After blocking a bike lane, a Toronto driver chased a cyclist and rammed him

Bike lanes are for bikes, but a motorist in Toronto did not seem to get the memo. The cyclist Andy Fraser said he was harassed and assaulted after pointing out to a car driver they were blocking a bike lane.

There are a few, very specific times when a car can temporarily be in a bike lane:

– Moving into or leaving a private lane or driveway adjacent to the bicycle lane.
– Making a right turn at a road intersecting the bicycle lane.
– Entering or exiting a curb lane used for parking.
– Loading or unloading of a person with a disability, while actively engaged in doing so.
– Operating a school bus while actively engaged in picking up or dropping off school children.
– Operating a taxicab while actively engaged in loading or unloading of passengers.

In a series of tweets, the rider posted what happened. “A new low for Toronto drivers. This man tried to kill me today on my bike. I complained that he had stopped blocking a bike lane on college. He chased after me and rammed me with his car. I managed to swerve but if I hadn’t I would be dead.”

Look how fast this parking officer can give tickets to cars in bike lanes

Fraser went on to say that he did contact the authorities, but that no discipline followed. “The Toronto Police say that this is a minor traffic incident and not an attempted assault. That’s a very weird way to look at someone who has attempted to kill another person. I don’t want to live in this stupid city any more where nothing makes sense. I feel completely let down.”

The Torontonian was aghast at the response saying it was not a random traffic incident, it was a deliberate and premeditated attempt to run him down. He also pointed out that had he pulled out a bat or a knife and threatened or tried to assault a driver he would (completely correctly) go to jail. But if a driver tries to kill or seriously harm a cyclist he wqas simply told, it was just a minor traffic incident by the authorities.