As a person who was run over…

As a person who was run over by a city contracted garbage truck, while cycling in a bike lane, I have many thoughts and feelings about cycling infrastructure. There is no need for road violence. It can be stopped.

1. Human error will never go away. To make streets safe for all users, we must look to cities (mostly in Europe) who have taken on board "Vision Zero" mindsets, creating infrastructure that takes into account human error.
A) bike paths should be physically separated from roads. Paint is not enough.
B) I have seen many bollards crushed by cars. Bollards are not enough.
C) speed limits should be reduced to 30km/hour in all residential areas and on as many roads as possible.

2. Public awareness campaigns are critical. Anecdotally, I think tremendous damage was done to the overall psyche of a city when we had a mayor who publicly and on record stated that when cyclists were killed in the roads it was their own fault. It gave drivers implicit permission to disregard the safety of vulnerable road users. We need to actively teach drivers to take care of vulnerable road users, and not "victim blame" by telling pedestrians and cyclists to "wear bright clothing".

3. Drivers who kill and injure vulnerable road users should have minimum penalties:
A) they should be required to attend their own trials and hear their victims' impact statements
B) they should be required to attend remedial driver training
C) they should be required to complete community service specifically related to promoting road safety.

I personally feel I was let down by the laws of our land when I was injured. Our roads and laws are biased against vulnerable users. Our insurance systems for injured people are also biased and out of touch with reality, when everyone is treated as a fraudster. Laws and policies are created by the powerful and the vulnerable are the ones who suffer. Please fix it.
Thank you.

[Original Comment ID: 196326]