Montreal cyclists were involved in fewer collisions (-19%) with cars in 2018 than 2017, statistics show. During the same period, however, police distributed more fines (+26%) to cyclists, which may have encouraged them to adopt safer behaviours.
It’s an encouraging bit of news for both drivers and cyclists. The former will feel relief that they have a smaller chance of being responsible for a serious injury after hitting a cyclist; the latter will feel safer on the roads, and empowered to use their chosen means of transportation.
TVA Nouvelles reports that between January and June 2018, there were 285 accidents reported involving a car and a bicycle. That’s down 19% from the same period in 2017, which had 352 accidents. Meanwhile, Montreal police distributed 26% more fines to cyclists between May and August of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.
Commander Sylvain Dubois told TVA that he believes police control, paired with improved urban design, helped reduce the number of accidents this year. Indeed, beyond police intervention, many of the city’s key areas for cyclists have received safety improvements:
Rue McGill:
New bollards were installed on this heavily used bike path to better separate car traffic from cyclists.
Source: Facebook / #dansmapiste
De Maisonneuve:
The bike path has been extended all the way to Rue du Havre, where it used to end at Rue Alexandre DeSève.
Source: Google Maps
Bike paths have been improved all over Montreal… So there’s reason to hope the relation between cyclists and drivers will keep improving!