A cyclist was killed in a collision with a minivan, here in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday night. You can read the details, as reported by the Windsor Star, here:
I'm familiar with the interection in question. Tecumseh Road is a major arterial road (4 lanes, left turn lanes, 60 km/hr speed limit). Jefferson is a busy residential street north of Tecumseh and mostly industrial/commercial south of Tecumseh.
The newspaper report emphasizes the cyclist's lack of helmet. No mention of whether the cyclist was using lights or exactly how the collision occured, other than:
"Our indication was that the van had the green signal, (Dufour) was pedalling very hard and he came through the red light," said Windsor Police Staff Sgt. Ed McNorton.
This is the second cyclist involved in a collision after "running the red", this summer. The earlier cyclist suffered life threatening head injuries.
supcom
08-10-04, 10:48 AM
Very sad tragedy. Perhaps Dufour was running late to work and made a costly error in his haste. I suspect a helmet would not have made much difference in this case.
Chris L
08-10-04, 12:51 PM
"Our indication was that the van had the green signal, (Dufour) was pedalling very hard and he came through the red light," said Windsor Police Staff Sgt. Ed McNorton.
This is the second cyclist involved in a collision after "running the red", this summer. The earlier cyclist suffered life threatening head injuries.
If it happens when you run a red light, there's only one person you can blame.
AndrewP
08-10-04, 06:13 PM
Was it an independent witness that said the cyclist ran the red light. The van was doing a left turn on the flashing green but maybe its flashing green had just finished.
It mentions that George Dufour wasnt wearing a helmet, it would have been more relevant if they had said if he had lights on his bike.
My sympathy for his family - but nothing can take away the memory of the good times they had with him
John E
08-10-04, 08:54 PM
Help me, Canadians -- Pardon my ignorance of Canadian traffic law, but is a flashing green light the equivalent of a green left turn arrow? At this particular intersection, are left turns permitted only when oncoming traffic has a red light, or is there a signal phase in which one may turn left while yielding to oncoming traffic, which also has a green at that time? Is it possible that Mr. Dufour had a green, rather than a red, light?
AndrewP
08-10-04, 11:14 PM
The flashing green is an advanced green - the traffic in that direction can proceed for a period before it turns green in the opposite direction. When it changes from flashing green to steady green, many drivers think they can get through before the traffic in the other direction gets going. Thats OK if the traffic coming towards them is stopped on the red, but if it is moving at speed towards the intersection as it goes green, something like this can happen.
BMXTRIX
08-11-04, 08:47 AM
I simply can't imagine being an avid road cyclist who didn't wear a helmet. Almost every aspect of cycling should include wearing a helmet, but on the road most of all with other cars is the time that I would think that it would be most important since we can't control other people. We all know there are idiot drivers out there, and the lady driving the van seems to have been going pretty fast for a left turn end up parked on top of the cyclist. Obviously, a hard pedalling cyclist through a red light is asking to get creamed...
But, they said that it was a few broken bones and severe head trauma. One helmet later it could have been a mild cuncussion and a few broken bones instead.
Very sad, as much so for the woman driving the van who has to live with the horror of knowing she killed someone while driving her car legally.
ajay677
08-11-04, 07:44 PM
Help me, Canadians -- Pardon my ignorance of Canadian traffic law, but is a flashing green light the equivalent of a green left turn arrow? At this particular intersection, are left turns permitted only when oncoming traffic has a red light, or is there a signal phase in which one may turn left while yielding to oncoming traffic, which also has a green at that time? Is it possible that Mr. Dufour had a green, rather than a red, light?
At this particular intersection, there is a left turn arrow for east and west bound traffic on Tecumseh Road. Green arrow to turn left, turns to a yellow arrow, then to a green light for all east and westbound traffic. Left turns may be made on the green when traffic is clear. I don't have any information as to the particulars of the accident other than what was in the local newspaper. I have a couple of friends who are police constables with the Windsor Police Service. I'll see if they know anything about the accident.
Chris L
08-12-04, 03:34 AM
Very sad, as much so for the woman driving the van who has to live with the horror of knowing she killed someone while driving her car legally.
I don't know about your part of the world. But I honestly believe that would do nothing to upset the majority of drivers I saw on my ride home from work this evening. I think they'd be more concerned with a few scratches on their car, and the possibility of a phone call from the cops. Sad but true.