The only detail that apparently matters

A cyclist who died after a collision with a car downtown yesterday morning was not wearing a helmet, police said Thursday. 

The crash happened about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday near the corner of York Avenue and Main Street. The 68-year-old male cyclist was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries. Winnipeg police patrol Sgt. Monica Stothers said early indications are that the man was not wearing a helmet. 

And to remind us that self-styled cycling campaigners are often a major obstacle to enabling mass cycling up pops

Curt Hull from the group Bike to the Future. 

He said it’s time for both cyclists and motorists to educate themselves on road safety. “We have improvements in infrastructure, but until we have improvements in education that teaches motorists and cyclist how to behave towards each other, things aren’t going to improve very much,” said Hull. 

He said Winnipeg’s new active transportation strategy is making it easier for cyclists but the city still has a long way to go. Since 2007, the group has seen a 64 per cent increase in the number of bike commuters, rising to around 12,000 per day. 

Manitoba Public Insurance is also working with cycling groups to make the road safer for cyclists. It offers safety courses to teach riders hand signals and the rules of the road. 

Only one hand signal is required to respond to cycling groups and safety campaigns like this and absolutely no instruction is required.