ROAD SAFETY – PEDESTRIANS

Nearly 1 in 5 of all people killed in motor vehicle crashes every year in BC are pedestrians.1
OVERVIEW
A pedestrian is any person involved in an incident who, at the time of the incident, was not riding in or on a motor vehicle or bicycle. This includes being on foot, making adjustments to the outside of a vehicle, using a baby stroller, walker, wheelchair, roller skates, scooter, skateboard, skis, or sled.
As a pedestrian, you can take some precautions to ensure your safety on the road. Fatalities among pedestrians are most common in speed zones of 30-50 km/hr. Common contributing factors to pedestrian fatalities at these speeds are driver distraction and failing to yield to right-of-way.1 Pedestrian injury hospitalization rates were highest among older adults aged 75 and over.

Approximately 3/4 of all motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians occur at intersections.1
Prevention tips for pedestrians:
- Stay alert and attentive: Focus your full attention on what is happening around you. Put your phone away. Look both ways before entering the intersection, even if the crosswalk signal is giving you the go-ahead.
- Look them in the eye: Always make eye contact with drivers. Never assume that a driver has seen you and will stop.
Prevention tips for drivers:
- Stay alert and attentive: Focus on the road and always leave your phone alone while driving. Watch for pedestrians waiting at crosswalks, and look closely when making turns to check that there is no one in your path, especially when negotiating traffic to make a left-hand turn.
- Let them go ahead: Yield to pedestrians, especially when turning at intersections.
News

59 communities receive funding for Vision Zero projects
Over $1 million in grants to go towards improving vulnerable road user safety across British Columbia, including in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.

New website outlines financial and human cost of injury in BC
costofinjury.ca uses interactive charts and graphs to illustrate the burden of injury in BC.

37 projects funded in this year’s Vision Zero Grant Program
Projects funded include improvements such as crosswalk infrastructure, closed streets, traffic calming, speed limit reduction pilots, and road safety planning.

National Teen Driver Safety Week 2021
National Teen Driver Safety Week is October 17 to 23, 2021. Road crashes are the third-leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24 in Canada[i],[ii] and transport injuries for youth and young adults cost the Canadian economy $990 million in a single year1....

Restarting Activities & Preventing Injuries During COVID-19
We’re still all in this together.

First-ever Vision Zero Summit in BC
Over 100 road safety experts, municipal government staff, civic leaders, researchers, and public health professionals attended the first-ever Vision Zero summit in BC.
1. ICBC. Be a safe pedestrian. Available from: https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/sharing/pedestrian-safety/Pages/pedestrian-infographic.aspx