Saturday, June 27, 2020

Licensing of Cyclists Redux...

Top of the evening to all...

Over the last several years, I have written several times about licensing cyclists.  Here are two of my blog entries on that: Licensing of Cyclists and 
Safety Blitz.

My thoughts have not changed much from either of these listings.  Still, it never hurts to look at things again.  So....


Mayor Tory has announced that a program to photograph speeding cars and then to issue citations to the vehicle owners will finally commence in July.  Here is the article from 680 News: 
Speed Cameras

Before I respond to the details of the article, I remind the good folks at 680 News that grammar is important.  Please note the following paragraph:


An image of the license plate will be captured and stored and if an offence is confirmed, a ticket will be mailed to who the license plate is registered too, regardless of who is driving.

Better would be that "a ticket will be mailed to the vehicle registrant."  I object to the above sentence on the grounds that it ought to be taken out and shot.  The sentence is so bad that the only way to save it is to rework it.


Anyway, the article lists several safety concerns.  These are issues that have become more prevalent since the rise of COVID-19.


1.  In 
nine locations throughout the city, 142,000 vehicles were caught speeding.  That averages out to 986 a day.  It averages out to 15,778 per location.
2.  Since COVID began, the number of cars on the road has plummeted.  However, the number of citations for stunt-driving has increased 600%.

In other news, the Globe and Mail reports that bike sales surge during the pandemic.  It is considered a safe, socially distant activity.  As well, people are not comfortable commuting in crowded trains full of potential carriers.  The article says that car traffic in Toronto was down 55% between March and May.  In the same time period, cycling traffic was up 20%.  


It is possible that once in my cycling career, I could have gotten a speeding ticket.  I managed to hit 63 kph.  I was pedalling downhill with a lovely tailwind.  Beyond that, Mayor Tory has not reported cyclists getting caught stunt-riding.  He has not reported nine locations throughout the city in which cyclists show flagrant disregard for the speed limit.


As I stated in both of my blog entries above, a license is not a guarantee that someone will obey the law.  I further repeat what I wrote in one of those entries: "I would appreciate it if someone could explain to me how licensing cyclists would bring about citywide sunshine and lollipops.  Licensing drivers has clearly not had that effect.  There is no logic whatsoever in assuming it would work on cyclists any more than it does on drivers."


At some point, people will yet again bring up the idea of licensing cyclists.  The idea is useless and irrelevant.  Enforce the laws as they exist.  Everything else will fall into place.


Good night.


R/SCG



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