by Avery Burdett. Original article appeared in the OBC Spokesperson. Reproduced with permission.
Cyclists must obey the rules of the road too.
Under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) of Ontario, the definition of a vehicle includes a bicycle. A driver of a bicycle has the same rights and responsibilities as a motorist. Like motorists, a cyclist must follow the rules of the road as specified in the HTA. The HTA is consistent with John Forester's (1) belief that cyclists fare better when they operate on the road in a vehicular manner. This is because cyclists are less likely to get into conflict with motor vehicles when their intentions are predictable and their movements are substantially the same as other vehicles.
Unfortunately, far too many cyclists in Canada do not operate their bicycles as a vehicle but rather behave as though they have neither rights nor responsibilities on the road. This phenomenon can be traced to both misinterpretation and lack of understanding of the law as it affects cyclists. In this article, I shall discuss some of the common mistakes made by cyclists in relation to Ontario's traffic laws and the risks they create. The first two are improper lane positioning at intersections, and riding in crosswalks from bike paths (strictly speaking these are not bike paths but rather recreation paths for use by different types of users).