September 28, 2024 - Following Premier Doug Ford’s recent controversial comments to possibly ban bike lanes that replace car lanes, Ontario’s Sport Minister Neil Lumsden raised more eyebrows, with experts and advocates, when he supported helmets over bike lanes in a briefing on concussion prevention on Rowan’s Law Day, reports Le Droit and the @TheBikingLawyer.
Lumsden was asked whether bike lanes should be part of the solution to help prevent concussions in cyclists and the Minister refused to acknowledge that dedicated bike lanes are a measure that could reduce the risk of brain injuries, relying more on his observations than data.
“I’m going to defer to my observations, I think we need to start seeing individuals that are on bikes, to first put a helmet on, and strap it on properly,” said Lumsden when asked by a journalist if he agreed that bike lanes should be made safer for cyclists in order to reduce the risks of concussions given the province’s recent stance.
In response Stephanie Cowle, Director at Parachute, a national injury prevention organization, told Le Droit, “Helmets are a very important safety feature when you’re cycling or doing other activities. They’re proven to prevent very serious head injuries and brain injuries. However, there’s no evidence yet to say that they help prevent concussions.”
Cowle, who led the publication of the first Canadian Guidelines on Concussion in Sport, added that infrastructure to isolate cyclists from traffic is the best solution to reduce the risk of collisions involving cyclists, which advocates like personal injury lawyer David Shellnutt (@TheBikingLawyer) and Cycle Toronto support.
“We’re concerned about the growing culture war being stoked between road users by the Ford government with anti-bike lane sentiments that are not based on fact,” said Shellnutt – read CBC News fact-checking of Ford’s comments here.
Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, echoed Shellnut’s comments, “Cyclist safety is a public health issue – everybody benefits from this type of infrastructure. Walking on the sidewalk or riding a bike in the city shouldn’t be an act of courage.”
Read more in Le Droit here – on The Biking Lawyer here – and on Cycle Toronto here.
