The optics IMO:
The van driver is making a left turn from the left lane. This is something new because we don't typically get passed on the left when we are in the left most lane. The driver probably saw the oncoming bicycle but failed to check for the one passing him.
There will be more of these. Just because someone paints some lines and passes a law it doesn't mean everyone suddenly fully complies. Drivers will have to take on the mindset of a WWII fighter pilot, constantly scanning in all directions for incoming obstacles, including the ones that shouldn't be there. Don't listen to the radio or converse with passengers unless they are acting as observers as well. "Bicycle at 11 o'clock, pedestrian at nine o'clock and closing."
If drivers were retested to meet the WWII fighter pilot standards most would fail. What would that do to our already dismal public transit system?
What would that do to house prices beyond the fringes of the public transit system?
We have failed to integrate other means of transportation into our systems for a century. It is unrealistic to expect drivers to modify their patterns overnight.
Where are drivers made aware of the changes?
Drivers don't get updated handbooks. If they missed the change on the media because there was something more sensational going on they don't find out until they hit someone.
Ask Chow, Ford, Trudeau about it and they'll tell you it's not that bad and people will adapt. Right, when?
