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Winnipeg cyclist catches more than 200 close calls with cars on camera
Manitoba

Winnipeg cyclist catches more than 200 close calls with cars on camera

A Winnipeg cyclist says he’s seen more than 200 too-close-for-comfort situations with city drivers since last August. Ian Walker captured them with two cameras strapped to his helmet and bike.

Ian Walker hopes videos will give drivers a different perspective on sharing the road with cyclists

Meagan Fiddler · CBC News ·
Winnipeg Cyclist, Ian Walker, and his camera-equipped helmet. (CBC)
A Winnipeg cyclist says he has seen more than 200 too-close-for-comfort situations with city drivers in the approximately 300 days since he started the project last year. 
Winnipeg cyclist Ian Walker captures dangerous encounters with drivers on GoPro helmet cam. 0:14

Ian Walker has been recording encounters between his bike and motor vehicles on the roads with two cameras strapped to his helmet and bike since last August. 

"It is a lot," Walker said of the total so far.  And the season is just heating up, he added. "I find that people do move a little bit faster in the summer." 

Walker says watching his videos throughout that time has made him more aware of his own cycling habits and how to bike more safely.
Winnipeg cyclist Ian Walker captures dangerous encounters with drivers on GoPro helmet cam. 0:17

"Sharing the road doesn't mean riding as close to the curb as possible so that you're not inconveniencing people. Sharing the road means I need to have a dominant position in the lane so that I'm discouraging people from driving too close to me, " Walker said. 

He said he caught another close encounter just yesterday morning.
Winnipeg cyclist Ian Walker captures dangerous encounters with drivers on GoPro helmet cam. 0:22

"I had the right of way. And this driver did not stop at the stop sign. She [crept] past the crosswalk, looked right but didn't look left and proceeded through the intersection. I had to stop to avoid being struck by her," he said.

'Be predictable'

But that helps Walker stress his point that cyclists need to be responsible too.

"Be predictable on the road. Ensure you are using hand signals. Do not pass other cars on the right hand side. It is not only dangerous but it irritates people and as cyclists the best thing we can do is be advocates for ourselves and behave well within the law so that people see us as positive people on the road, rather than people causing them frustration," he said.
Winnipeg cyclist Ian Walker offers tips for equipment and instruction on best way to ride 1:23

Partnering with Manitoba Public Insurance on the project, Walker hopes his videos will be turned into educational videos, giving new drivers a different perspective.

"So they understand what it's like if a person was to pass you with only a few inches of space," Walker said. "People on bicycles are also human beings. They deserve to be safe on the road."

MPI said its road safety messaging and advertising campaigns on cycling safety is in the research and development stage. Just how Walker's videos will be used is yet to be determined. 
A Winnipeg cyclist says he has seen more than 200 too-close-for-comfort situations with city drivers in the approximately 300 days since he started the project last year. 2:02



 
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