New video shows how high tensions are between drivers and cyclists in Toronto
Cyclists in Toronto may finally be getting some of the infrastructure they’ve long been asking for, but altercations between those on two wheels and those on four shows that we still have a ways to go before bikers can feel fully safe on the city’s streets.
A new video shared by cycling advocate and lawyer Dave Shellnutt on Tuesday sheds light on the feelings some drivers have about sharing the road with bikes, and the extent to which they’re willing to go to let those feelings be known.
In the POV clip, a cyclist bikes down College Street, navigating around a utility van that has signalled it is pulling over to the curb to park directly ahead.
As the bike moves to the left of the van and into the middle of the roadway, honking from a car behind ensues and grows louder as the cyclist veers back to the righthand side of the road after passing a line of parked cars.
He then says, “Hi, have a great day man” before the driver stops his red convertible at the light — which is green — and begins yelling.
WARNING VIOLENT BEHAVIOUR & HOMOPHOBIC SLURS
🧵Mayoral candidates stoking tensions between different groups of road users & unchecked anti-cyclist bias in govt, media, & policing are in part to blame for the #roadviolence perpetrated here.
But, it isn’t an aberration…1/5 pic.twitter.com/KQUOTuwDTT
— The Biking Lawyer (Dave Shellnutt) (@TheBikingLawyer) June 6, 2023
“Move, are you f*cking stupid?!” the driver turns back and shouts, along with a homophobic slur that he decides to repeatedly use.
“Are you okay?” the cyclist responds calmly.
“Are you f*cking stupid?” the driver asks again. “You see the bike lane and you see the f*cking car lane?” He proceeds to continue to call the cyclist the slur and “a dumb f*ck,” also threatening to “smack the shit” out of him.
He also asks again if the cyclist sees the bike lane, which doesn’t appear to exist where the incident took place. The biker answers “no” before the man keeps yelling, turns around and the video ends.
Shellnutt calls the interaction a result of “unchecked anti-cyclist bias in government, media and policing,” also referencing recent statements mayoral candidates have made on the topic of bike lanes, which he says have “stoked tensions between different groups of road users.”
In a tweet thread, he says that such incidents of road rage against bikes are a daily occurrence in the city, as well as anti-trans views and the homophobia the clip also showcases.
“We demand all mayoral candidates denounce the targeting of cyclists and commit to prioritizing vulnerable road user safety,” he adds.
Shocking? You obviously don’t ride a bike that often. This is North American car culture.
— 𝒿𝑒𝒶𝓃-𝒻𝓇𝒶𝓃ç𝑜𝒾𝓈 –🥾🥾🚂🥾 (@meanderingemu) October 14, 2022
This definitely isn’t the only time in recent memory that terrifying footage of a clash between a cyclist and a driver in the city has emerged as cyclists continue to say they feel targeted by police and others on the road.
Follow Channels and Categories