Video shows High Park driver trying to pin cyclist with a car

A Toronto driver tried to use a car to pin or hit a cyclists in High Park this week. In a video posted to twitter, the driver twice tries to stop or injure the cyclist in a wildly reckless and dangerous use of a motor vehicle.

The driver swings to the left of the road, then turns sharply back to the right, trying to stop or pin the cyclist against the curb. When the cyclist continues moving by, the driver repeats the maneuver, swinging out across the road, then turning right back towards the curb. When that doesn’t work, the driver exits his vehicle and appears to chase the cyclist on foot as the video ends.

Opinion: Opinion: The Toronto Sun telling cyclists to smarten up is paternalistic and privileged

Thurs in #HighPark a motorist used his vehicle to assault & intimidate a cyclist. These common incidents lay bare the fallacy of the cyclist menace. High Park should be closed to motor vehicles @gordperks. Ticket/charge dangerous drivers @TorontoPolice not cyclists going 24km/h pic.twitter.com/1D8usyhYW6

— The Biking Lawyer (Dave Shellnutt) (@TheBikingLawyer) May 14, 2022

The video comes days after the Toronto Sun published an opinion piece advising cyclists they should take more responsibility for their own safety, saying “On a bike, you have to be the better person, more switched on and aware, because you are more vulnerable.”

We published Dave Shellnutt’s response, pointing out that cyclists should bear the responsibility and the consequences for careless drivers. But if you don’t have time to read even that concise reminder that driving a vehicle comes with responsibility, here’s a quick reminder: you shouldn’t use your car as a weapon. Whether the driver’s intent was to physically restrain or physically harm the cyclist, it was an incredibly dangerous and wildly irresponsible use of a motor vehicle.