Pedestrians

This case concerns liability for a collision between a driver and a pedestrian at a traffic circle. The pedestrian was using a cellphone as she approached the traffic circle and began to cross in the marked crosswalk. The driver failed to see the pedestrian who was visible and collided with her.

I had the pleasure of visiting Banff, Alberta as a tourist this spring. The downtown area of the city has been remade with pedestrians in mind. The sidewalks are wide, speed limits are reduced and the three pedestrian scrambles move a lot of people more safely than the conventional intersection. Clearly, pedestrians are a welcome part of traffic in the core area.

I was asked two interesting questions via e-mail this week: “Is it law or simply a rule in BC that pedestrians should walk facing the traffic when there is no sidewalks along the roads? What happens when the highway maintenance company leaves no shoulder to walk on?”

I grew up in a small town where there were no sidewalks unless you counted 4 sides from 3 blocks downtown. As children, we didn't pay much attention to the rule that required us to walk on the left facing oncoming traffic but we did make sure that we were on the edge or even off of the pavement when a vehicle drove by.

One of the major television stations from Vancouver broadcast a news story this past week about pedestrians as a follow up piece for a report on a family that was struck down in a newly marked crosswalk. The footage showed a pedestrian standing on a sidewalk facing the street as traffic drove by without slowing or stopping.

Motor Vehicle Act section 179:

(2) A pedestrian must not leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is impracticable for the driver to yield the right of way.

This is definitely an odd case! It shows the value of doing regular vehicle maintenance and keeping the receipts to account for it.

I pulled up to a crosswalk and a stop sign where there were pedestrians crossing. I came to a stop and let them go. after when there were no more pedestrians in sight I moved forward to see the traffic to ensure it was safe for me to go through the intersection (2-way stop).

As I pulled up a surge of traffic came and I was unable to proceed, which stopped me in the crosswalk.

The collision counter on this web site estimates 33 pedestrian deaths and 1374 pedestrian injury collisions in BC to July 29, 2015. I almost added to that number driving in Vancouver last weekend and the incident still has me shaking my head. I can't believe that a pedestrian could be that stupid!

It appears that the Abbotsford Police Department is following the lead of other agencies such as TACVictoria with a no-punches-pulled video reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians and not drive while distracted. It could equally well be used to remind pedestrians to watch for vehicles when they use a marked crosswalk.