right of another vehicle only where the movement can be made in safety and,
    (a) the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn or its driver has signalled his or her intention to make a left turn;
    (b) is made on a highway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of vehicles in each direction; or
    (c) is made on a highway designated for the use of one-way traffic only. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 150 (1).

  • Jonathan

    Bikes are vehicles too!

  • paige

    Pass to the right? UH, last time I checked, drivers passing bikes were passing to the left.
    Wrong section of the HTA?
    Or, are you biking on 2-lane highways–the only place one would pass to the right, aside from the aforementioned situation of a driver making a left hand turn.

  •    

    First, re-read the comment above my previous post for the context of my reply. Second, check this definition in the act: “highway” includes a common and public highway, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, place, bridge, viaduct or trestle, any part of which is intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles and includes the area between the lateral property lines thereof; (“voie publique”)

  • x_the_x

    Hey blanky, s. 150 of the HTA doesn’t at all justify your point re: sharing a lane. All it says (on its face) is a vehicle can pass on the right if a vehicle is turning left, provided there is room.
    Comment 4 says it all, in my opinion, and the militancy displayed doesn’t help your cause as a bike advocate nor does it “correct” the (agreeably awful) comic above or justify your objection to it. Frankly, whether you are on a schwinn or piloting a zeppelin, it is bad road etiquette and dangerous to impede faster moving traffic or drift unsafely into the path of faster moving traffic. Its not about respect or the arrogance of car drivers; its about self-preservation.
    It says a lot that this breying is in response to the express intention of the person in the comic to avoid a collusion and provide you more room.

  • Marc Robin

    Good point x_the_x, but I’ve had so many conversations with people about this, and seen so many bad drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, that I can’t help writing something. :-P
    From what I’ve heard and read in the past, blanky is correct, bikes are allowed to be in the same lane as another vehicle. Bikes are even allowed to ride two abreast (it doesn’t actually say anywhere you’re NOT allowed anyway. From what I remember. That doesn’t make it a good idea though.)
    I commute by bicycle, and I drive, and I even walk. To me, there are stupid drivers, and there are stupid cyclists, and there are stupid pedestrians. Cyclists have to be totally predictable, polite, and only move when they’re sure it’s safe. Drivers have to be cautious and give them space (and yes, sometimes cyclists have to ride a bit away from the curb due to unsafe conditions on the very edge of the road, and drivers should be aware of this). Pedestrians should look before they cross the street.
    Anyway, probably someone will disagree with me, but just don’t be dumb, and be polite and safe, and everyone should be fine.
    Speaking of which, here’s a related news item:
    http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_10783.aspx
    http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_10838.aspx
    Cheers

  • Jen

    Um… so back to the cartoonist actual point…. I’ve had the same experience – as a full-time ped and cyclist who every now and then drives a car, you realize how clueless some pedestrians and cyclists (including myself) are. For all cyclists who insist on riding at night without a light – drivers often CAN NOT see you and it is NOT THEIR FAULT.

  • Chris

    Aww, I was hoping this was gonna be Bert and Gert.
    Cars are to public spaces what overweight people are to bus seats, except the overweight people aren’t huge dangerous speeding metal bullets that can easily accidentally kill you.
    Maybe a better analogy would be to that giant bullet in Super Mario for SNES.

  • Steve

    c…ca…..can’t we all just get along?
    A dickheaded, oblivious pedestrian might bump into you or step on your’ toe.
    A dickheaded oblivious cyclist might ding the side of your’ car or scratch your’ finish.
    A dickeaded oblivious car driver can run over people and kill them.
    So, who gets the lion’s share of the responsibilty on the road?
    Of course pedestrians and cyclists need to be careful…but car drivers are just going to have to wake up to the fact that they don’t own the roads.

  • Sherry Giles

    Wow, Chris. I use public transit as much as possible to be green, and now you slam me (people like me) for being overweight on the bus? Thanks. Thanks a lot.

  • Ben

    Roxanne,
    You really shit the bed this time. You shouldn’t be passing a cyclist in either lane if there is not enough room to do so.

  • Danielle

    “Cars are to public spaces what overweight people are to bus seats”
    Dude, what? That doesn’t make any kind of sense or seem to have a point, except to offend people of size.
    I’m so disappointed by that I can’t even summon in a coherent statement all the mean things I feel like saying to you.

  • Roxanne

    Oh, maybe that’s the problem — I’m not passing the bike woman. I’m just driving next to her. She is next to me and veering.

  • Robis

    You know, Roxanne, as soon as I started reading this strip, I thought to myself, “She’s going to catch hell for this!”
    I’m not a driver. I gave up my car-driving ways ten years ago and have never looked back. I walk mostly, and occasionally ride my bike. So I don’t have alot of sympathy for drivers. But when I read comments from blanky and Steve, it occurs to me that some cyclists are…well…jerks.
    Cars do not own the road, it is true. But neither do bikes or peds. All three share responsibility EQUALLY for safety and courtesy. A person in a car should be aware of the peds and bikes around them. Just the same, a cyclist should be aware of the cars around them. Not only that but it should be obvious to everyone that the cyclist is aware.It has nothing to do with the law and everything to do with taking responsibility for your own presence on that road, and for your own part in making sure that the situation stays courteous and as stress-free as possible.
    If you are a cyclist who has gotten to the point where you react as blanky and Steve has, perhaps it is time to stop and consider whether you are any better than the drivers you criticise. I don’t care about your potential for killing me when I’m on the street, I care about your potential for adding to road rage by acting like an ass.

  • Jonathan

    It’s amazing how, instead of taking the comic at face value, people construct an entire scenario to fit the author into their stereotyped views so they could attack her.
    It’s like people have a mindset to manufacture outrage at every opportunity these days, like the average talk radio conversation has become an accepted level of discourse.

  • dave

    Hmmm. My comment was deleted.
    I guess someone was offended by me being too honest about the cartoon having a shred of a plot but no punchline.

  • degen

    When I’m on foot or my bike, I’d rather be safe than right. Same as when I’m in my car, except then I’d also rather save a jerk from injury than prove what a jerk he is.
    We sure do need more dedicated bike lanes, but they won’t stop jerks from being jerks. Check out rush hour in Copehagen sometime. Lots of safe riders on their own paths, and a few aggressive idiots acting like they’re on an Olympic velodrome. Jerks are jerks. Our shared use Martin Goodman trail on the waterfront will give you endless proof of that on any day you choose.
    All that said, nothing I’ve read here convinces me that bikes riding adjacent to cars, or passing cars on the right on regular streets with no bikes lanes is at all legal. We all do it, but if you do it with sme sense of moral authority, you’re kind of deluded.
    I like the comic. In front of Old Mill station the other day an old woman jaywalked right into the path of my car without ever looking into my lane. No cell phone, just obliviousness.

  • Steve

    Ah, Robis, that sense of safety and anonymity, that you feel gives you the right to call people jerks here, is that same feeling that allows some car drivers to feel like they don’t “always” have to exercise complete caution on the roads. In a car, you’re surrounded by steel, what’s a cyclist gonna do? They can’t catch you, if you yell out the window, or drive too close, what are the chances they’ll get your’ license plate number? Right?
    And Yes, we all share the road, the load and the responsiblity, but on the food chain, when it comes to Car v. pedestrian or Car v. cyclist, the car is always going to win, so all we’re asking is for some, I said some, car drivers to at the very least, acknowledge we can use the roads also. Since we are most vulnerable, it certainly behooves us to obey the rules and share the road responsibly. I’m very careful on the road because it’ my ass and I’ve STILL had close calls.
    And yes, there are irresponsible cyclists, pedestrians AND drivers, just like there are some irresponsible blog-commenters who resort to name calling from the anonymous safety of their computer.
    Aint that right, Robis?

  • mathew

    I still don’t get this joke. I’m not being rude. I just don’t understand the punchline.

  • Diane

    “I still don’t get this joke. I’m not being rude. I just don’t understand the punchline.”
    At the risk of being pedantic, the punchline means that as risky as it is to drive Toronto streets without care (because you could hit a pedestrian or cyclist), it’s riskier still to walk or cycle without care (because you could get hit by a car).
    Of course, the real joke is on those people who are so bigoted against drivers that they see this cartoon as pro-drivers rather than pro-pedestrians and pro-cyclists.

  • Steve

    OK, we’re all jerks, the joke is on all of us “bigoted” cyclists…how about something we can all just agree on…
    Share the fricken road. There’s plenty to go around for everybody. I once worked with a guy who got run over and dragged by a bus…wondering whose fault it was didn’t help his recovery.
    Because ultimately, it won’t matter and you won’t care whose fault it is.
    if you hit a cyclist, it will cost you an arm and a leg in legal, repair and insurance costs. If you ride your’ bike into or under a car, it’s gonna hurt really, really bad…like, coma or dead bad. And that’s bad.
    If you’re a pedestrian, carry a video camera, tape the whole thing and put it up on YouTube, you’ll become famous.

  • Robis

    “And Yes, we all share the road, the load and the responsiblity, but on the food chain, when it comes to Car v. pedestrian or Car v. cyclist, the car is always going to win, so all we’re asking is for some, I said some, car drivers to at the very least, acknowledge we can use the roads also.”
    But see, Steve, that’s part of the jerkiness: you see the situation as one of car VERSUS ped and car VERSUS cyclist. It doesn’t have to be a battle royale. That us versus them attitude contributes to the problem when what we need are people who are sincere about finding common ground.
    “And yes, there are irresponsible cyclists, pedestrians AND drivers, just like there are some irresponsible blog-commenters who resort to name calling from the anonymous safety of their computer. ”
    It’s funny that a guy who uses the term “dickhead” in his post three times should object so much to the term “jerk.” Maybe it’s okay to hold others in contempt when you don’t know specifically who they are.

  • Clint Stewart

    I bike every day, year round. I’ve never had any real conflicts, with driver, cyclist or pedestrian. 94% of people are nice inside.

  • Steve

    OK, I apologize for my inflammatory comments. I think we can all ateast agree that it wouldn’t hurt if we were all a little more aware, cautious and courteous, especially given the most recent incident of an ex-cop beating the crap out of a guy on his bike.
    However, with someone that far gone, I’m not quite sure what kind of appeasement would be needed.

  • John Duncan

    I walk, drive (just for work) and occasionally cycle through the core and this comic is dead-on.
    There are a lot of cyclists who are totally oblivious to what is going on around them. They enjoy doing horrendously stupid things like cycling through an intersection in the pedestrian crosswalk, then veering out into traffic without even looking over their shoulders.
    This is made worse by drivers who illegally park in no-stopping lanes directly after an intersection and the pedestrians who decide to step out from behind said car instead of walking the extra 10 feet to the crosswalk.
    Because of their higher speed and mass car drivers need to be especially alert (and preferably minimize their driving), but street safety really requires everyone to be aware of what is going on around them.

  • Amanda Buckiewicz

    Roxanne,
    I always enjoy your comics. Thank you for keeping it up despite the constant stream of negative commenters.