I hate that cars can go around running over people every single day without making the news, but this e-scooter accident is supposedly worthy of national news.
Every accident is regrettable, but the number of accidents we tolerate from scooters and bikes can’t be zero. Micro mobility is still MUCH safer than cars. I bet if the e-scooter driver was killed by an unnecessarily big truck on the road, it would still be called an “e-scooter accident” if it even made the news at all.
I wish we were more like the Netherlands when it comes to road safety. When a car accident happens, a crew comes out to anaylze the incident and determine if there is any way to make the infrastructure itself safer and help prevent a similar accident. This is very effective because unlike policies, rules and signs there is a physical element to safety (raised crossings, seperated and protected bike lanes, narrow lanes lowering speeds). This physical element is much more effective at preventing accidents than a similar rule would because the physical element can help prevent human mistakes.
For example a wide 2 lane road in a school zone is a 40km/hr road with a painted divider line, a painted crosswalk in front of the school, and a yellow crosswalk sign. There is very little actually preventing a car from exceeding this speed limit. A safer design might look like 2 physically seperated and narrow lanes passing the school with a speed limit of 20 or 30 km/hr. The crosswalk is now raised to sidewalk level, even more narrow, and coloured. It is similar to a very large and wide speed bump. The crosswalk also has a pedestrian island in the center to make crossing easier. The crossing sign has been replaced with a crossing signal. Some efforts may also be taken to prevent this road from being a pass through route by proiritizing a different road to carry passing traffic.
Thats how I know about it and it just makes sense. Its ignorant to assume policy can eliminate or prevent human error, especially when fatalities are possible.
The article expresses multiple views. Half the article highlights a call by various groups to enforce the ban on scooters completely. The title obviously implies that the solution is an enforcement of Toronto’s ban, not better infrastructure.
I hate that cars can go around running over people every single day without making the news, but this e-scooter accident is supposedly worthy of national news.
Every accident is regrettable, but the number of accidents we tolerate from scooters and bikes can’t be zero. Micro mobility is still MUCH safer than cars. I bet if the e-scooter driver was killed by an unnecessarily big truck on the road, it would still be called an “e-scooter accident” if it even made the news at all.
I wish we were more like the Netherlands when it comes to road safety. When a car accident happens, a crew comes out to anaylze the incident and determine if there is any way to make the infrastructure itself safer and help prevent a similar accident. This is very effective because unlike policies, rules and signs there is a physical element to safety (raised crossings, seperated and protected bike lanes, narrow lanes lowering speeds). This physical element is much more effective at preventing accidents than a similar rule would because the physical element can help prevent human mistakes.
For example a wide 2 lane road in a school zone is a 40km/hr road with a painted divider line, a painted crosswalk in front of the school, and a yellow crosswalk sign. There is very little actually preventing a car from exceeding this speed limit. A safer design might look like 2 physically seperated and narrow lanes passing the school with a speed limit of 20 or 30 km/hr. The crosswalk is now raised to sidewalk level, even more narrow, and coloured. It is similar to a very large and wide speed bump. The crosswalk also has a pedestrian island in the center to make crossing easier. The crossing sign has been replaced with a crossing signal. Some efforts may also be taken to prevent this road from being a pass through route by proiritizing a different road to carry passing traffic.
Agreed! There was a great Not Just Bikes video on YouTube on this topic.
Thats how I know about it and it just makes sense. Its ignorant to assume policy can eliminate or prevent human error, especially when fatalities are possible.
You should read the article. It, and the accident victim, are calling for scooters to be legalised and regulated.
The article expresses multiple views. Half the article highlights a call by various groups to enforce the ban on scooters completely. The title obviously implies that the solution is an enforcement of Toronto’s ban, not better infrastructure.