While summer is a short season of paradise for Quebec’s cyclists, a new study by the province’s auto insurance agency says it can be a dangerous time as well.
According to the study, an average of over three cyclists are injured in accidents involving automobiles per day.
But things may be improving, said Velo Quebec CEO Suzanne Lareau.
“There are more cyclists with the sane number of accidents, but we can reduce that,” she said.
Most injuries to cyclists occur during morning and evening rush hour.
The accident rate can be reduced if pedestrians, cyclists and motorists share the road and respect its rules, said Andre Durocher, head of the SPVM’s road safety department.
“I hate to throw the blame at cyclists, pedestrians or motorists, bottom line when there's a collision, it's because someone has not respected the highway safety code,” he said. “And you know what, no one has the monopoly on bad behaviour with regards to highway safety.”
