Have a look here: https://globalnews.ca/news/6209332/video-cyclist-struck-markham/
So, who was at fault, but more importantly, because an ounce of prevention is better than a ton of cure, who could have prevented the crash?
The bicyclist came from the right, pushed the button for the walk signal (and the driver wouldn’t know for which direction) and continued to face left on a stale green and a don’t-walk signal, conveying the impression that he was going to cross from right to left on the next walk phase. The driver could have looked and seen the bicyclist, decided that the bicyclist was going to wait to cross from right to left, and then turned attention in another direction. When the traffic signal changed to green, the driver had to have been looking at it to start up right away. At that moment, as the walk signal also changed, the bicyclist abruptly turned 90 degrees to the right and started crossing parallel to the traffic entering the intersection on the green.
My evaluation: Either the bicyclist of the driver could have prevented this crash. The driver could have checked (again?) for the bicyclist. The bicyclist is a damn fool for sending the wrong message about the direction in which he was heading, and not checking whether the motorist would yield. The driver is at fault for reckless driving, colliding with the bicyclist, for leaving the scene of the crash and driving facing oncoming traffic. The bicyclist was legally at fault because riding in the crosswalk is illegal in Ontario. I don’t ride or walk my bicycle in crosswalks, unless it is unavoidable, and I usually find it safer to ride, because I can get across faster. However, I don’t like this law, because it provides an easy excuse to blame the bicyclist when someone else was at fault. This is not the law everywhere and it is not the usual law in the USA, where bicyclists for the most part have the rights and duties of pedestrians when riding in a crosswalk.
Are cyclists not drivers in Ontario?
They are, see http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/bicycle-safety.shtml. But this cyclist didn’t operate as one.
Sorry John I don’t think the cyclist was at fault. Yes he could have been more proactive and double checked before crossing but the driver was an incompetent criminal whose driving licence should be revoked for good and the blood searched for drugs and alcohol. When she started turning right with the green light the traffic coming from her left had red light and stopped so she had no excuse to not to look where she was going. After hitting the cyclist she panicked to the point to run away invading the oncoming traffic lanes.
Placing blame is not the same as advice to drive defensively. I never held the cyclist at fault. I only ask cyclists to be careful and anticipate other road users’ potential mistakes: that is defensive driving, not blame-placing. It prevents crashes, rather than pointing the finger once the damage has been done. In this crash, the motorist clearly was off-the-charts incompetent, and committed multiple legal infractions. Still, the cyclist’s waiting till the last moment until turning suddenly to the right to enter the crosswalk was imprudent, because it could confuse the driver inot thinking that the cyclist was waiting to continue straight. The cyclist’s not checking for which way the driver would go do also was imprudent, as you acknowledge. Ontario law (unlike what I prefer, as in most US states) holds cyclists at fault for riding in crosswalks. That works to the disadvantage of cyclists in lawsuits and insurance claims. This cyclist was fortunate not to have been injured seriously enough to have to make a claim in the face of an unfair law.