News media provided a very short description of a collision on the eastern outskirts of Toronto Ontario, where by a 13-year-old female cyclist was killed in a collision on Rossland Road Stevensgate Drive on November 6, 2024. No information was provided as to how the collision occurred or even basic facts about what factors might have been involved. Such lack of information is standard procedure throughout the Province of Ontario where cyclists are kept in the dark about dangers that might kill them. No one can conduct any meaningful analysis to evaluate how cyclist collisions might be avoided or reduced in their consequences without basic information about them.
In a roundabout attempt to obtain basic information about cyclist characteristics and factors that may be affecting their safety Gorski Consulting has been monitoring cyclists travelling along the streets of London. Each year approximately 1000 cyclists are documented with still photographs. At the end of each year general summaries of the findings are provided on the Gorski Consulting web site. Cyclist data has been analysed for 2024 through to the end of October and these results are shown below.
As can be seen more cyclists (1073) have been documented in the first 10 months of the year compared to previous years. Over the years it has been observed that females represent about 10 to 15% of the total observations however in 2024 that percentage remains at almost 27%. With two months remaining in the year some fluctuations may still occur but the data about greater female riders is intriguing.
While the official law in Ontario is that cyclists should not ride on sidewalks the observational data in London continues to demonstrate how the law is being ignored. As can be seen above almost two-thirds of male cyclists have been observed on sidewalks whereas the numbers for females is even higher at close to three-quarters. These results are not unique for the year 2024 as the results are similar for previous years. Government dictates are ignored sometimes because they are unrealistic and these cyclist data demonstrate that fact. In many instances cyclists are safer riding on sidewalks and many cyclist know that, leading to the noted observations.
It would help to know how the current fatal collision involving the 13-year-old cyclist in Ajax compares to the collected data. Unfortunately that information will likely remain a mystery.
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