This unfortunate incident underscores a belief that I have held for some time now that on major thoroughfares, motor vehicles should not be required share the road with bicycles. A car is many times the weight of a bicycle, and can move much more quickly. It is also less manoeuvrable.

We complain about gridlock and our inability to keep traffic moving, yet we allow bicycles to mingle with motor traffic, forcing cars to slow down, and often to shift lanes, to avoid them.

Bicycles are not permitted on sidewalks, purportedly because they pose a danger to slower and less vigilant pedestrians. But the same dichotomy exists between motor vehicles and bicycles on roadways.