Editor:
As a person who regularly bikes and drives on the streets of Canmore and Banff, I’m interested in a road safety campaign that will deliver real results.
Community Cruisers recently completed a School Travel Planning project with Banff Elementary School and Elizabeth Rummel School. Parent surveys found driver behaviour is a child safety concern, citing failure to stop at stop signs, failure to yield to those walking and wheeling at intersections, speeding and distracted driving.
A key recommendation was a law enforcement campaign to modify driver behaviour in Canmore and Banff. This was an action item that the RCMP agreed to undertake.
We were disappointed to read that both detachments are proceeding with a campaign that targets people on bikes, based on casual observations rather than statistics and evidence.
We understand that it’s the RCMP’s job to enforce the rules, however the data shows that traffic infractions occur at about the same rate whether the person is on a bike or driving a car. People are people, regardless of the mode of transportation they have chosen.
Statistics also show that people driving vehicles are responsible for more than ninety-nine per cent of injuries and deaths on the road each year. Global evidence proves that in the majority of incidents involving cars and bicycles, the person in the car is responsible.
Finally, studies have shown that as more people cycle, road safety tends to improve for all users. So let’s get serious about road safety.
Let’s reduce the barriers for people to walk and ride bikes. Let’s look at reducing speeds on residential streets. Let's look at reducing the number of distracted and intoxicated people driving cars.
And let’s conduct an enforcement campaign that focuses on the unsafe practices of the most dangerous road users.
Jen Tweddell,
Canmore Community Cruisers
Chair of the Board
