A cyclist from Sherbrooke says she was deliberately bumped by a motorist on Wednesday evening on Belvédère Sud Street in Sherbrooke. The incident reportedly occurred late in the day, near the intersection of Belvédère and McManamy streets. Stéfanie Cabana allegedly signaled to the driver of a minivan that she was in the bike lane.
“The light was red and the minivan was in the bike lane,” she recounts. “After passing it, I gestured to tell it that it was in the bike lane.”
“When the light turned green, she swerved towards me to hit me. She pushed me with her car. I stayed standing. The car went right on McManamy,” the cyclist continued.
Another cyclist who was nearby reportedly noted the motorist’s license plate number and then called the police.
The Sherbrooke Police Service confirms that a complaint has been filed and that an investigation is underway, but cannot comment on the situation at this time.
“Since we had the license plate number, they were able to stop the driver not far away. I had a pain in my calf, so the ambulance came.”
A first Although this is the first time that Stéfanie Cabana has been deliberately bumped by a motorist, she has already been subjected to the wrath of other motorists.
“It’s especially bad when you’re riding on the side of the road and there’s no bike lane,” she says. “I’ve been honked at and yelled at to move over.”
Ms. Cabana shared her story on the Vélo Urbain Sherbrooke (VUS) group in order to raise awareness in her community. “If I had been alone, I wouldn’t have done anything. I would have arrived home, realized I was in pain, but I wouldn’t have taken down the license plate number,” the cyclist believes.
“I want to tell people that even if the person is not really injured, it is important to report it, because injuries can occur afterwards,” she summarizes.
Will they actually do anything about this in Canada? In the US there would be zero consequences.
A family member and several fellow cyclists were seriously injured in a similar but much more severe road rage incident and the police just let the guy go. They had to write a letter to the editor in the local paper to pressure them into pressing charges even though one guy almost died. The cops probably thought it was funny.
Unfortunately this is not really surprising. I come from a small town near Drummondville and this place is horrible to cycle. It depends on towns amd cities but this whole region is not cyclist friendly. Friends living and cycling in Drummondville are telling me they are regularly honked at and told their place is on the sidewalk. They fear for their life just going out on their bike. There’s bike lanes and bike trails, and cyclists are expected to keep to them, and never be in a street.
And as much as the Granby region likes to boast about its numerous rail trails, they have patronizing warnings for cyclists at every intersection tellimg them they don’t have priority and they must walk their bikes to cross a street.
I moved to Montreal 15 years ago and even though incidents like this still happen, I’m glad there are thousands of other cyclists like me here to tip the balance. People from those small towns are telling me I must be crazy to cycle in Montreal, but no, it’s safer and much more relaxed than riding in their small town. Plus, no right turn on red lights on the whole islands makes me feel even safer.
I really love cyclotourism and try to keep to rail trails, and it’s fine there. But as soon as I’m on a street with no bike lanes, half of the fucking small town motorists loses their mind and seem to think I shouldn’t be there.
