The Truth About Collision Reporting in Hamilton
Hamilton’s streets are far more dangerous for people who bike, walk, or use mobility devices than official data suggests. Why? Because most collisions involving vulnerable road users never get reported.
A 2025 study by Cycle Hamilton and the McMaster Research Shop confirms what riders and pedestrians have been saying for years, the collision reporting system is broken, and it is failing the people most at risk.
Most Collisions Are Invisible
Only 29% of surveyed vulnerable road users reported their collision to police or a Collision Reporting Centre. That means over two-thirds of crashes simply disappear from the record. Minor and moderate injuries are routinely ignored, even though they are clear warning signs of unsafe street design and driver behaviour.
If it is not counted, it does not get fixed.
The System Is Built for Cars, Not People
Nearly 70% of respondents said they did not know how to report a collision as a cyclist or pedestrian. That is not user error, it is system failure. Hamilton’s reporting process is designed around vehicle damage and insurance claims, not injured people on bikes or on foot.
When the rules are unclear, reporting stops.
People Do Not Trust the Outcome
More than half of respondents said they did not believe reporting would lead to accountability or safer streets. Many described police indifference and a pattern of inaction. When people expect nothing to change, they stop showing up.
A system that produces no results produces no trust.
Access Is a Barrier by Design
Hamilton has only two Collision Reporting Centres, both located far from where most people live, bike, and walk. Limited hours, travel costs, physical injuries, and a 48-hour reporting window make reporting unrealistic for many vulnerable road users.
If you cannot get there, your crash does not exist.
Hamilton Is Making Decisions With Bad Data
Police data captures only a small fraction of actual cycling and pedestrian injuries. Research shows police reports represent as little as 8–10% of real cycling injuries when compared to hospital and self-reported data.
That means Hamilton is planning streets using incomplete and misleading information. Unsafe intersections stay open. Dangerous designs get repeated. People keep getting hurt.
Other Cities Are Moving Forward. Hamilton Is Not.
Cities like Toronto are testing downtown, VRU-focused Collision Reporting Centres and supporting self-reporting tools like BikeMaps. These approaches reduce barriers, improve data, and save lives.
Hamilton has not kept pace.
This Is Not About Paperwork. It Is About Safety.
Underreporting hides danger. Hidden danger delays change. Delayed change costs people their health, their mobility, and sometimes their lives.
Fixing collision reporting is not optional. It is a prerequisite for safer streets, real accountability, and a city that values people over vehicles.
