By Marc Lostracco

Toronto cyclists and motorists have always shared a contentious co-existence. Sure, both sides often behave poorly toward each other, but there is one very important difference: cyclists aren’t surrounded by airbags and crumple zones.
Though much of the conflict stems from aggressive driving, many drivers simply aren’t used to sharing the road with bikes, nor are they necessarily entirely aware of the rights of the cyclist. The new Ministry of Transportation Driver’s Handbook has made some positive steps to clarify how motorists must interact with bicycles.
As reported by ibiketo.ca, the Driver’s Handbook hadn’t been updated since 2002, but the 2007 version has placed an explicit focus on two-wheeled vehicles, with further explanation of the hazards that cyclists uniquely face:

Motorcycles, bicycles, limited speed motorcycles and mopeds often need to pull to the right or right side of their lane to avoid dangerous road conditions or to be seen by other drivers. Do not take this as an invitation to pass in the same lane.

Another section, entitled “Sharing the road,” now includes a section on bicycles (though previous versions did mention bikes, they only specifically highlighted sharing streets with large vehicles and pedestrians). This section of the 2002 handbook was predominantly targeted at cyclists, telling them that they must abide by the same rules of the road as cars. The latest version includes the following:

Bicycles and mopeds that cannot keep up with traffic are expected to keep to the right of the lane; however, they can use any part of the lane if necessary for safety, such as to avoid potholes and sewer grates. Cyclists need a metre on either side of themselves as a safety zone. When passing a cyclist, allow at least one metre between your car and the cyclist. If the lane is too narrow to share, change lanes to pass the cyclist. When turning right, signal and check your mirror and the blind spot to your right to make sure that you do not cut off a cyclist. When parked on the side of the street, look behind you and check your mirrors for a passing cyclist before opening a door.

Now, we would suggest that a metre still isn’t enough room at such high speeds and given the horrible condition of some of our city’s roads, but we’re happy to see motorists better reminded that bicycles belong on the road as much as cars. Now, if only we could get our shit together and install those promised bike lanes.
Photo by ayndroid from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.