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New Brunswick moving ahead with Ellen’s Law

One meter passing law to be introduced next month

Ellen Watters was a member of The Cyclery-Opus team for the past few years, was critically injured with head trauma when struck by a car while riding her bike on December 23rd in Sussex, New Brunswick. She sadly died in hospital a few days later on Dec. 27.

The New Brunswick government has promised to introduce new cycling safety legislation after the death of Ellen Watters. The law would require vehicles to give cyclists one-metre of space while passing.

Rick Doucet is a member of the legislative assembly and has been a supporter of Ellen’s Law. As a cyclist, he has faced the dangers on the road himself.

“I was hit, I was hit a number of years ago in Fredericton and it happened very quickly and I was well on a shoulder of the road,” Doucet told CTV News.

The New Brunswick cycling community voiced their demands for legislation in demonstrations across the province that drew hundreds turned out for rallies early in the New Year after Watters death. She was set to make her professional debut with UCI Colavita-Bianchi in 2017.

“The introduction should be within a couple of weeks and within the coming months, it will be law,” Doucet said assuring advocates that the law is coming.

The legislation will require motorists to give cyclists one meter of space when overtaking cyclists. Ontario and Nova Scotia have a similar inplace. In Ontario motorists be fined $110 and get two points. In Nova Scotia motorists can be fined $800.

“It’s important that motorists know that before they pass that cyclist, they have to give them a metre of space,” said Wayne Arrowsmith, of the Saint John Cycling Club to CTV. “Now, if a vehicle is coming the other way they may try to squeeze through there, but in the future they may hesitate and wait five or ten seconds before they pass that cyclist, that’s important.”

Ellen Watters had been steadily rising up the ranks since joining the Ottawa-based The Cyclery Racing program under the guidance of former national team member Jenny Trew. A former triathlete and a kinesiology graduate, Watters adapted quickly to road cycling and her sunny personality and aggressive racing style has become a fixture at events throughout Canada and the U.S.

The 2016 season was a breakout year for the 28-year-old. She won the Tour of the Battenkill and Tour of Somerville in the U.S., and won bronze in the criterium at the Canadian Road Championships. These results, among others, led to an invitation to take part in her first-ever Canadian National Team project in August. Despite missing some races early in the trip after suffering a minor concussion, she bounced back to victory in a kermesse in Hasdonk, Belgium, on Aug. 18th.

Watters’ cycling career had stepped up another level on the cusp of 2017. She had just signed for the U.S.-based Colavita-Bianchi team at the same time as being invited to be a part-time member of the Canadian women’s development program under national NextGen coach Cameron Jennings.

Chris Foster, executive director of the cycling organization Velo NB, said the cycling community is still in shock.

“She was well-respected in the community,” said Foster . “She was able to touch so many people in positive ways"

New Brunswick moving ahead with Ellen´s Law