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Thread: The Toronto Star has published at least two pieces related to road safety today. One is a news piece about how most pedestrians and cyclists killed by drivers of motor vehicles are killed in broad daylight. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/11/26/amid-arm-band-backlash-police-data-shows-most-pedestrians-and-cyclists-killed-or-seriously-injured-in-toronto-are-hit-in-daylight-with-clear-visibility.html
The second is an opinion piece by the editorial board, saying that all pedestrians should wear reflective gear--what the Star calls a "sensible option" to prevent pedestrians being killed by drivers of motor vehicles. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2019/11/26/seeing-the-light-on-pedestrian-safety.html
The issue central to both of these pieces is the continued killing of pedestrians and cyclists by people driving cars and trucks.
Toronto is not the first city to have this issue. Other cities have reduced the amount of people killed in cars by introducing policies that reduce the amount of cars being driven, and improving street design and enforcement to reduce car speeds and eliminate conflict areas.
The Toronto Star editorial board, like the politicians who agree with them, think that pedestrians protecting themselves against cars is the sensible option. They are wrong. The sensible thing to do is follow the example of cities that have successfully reduced road deaths.
Meanwhile, Ottawa has released its latest road safety plan that aims to reduce road deaths and major injuries by only 20% over 4 years. We are grossly underestimating the scale of the issue, and blaming pedestrians oversimplifies the complex solutions required.
Major change is required to bring road deaths in cities to the only acceptable level: zero.
We need to charge drivers for the use of roads, redesign streets to make speeding impossible, and re-configure intersections and signalling to make pedestrians the priority.
We need to charge drivers for the use of roads, redesign streets to make speeding impossible, and re-configure intersections and signalling to make pedestrians the priority.
These large solutions are costly and uncomfortable. It's easier to blame the people getting hit, and cheaper to distribute reflective tape.
