These can be mean streets in Toronto where weapons used in physical disputes are not always guns or knives.
This was one of those times; the weapon of choice was a taxi.
It all started with someone riding a bike and a driver behind the wheel of a taxi.
A 6BuzzTV video posted Sunday to X shows a harrowing and heated interaction between the two in front of King Edward Junior and Senior Public School on Bathurst St., between College and Harbord Sts.
It doesn’t show what precipitated the incident.
It shows a man picking up his wide-rimmed bike and thrusting his arm through the open window of a Beck taxi in what appears to be a stabbing motion.
It’s not clear if there was something in the cyclists’ hand, but the video shows the taxi cut across lanes of traffic, and over streetcar tracks as the driver chases the cyclist.
While he didn’t appear to hit the cyclist, it is an odd incident that had potential to become deadly. We just don’t know the full story of what went down here.
We also don’t know if a woman screaming about somebody trying to kill somebody is a live commentary from another car, or if it was added in later. But with or without that voiceover, this was a troubling situation.
“It’s very scary,” said Toronto lawyer David Shellnutt, a cyclist rights advocate, who is known as The Biking Lawyer. “Certainly, the context of what happened before is important to know.”
We don’t know what happened before or after.
What we do know is it seems both parties had bad reactions, which often accompany bouts of road rage. People lose their cool and lose their ability to make good decisions.
Shellnutt added, “the person with the bike should not have reached in the window of the driver and the driver should not have attacked him with his taxi and driven into oncoming traffic.” By doing so, “the motorist put multiple road users at risk.”
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There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this video. And reminders of how to act and how not to act when out sharing the roadway.
Details on this are scarce. Toronto Police’s media office have so far not been able to find the report on it. Perhaps now that this column has been published, a witness will come forward, and we can learn more about what happened.
Beck Taxi Operations’ Manager Kristine Hubbard confirmed police are aware of the incident.
“The police are involved and, as always, we will offer anything we have by way of cooperation,” she told me in a text message. “The driver will be OK. That’s about all I can say.”
Hubbard added she’s aware of the video and the incident did not happen on the day it was posted.
Hubbard is always an honest broker and will take the appropriate action — as she has shown in all of the years I have known her. That said, we need to hear all sides of this story.
How did it start? What transpired? Who escalated it? This is where the police are needed. They have very skilled traffic investigators who will know how to sort this one out.
Shellnutt, who is known for representing cyclists, said he is so far not involved in this case. But, in worrying that how anti-biking political rhetoric could result in backlash toward cyclists, he offered some sage advice in the interest of safety.
“Typical of road rage incidents, this escalated very quickly beyond what is acceptable on our roadways,” he noted, adding the cabbie “should have pulled over and called police right away. You cannot attack someone with a motor vehicle.”
The cyclist should have done the same. Don’t take matters into your hands.
It’s easy to say, but people need to calm down.
The congested road are full of cars, trucks, buses, scooters, pedestrians, streetcars and bikes and stuff is going to happen. But toss in some anger and things can escalate out of control and people can very quickly become criminals.
If you think, this kind of stuff doesn’t end up in death, you don’t understand how often minor disagreements turn into big ones.
Earlier this month at Yonge St. and Empress Ave. in North York, there was a shooting that emanated out of a road rage incident sparked by a minor collision between a car and pickup truck. The car ended up on its roof after the driver was shot.
Such cases show how far things can spin out of control when people’s tempers get out of hand.
Toronto’s streets can become deadly very quickly in 2024.