Pedestrians

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.

The City of St. Paul, Minnesota has created an innovative program to increase driver compliance with the requirement to yield to pedestrians at unsignalized marked crosswalks in the city. Prior to this initiative, The study initially observed 32% of drivers yielding and frequent multiple threat passing incidents.

Road Guy Rob examines a highway reconstruction project that rebuilt a highway through town. Raised medians were installed to separate the opposing lanes. He discusses two types of raised medians looking at how they are built, what they do and how they can be used to add safety features for pedestrians and cyclists.

The case of R v Francisco involves a collision on June 7, 2019 in Burnaby that resulted in the death of a pedestrian, Louise Landreth. Roberto Francisco was driving a BMW sedan erratically over a period of about one hour and twenty minutes until a collision at high speed resulted in a loss of control and Ms. Landreth being struck and killed.

Six small towns in British Columbia have been singled out for their leadership in Active Transportation. Burns Lake, Duncan, Gibsons, Nelson, Powell River and Rossland were examined for their efforts in promoting Active Transportation. The resulting report aims to assist other communities to improve Active Transportation within their boundaries by explaining the success of the six.

A man I observed in a parking lot started me thinking about how little care we sometimes take for our own safety when we are pedestrians. I was preparing to back out of my parking spot and had put my truck in reverse, then did a scan to the rear before I started letting up on the clutch. A male crossing behind me did not slow or even bother to look to see what my intentions were.

Road Guy Rob is a civil engineer who delights in explaining traffic engineering to the public. Although he is based in California, some of the information contained in his videos applies equally well here in British Columbia. I enjoy watching his enthusiasm and sharing his videos, this one being about how the HAWK beacon makes crossing any highway safer for pedestrians.

David Sharp and Jason Butter were walking on Harriet Road in Victoria. At about 6:00 pm on that December evening it was fully dark and there was no street lighting present. They crossed the street at an angle in the intersection with Battleford Avenue because Mr. Sharp did not feel safe walking on the side without a sidewalk.

The case of R v Labbee involves a pedestrian collision at the intersection of Patten Avenue and Mary Street in Chilliwack. Fourghozaman Firoozian was crossing Mary Street from west to east in the marked crosswalk. A southbound silver-grey pickup failed to stop for her, knocking her down and driving over her.