The key to cycling safety? More cyclists

Traffic-calming measures and bike lanes increase the number of cyclists and decrease the risk of collisions: study

By Michelle Lalonde, The Gazette August 1, 2010

MONTREAL - The 2010 cycling season was just getting under way when the horrific news hit that three female cyclists had been killed, plowed down by a pickup truck on a dangerous stretch of Highway 112 near Rougemont.

That high-profile collision focused the public eye on the vulnerability of cyclists for the first half of this summer, as for several weeks every collision involving the serious injury or death of a cyclist in or near Montreal got more than the usual share of media attention.

But every year, three or four cyclists are killed on average on the island of Montreal and another 757 are injured, according to Montreal police. And that tally underestimates injuries, since some collisions are not reported to police. Urgences Santé statistics show that over the last decade, 967 cyclists per year on average were injured to the point that they required an ambulance.

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