After much discussion about bike lanes following Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s plan to potentially reduce them, Ontario sports minister Neil Lumsden weighed in. Instead of acknowledging that bike lanes help reduce cyclist injuries, he focused on helmet use.
“What we need to start considering when individuals ride a bike or scooter is to first put on a helmet and fasten it properly,” he said, avoiding other preventive measures.
Don’t tell me the cyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet
Helmets don’t prevent concussions, Stephanie Cowle, director at Parachute said to Le Droit. Parachute a national injury prevention organization, where she leads national concussion initiatives and evidence-based safety efforts. While she acknowledges helmets’ importance, she says they’re only part of the solution.
“Helmets are a crucial safety element when you’re riding a bike or doing other activities. They are proven to prevent serious skull injuries and brain damage. However, there is no evidence that they prevent concussions,” she said.
Lumsden also argued that it’s up to cyclists, not motorists, to ensure their own safety.
“I can’t control how people ride bikes and how they behave on the road. It depends on their own judgment,” he said.
Cowle emphasized that the best way to protect cyclists is through separation from cars.
“When we look at evidence-based prevention, we consider how injuries occur. Concussions and other head injuries in cycling often happen due to falls or collisions,” she added. “We know that bike lanes and infrastructure—especially protected bike lanes—help prevent collisions.”
David Shellnutt, aka The Biking Lawyer, criticized Lumsden’s comments.
“This rhetoric, and threats to interfere in municipal road safety planning, represent a clear and present danger to vulnerable road users,” Shellnutt said in a statement.
“We know that safe infrastructure, like bike lanes, is critical to reducing conflict and collision points between road users. We currently represent many cyclists hit by motorists, who, despite wearing helmets, suffer from post-concussion symptoms years after the crash.
Post-concussion syndrome after vehicle collisions is well-known, and we are dismayed that the Minister of Sport, like his government, has chosen culture wars over fact-based analysis of Ontario’s transportation issues—and, ultimately, over the safety of cyclists.”
He pointed out that wearing a helmet, although important, doesn’t prevent collisions.
“That’s why we rely on protected and safe bike lanes to reduce and eliminate conflicts between motorists and cyclists,” Shellnutt said.
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