Pedestrians

Here is a public safety video from the province of Quebec that has the aim of convincing pedestrians to cross in crosswalks rather than jaywalking. Here in B.C. jaywalking or crossing the road at a place other than a crosswalk is generally not illegal and may not be as unsafe as some people think. It is only prohibited in municipalities where a bylaw against the practice has been enacted.

QUESTION: @JohnsonStBRDG asked on Twitter about crossing the intersection of Cook Street and Oxford Street in Victoria. He wants to cross Cook directly on the south side of Oxford instead of walking the U shaped path indicated by the marked crosswalks that is assisted by the traffic lights. Is it legal to do this?

The case of Vora v Adams takes place in the Nakusp area. Douglas Fryer was walking on the right side of 10th Avenue NW because that was the side of the road that street lighting was on. There was no sidewalk, the road was strewn with debris from a previous storm and the shoulders were covered by snowbanks.

On a morning walk I found myself facing a young woman across a busy intersection while we waited for the traffic signal to change. She was facing me but keeping an eye on the van waiting beside her at the red light signalling a right turn. As I watched the situation unfold I was impressed with this woman's street smarts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has issued a report on Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and pedestrian crash risk. Current AEB systems with pedestrian detection are effective, but only during the daytime.

While the Walk Audit Tool Kit is a publication of the AARP, it's not just for seniors. It teaches how to assess and report on the safety and walkability of a street, intersection or neighbourhood, hoping to inspire any needed changes. Anyone who walks can use information from the kit to do an audit.

We are seeing significant changes to city streets that create more room for transportation modes other than the automobile. Your opinion of these changes likely depends whether you are inside or outside of that automobile. Is it an informed opinion? Where do you find information on how these things work? Good questions!

A common message that arrives in the DriveSmartBC inbox concerns the perception of a local problem and either no response or an unexpected response from local government. The writer is usually looking for someone to solve their problem for them with little or no effort on their part beyond the initial complaint. Chances are excellent that the problem will continue to be a problem unless there is a concerted effort to resolve it.

Every year an average of 52 pedestrians are killed and 2.400 are injured by collisions in B.C. These incidents typically take place at night or when visibility is poor. While there is no law requiring that pedestrians take steps to make themselves more visible to drivers in times of low visibility it simply makes sense to protect yourself when crossing or walking along the road.