Cycling Deaths Lead to Calls for Increased Ottawa Bicycle Infrastructure

Two Ottawa cycling deaths this summer, combined with multiple Ottawa cycling injuries and countless close calls have left Ottawa bicycle enthusiasts spinning. If we accept that we are in a climate crisis (and how can we not?), surely we must do everything in our power as a City to promote and protect citizens who travel without fossil fuels. In a city as geographically large as Ottawa, cycling is one of the few no-emission options.

Some Improvements in Local Roads

The City of Ottawa has taken a number of strong steps to make cycling safer. The “complete streets” on Churchill Avenue and Main Street are good starts. However, aren’t they kind of complete streets to nowhere? More needs to be done so that cyclists can travel around the city safely on a consistent and integrated system of bikeways.

Consequences of Cycling Accidents

As personal injury lawyers, we see the aftermath of cycling collisions with motor vehicles on a daily basis. In fact, the firm’s first ever personal injury case was a dooring case. The three most common bicycle- motor vehicle collisions we see are:

* Dooring –> when a bike is struck by a door opened from a park car. This can happen on the driver or passenger side. Backseat passengers are also potential culprits.
* Right Hooks –> when a bike is going straight through an intersections and a right-turning vehicle t-bones them.
* Sideswipes –> when a vehicle passes the cyclist too closely on the right, striking the cyclist or running them off the road or both.

Cycling collisions can result in life threatening injuries and death. Cycling accidents can also cause fractures, chronic pain, concussion, road rash and lacerations. Many of our clients who are injured as cyclists suffer a loss of income and require health care services that are not covered by OHIP, such a physiotherapy.

How Auger Hollingsworth Can Help

At Auger Hollingsworth, we help injured cyclists by helping you access accident benefits and by pursuing compensation from the vehicle that struck you, typically by negotiating a settlement with their insurance company.

If you would like to speak to a personal injury lawyer about an injury you suffered as a cyclist, contact us by calling 613-233-4529.

About the Author: Brenda Hollingsworth

Brenda Hollingsworth co-founded Ottawa’s Auger Hollingsworth in 2005 with her husband Richard Auger. Together, their mission was to create a personal injury law firm for Eastern Ontario that is unrivalled in the province for customer service and legal expertise. Brenda was named an Ottawa Business Journal Forty Under 40 award recipient and took home the Women’s Business Network’s Businesswoman of the Year award in the Professional category. She was also recognized as one of Ottawa Life Magazine’s “Top 50 People in the Capital.” She is often quoted as an expert and has appeared in media outlets such as CTV, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Sun Media, CBC, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, CFRA and many legal publications.

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