Many VCH workplaces in the top five neighbourhoods for pedestrian collisions

We see the number of pedestrian collisions double from November to February compared to the summer months. Many VCH workplaces are located in the top five neighbourhoods for pedestrian collisions: downtown, the west end, Mt Pleasant-Fairview, and Strathcona.  Particularly bad are the big intersections like Cambie and Broadway, Willow and Broadway, Oak and Broadway, 12^th and Oak and Commercial and 10^th, which several VCH sites are close to.

Tips for drivers

• If you hit a pedestrian, chances are you will seriously injure them. Slow down at night and in the rain. Never more than 30 – 40 km/h if both dark and rainy. Lower speed gives you enough time to stop before colliding and a better chance of your victim surviving if you do collide.
• Use you’re your windshield wipers continuously more often when it is raining; don’t wait until you can’t see through the raindrops before you manually wipe them.
• Data shows you are most likely to hit a pedestrian in an intersection while making a turn on a green light. Always assume someone is crossing because you won’t see them; you are focusing on the on-coming traffic. Never try to squeeze in a turn on the yellow, there may be an elderly person still making their way across.
• Be ready for jay walkers and runners near bus stops.
• And always, as in any season, no texting, talking on the phone (in your hand or hands free; they are both risky), eating a burger, attending to personal hygiene and grooming, or slapping at the kids in the back seat.
• You can be ticketed if you are holding your phone, even if it is on speaker.
• Not even going to talk about alcohol…

Tips for pedestrians

• Focus your full attention on what’s happening around you. Assume you are invisible to drivers. They are focusing on other cars, not you. Remove your headphones and never use your phone or other electronic devices in an intersection or while crossing.
• Wear a light. Research shows a bright, moving light is most visible.  Wear it on your wrist and swing your arms when you walk.  Reflective clothing or gear is better than black, but not as good as a light. Even with a light, assume they will not see you.
• Be extra cautious at intersections. Watch for vehicles turning left or right through the crosswalk, that’s when pedestrians are hit most often. Drivers are impatient, and cheat at lights and intersections.
• The flashing red hand means the same as the solid red. Do not cross.  You are much more likely to get hit if you are squeezing out the last couple of seconds of the flashing hand, because the driver is trying to squeeze it too.

Tips for transit users

• If you are walking before and after your transit ride; follow the same advice as pedestrians. Make sure that you’re visible when you’re walking to and from your transit stop.
• Be cautious at transit stops. Cutting across the street to get to the bus before it leaves coincides with cars accelerating to make the last seconds of the green or yellow light. The faster they are going when they hit you, the less likely you are to survive.