When it comes to designing and implementing road safety measures, the group most often left out of the mix are also the most vulnerable — pedestrians.
Canada is rather less successful than most other OECD countries, lagging behind in many ways. Fortunately, many ideas that work well have already been proven in other jurisdictions, so we do not have to reinvent much.
From 1989 to 2009 almost 9,000 pedestrians were killed on Canadian roads, and hundreds of thousands were injured. Much of the blame for this can be laid on our tradition of designing roads from the perspective of motor vehicles and their occupants rather than that of the vulnerable road user.
The most successful approaches have been based on a method called the ‘safe system approach,’ which focuses design on the most vulnerable part of the system, the unprotected human being outside the vehicle.
Rather than believing that pedestrian injury is inevitable when motor vehicles share the road with vulnerable road users, we can approach the problem by giving pedestrian safety a higher priority. All aspects of road use play a role in improving safety, including pedestrians, drivers, road design, lighting and more.
Pedestrians can help themselves by becoming more visible. Being on the road at night can be deadly, so wearing clothing that has retro-reflective features such as patches or markings will make a person more visible to drivers. Distracted walking is another source of danger. Using a cell phone while walking (so-called ‘wexting’) interferes with cautious behaviour and reduces situational awareness. Pedestrians impaired by alcohol or other drugs pose a grave danger to themselves.
Age-related pedestrian danger includes young children and the elderly. In the case of children, their overall development (physical, cognitive, visual) puts them at special risk as pedestrians. Indeed, their ability to safely cross a street independently may not come until they are 9 to 11 years old. For older pedestrians, navigating traffic can be dangerous because of limited vision or hearing, slower reaction time and decision making.
Drivers are often at fault in vehicle-pedestrian crashes; the most common causes include failing to yield the right of way and driver distraction and inattention. We can guess easily that the faster the vehicle is travelling, the more significant the injuries, but did you know that a pedestrian struck by a vehicle travelling at 50 km/h is eight times more likely to be killed than one struck at 30 km/h?
There are dozens of measures we can implement to improve safety on our roads for pedestrians. Among them are educating road users on their responsibilities and encouraging pedestrians to become more visible to drivers. Crosswalks and intersections can be better lit and road markings can warn drivers of pedestrian crossings. Lower local speed limits can contribute to better outcomes in collisions. Enforcing pedestrian traffic laws and distracted driver laws can both contribute positively.
Effective improvements in road safety for all users require an understanding of how all users interact, including the infrastructure and vehicle. It can be done — we’ve seen it in other locales.
Editor’s note: Dr. Paul Martiquet is the medical health officer for rural Vancouver Coastal Health including Powell River, the Sunshine Coast, Sea-to-Sky, Bella Bella and Bella Coola.
