Cyclists and car drivers sharing the same road might cause some problems. What are the problems? What could be done to solve those problems?

In the ever-growing cities and neighbourhoods, road sharing is becoming more and more critical. With the increase in people living in the urban landscape, the usage of public roads is increasing.

Although

, many people still prefer cars to travel to their destination, in the congested core of the city cycling has become a favourable option for many to traverse through traffic.

This

has led to some road sharing problems between cars and cyclists. Cyclists have to face multiple issues while riding on the same asphalt as the cars are driving.

Firstly

, there is a lack of awareness when a cyclist is around. I live in Toronto and at least once a week there is news of how a car struck a cyclist because the driver was not aware of the surroundings. Headlines on the news feed about a cyclist getting thrashed by a car door opening on the roadside are becoming frequent every week.

Secondly

, there is the issue of giving the right of way on the streets. Stop signs, traffic signals and crossings are the most common places where bicyclists and vehicle operators get confused about who has the right of way.

Hence

, leading to collisions and other users of the street getting in danger too. Our transportation rules are updated with guidelines to accommodate the sharing of public pavements but a lack of awareness of these rules are the reason for most of the conflicts between automobiles and bicyclists. Having an awareness campaign or a mandatory short quiz can educate license holders on the accurate way to share the roadway.

For example

, in my city of Toronto, to ensure the safety of both the vehicle operator and bicyclist, barriers are installed on the road with neon lighting. So, the roadway is split into two sections to avoid any accidents between the two parties. In a nutshell, sharing our pavement is necessary to accommodate the growing population in the cities. To conclude, implementing some of the stated solutions can make cyclists and car drivers more confident to travel on the same roadway.