Vancouver's bike-friendly Mayor Gregor Robertson was caught red-handed last week when he cycled through a stoplight and was almost hit by a bus.
The mayor was in the new Dunsmuir Street bike lane on July 22 when he blew through a red light to make a right turn onto Richards Street without stopping or checking for oncoming traffic.
Michele MacDonald had to slam on the brakes of the bus she was driving.
"The bumper was maybe about two feet from his leg," she told CTV News. "The heart was right up there in the throat for me."
MacDonald said she didn't realize who she had almost hit.
"I didn't know it was him until he lifted his bicycle up off the road onto the curb…. I looked through the doors of the bus and realized it was our mayor, Gregor Robertson."
She said he was quick to apologize and looked shaken by the near-collision.
"He looked very sorry and he looked very shocked," MacDonald said.
The normally high profile mayor was unavailable for an interview Tuesday, but he did issue a statement on the incident.
"It was a good lesson for me and I hope it serves as a reminder to everyone to use caution and follow the rules when out on the road," Robertson said in the statement.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Norma Reid
