皆さんこんにちは！EcomのJennです。It’s me again. How is everyone?
5月は天気が良いので、外に出て運動したくなりますね！北米では、この季節にふさわしいイベントがあります。それは「Bike Month／Bike Week」です。
Bikeは日本語のバイクではなく、自転車のことです。5月は健康・環境に良い月なので、自転車に乗ろうというテーマのイベントです。
Bike Monthは元々アメリカで始まったイベントですが、現在はカナダの様々な街でも行われます。アメリカのNational Bike Monthは毎年5月中ですが、カナダでは地域によって日付が変わります。例えばトロントのBike Monthは今年、5月26日から6月26日までです。
Bike Monthのテーマはもちろん自転車に乗ることですが、その中で自転車通学・通勤をするキャンペーンや、自転車レースのイベントなどもあります。
バンクーバーではなんと、裸で自転車に乗るWorld Naked Bike RideというイベントもありますO＿O
この写真はさすがにアップできないので、気になる方はググってみてください。きっとびっくりしますよ！
ちなみに、日本ほど多くはありませんが、北米で自転車に乗る人はどんどん増えていると思います。多くの都市が「自転車にフレンドリーな街を作ろう」と心がけて、自転車専用のレーンを作ったり、バスに自転車キャリーを付けたりしています。
私の地元も以前は自転車専用のレーンがなかったのですが、去年帰った時には新しい道路全てに付いていて驚きました。
この時期にアメリカかカナダに来たら、Bike Week/Bike Monthのイベントに参加して、自転車に乗ることを楽しんでみてはいかがでしょうか？好きな方には、World Naked Bike Rideもありかもしれませんね(笑)
それでは、また次回！See you again next time!
Hello Jenn, How are you?
I always look forward to reading your interesting topics. I often see bikers here in Japan, but they are very dangerous. Japanese roads are very narrow and the roads are filled with traffic. They rarely wear helmets, so when they had an accident, they might get severely hurt. Do they join their kind of “bike insurance”? Does the driver have to pay the medical fee for the bikers when they get hurt? I’m not quite sure about the system.
Who should be responsible when a biker is involved in a car accident?
Hello Seiichi,
I am well, thank you. I hope you are the same.
I’m happy to hear that you are interested in my blogs!
I do remember seeing a lot of bikers while in Japan. I had my own bike too, but was always a little nervous riding it in Tokyo.
You ask some very good questions. I’m not quite sure what the legal rule is in Japan regarding bike/car accidents. I do remember hearing cases where bikers hit pedestrians and in those cases, the biker was considered the one at fault.
I believe in Canada, a bike is considered a vehicle, the same as a car. Therefore, if the cyclist was not following the traffic rules (i.e. biking against traffic, riding without lights in the dark, cutting off vehicles or running a red light), then it is highly possible that the biker will be
held at fault if there is an accident. On the other hand, if a car hits a bike due to the driver’s carelessness (i.e. not checking their blind spot, which is a common cause of bike/car accidents, as well as drivers opening their car doors without looking and hitting cyclists), then the driver will likely be held liable. As Canada’s health care system covers most medical procedures 100%, I imagine medical bills would not be as much of an issue,
but if an injury caused death or disability, I could imagine the driver at fault being sued. On the other hand, if the person on the bike is determined to be at fault and damages someone’s vehicle, they may be asked to compensate the driver.
Although this is for the US and not Canada, I found an interesting articles that discusses bike accidents from a legal perspective. You might like to check it out!
http://www.andresberger.com/cycling-accidents-liability/