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OUR VIEW: Keep each other safe on roads

Pedestrians, motorists be ‘extra mindful’ of one another on the road
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Surrey RCMP had part of 138th Street, near 70th Avenue, blocked off Monday night (Oct. 1). A senior in an electric wheelchair was killed in a hit and run. (Photo: Lauren Collins)

As we head into the darker, rainier months of the year it’s especially important for pedestrians and motorists to be extra mindful of one another on the road.

This year there has already been nine pedestrian fatalities in Surrey, a frightful number considering that the number of pedestrian-related crashes tends to double between October and January as night falls earlier and it’s dark longer.

Of Surrey’s 19 traffic fatalities and 23 serious injuries last year, seven of those who were killed and 11 of those who were injured were pedestrians. Ten pedestrians were killed in Surrey in 2016 and 20 were seriously injured.

According to ICBC, based on a five-year average from 2013 to 2017, roughly 1,120 pedestrians are injured between October and January compared to the 640 pedestrians injured between May and August.

What that tells us is, if you are a pedestrian, you are 57 per cent more likely to be run down in the fall and winter months than in the spring and summer. Of course, pedestrians are sometimes motorists and vice versa, so let’s all be smarter out there.

Drivers need to take time to look out for pedestrians before turning, be alert to yield and keep their eyes on the road instead of their cell phones. Pedestrians need to make eye contact with drivers before stepping off the curb, wear reflective clothing and use crosswalks rather than jaywalk.

Crashes involving pedestrians mostly happen between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Mostly. Of course, they also occur around the clock.

ICBC says that every year there are, on average, 2,100 crashes involving pedestrians in the Lower Mainland.

Please don’t be a statistic. Be safe out there.

Now-Leader



edit@surreynowleader.com

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