July 20, 2023 - Toronto Police have been ticketing cyclists $325 for advancing on a Pedestrian Head Start Signal/Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) at Yonge and Dundas reports @TheBikingLawyer run by Dave Shellnutt, a Personal Injury Lawyer for Cyclists & Injured People.
In a blog titled “Pedestrian Signals & Cyclists” Shellnutt explains that while the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) explicitly references Head Start Signals, the Act still considers cyclists as vehicles who must therefore obey the same traffic signals as other vehicles.
It’s become a hotly debated issue in the cycling community re: what is legal and what is the safest option when an LPI pops up, as many cyclists prefer getting out in front of motorists to increase their visibility by advancing with the Pedestrian Head Start signal – a safe choice.
LPIs have been shown to reduce pedestrian-vehicle collisions as much as 60% at treated intersections according Shellnutt, who questions, “…who made the decision that clear benefits afforded to one group of vulnerable road users would not be applied to other VRUs, like cyclists – and what data, studies and reports were consulted in determining that only pedestrians should have a Head Start?”
Quebec changed that rule in 2019, and cyclists are calling for a similar change in Ontario.
Read the full blog here.
