By Jacob Hoytema, Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 2019
An Ottawa cyclist has posted a video to YouTube in which a minivan hits his bike’s handlebar mirror before driving away after an altercation on Cyrville Road.
The video, captured on helmet-mounted camera, begins with Brian (who declined to give his last name) biking west on Cyrville Road just before Star Top Road. As a separate bike lane ends, the cyclist continues onto the right edge of the roadway, rather than take a nearby paved multi-use pathway. Ottawa police confirm that this is legal as cyclists may opt to use the road if they deem it to be a safer option than a bike lane or multi-use path.
Brian said the multi-use path on Cyrville puts cyclists in the way of cars turning right toward a business and who might not be expecting to see a cyclist. “Had I been in this hidden sidewalk, I could have been clipped there,” he says.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/local-cyclist-posts-video-of-van-clipping-his-bike-mirror