In this year of Vélo Québec's 50th anniversary, an examination of our archives shows that the greatest concern of today's cyclists remains the same as that of cyclists in the mid-1960s: safety. That's why Vélo Québec has always made safety a central concern in its lobbying of political authorities and in its promotion of cycling to the general public. This was the case back in the founder's day Gabriel Lupien. It still is today, especially when it comes to the long-awaited reform of the Highway Safety Code.
When it came to cyclist safety in Quebec, there was a lot to be done. The road safety record of the 1960s was hardly glowing. At a time when only children rode bicycles, the number of deaths was close to 70 a year - 6 times higher than today.
Reform was also needed at the Ministry of Transport, where the section of the Highway Code dealing with cyclists had probably been written by people who didn't ride bicycles. Thus, among the abracadabra rules at the time, one obliged cyclists to keep both hands on the handlebars at all times; another required them to signal their intentions to turn and stop by means of arm signals (thus violating the previous rule!); yet another required them to remain constantly seated on their saddle (thus prohibiting standing up on their bike).
In 1979, when the Quebec government set up a parliamentary commission to revise the Highway Code, Vélo Québec took part and submitted an extensive brief containing over fifty recommendations. These were so well received by the then Minister of Transport, Lucien Lessard, that Vélo Québec was invited to sit as a consultant on the drafting committee for what would become - note the change of name - the Highway Safety Code.
Over the years, Vélo Québec has never ceased to advocate bicycle safety, notably through briefs submitted to consultations and commissions as well as by setting up a consulting in bike lane development. Video campaigns such as Share the road. So, through all these actions, respect between road users has always been at the forefront.
Admittedly, the situation is improving all the time - even more so than popular perception might suggest. Whereas between 1991 and 1995, an annual average of 315 cyclists were seriously injured on Quebec roads, this number fell to 101 between 2010 and 2014, a reduction of 68 %[1]. But... the work isn't done to further reduce the number of accidents and encourage more people to use bicycles with a sense of safety. Let's keep up the good work!
[1] Data taken from L'état du vélo au Québec en 2015.