Pedestrians do not all behave irreproachably, just like other road users. It’s a fact, and we are well aware of it, contrary to what Patrick Lagacé said in his May 2 column.
However, not all users are equal on the road. A pedestrian who behaves recklessly puts his own safety at risk, while a distracted or reckless driver not only puts himself in danger, but poses a risk to others as well. This is why Quebec introduced the precautionary principle2 in the Highway Safety Code in 2018.
This is also why we were disappointed to see, five years later, a campaign on sharing the road that did not take into account the scale of responsibilities put forward in this principle.
Worse, it omits a significant portion of road users: of the 12 tips presented, 8 are for pedestrians, 4 are for cyclists and zero are for drivers. In short, without being against pedestrian awareness, we simply find that such a campaign only perpetuates the idea that the most vulnerable user is responsible for his or her fate.
The limits of awareness
Over the past 10 years, more than 650 people have lost their lives and more than 27,000 others have been injured while walking in Quebec. This is not just a Montreal issue: nearly 75% of fatally injured pedestrians were injured outside the Montreal area. Among all the people who died on our roads in Quebec, nearly half were aged 65 and over. Pedestrians assume a disproportionate risk on our roads, while one in five deceased users is a pedestrian3 !
Starting from a good intention, the concerted national operation on road sharing then presents advice to pedestrians as a “solution” to this alarming situation.
But will raising awareness among pedestrians really succeed in improving the road safety record for people who travel on foot in Quebec? Allow us to doubt it.
In fact, awareness campaigns have been aimed at pedestrians for decades and decades. However, the road safety record for pedestrians has not changed much, and has even deteriorated.
We know that two major trends have a negative influence on the balance sheet and can explain this deterioration. First, we note the increase in the size, mass and number of vehicles on our roads (larger blind spots, more serious injuries and pedestrians exposed to more risks). Then, everything leads us to believe that the over-representation of older pedestrians (due to the fact that with advancing age reflexes are less rapid, walking speed is slower and the consequences of injuries are greater) will contribute to the deterioration of pedestrian balance due to the aging of the population in Quebec.
Proven solutions are known
Faced with these worrying trends, it is important to implement convincing solutions quickly. It is the chief scientist of Quebec who says it: the solutions to prevent pedestrian deaths are known4.
For some time now, civil society has been united in calling for a shift towards the implementation of the vision zero serious and fatal collision approach, an approach that is also gaining more and more consensus in Quebec among experts in road safety, municipalities and institutions working in road safety.
The vision zero approach is simple: it consists of acting at the source in order to physically prevent a person from being subjected to a shock that could kill them, whether they are walking, cycling or driving.
Thus, the actions to follow will not only target the adoption of prudent behavior, by promoting a more benevolent cohabitation and in line with the principle of prudence, but also a road design that will induce safer behavior among users. Our efforts will also have to be devoted to controlling vehicle speeds, to laying out forgiving streets and roads to avoid as much human error as possible and to minimize the consequences of unavoidable collisions, as well as to designing safer vehicles for passengers. as for people on the outside.
Faced with the limits of awareness and knowing the underlying trends that negatively influence the pedestrian balance sheet in Quebec, it is imperative to implement, collectively, convincing solutions. And as soon as possible.
2. Article 3.1 of the Highway Safety Code: “All road users are required, especially with regard to those who are more vulnerable than themselves, to act with caution and respect when traveling on a public road. The driver of a road vehicle is required to exercise increased caution with regard to more vulnerable users, in particular persons with reduced mobility, pedestrians and cyclists. Vulnerable users are, for their part, required to adopt behaviors that promote their safety. »
3. The share of pedestrians among all road fatalities increased from an average of 13.2 in 2006-2008 to 19.3 in 2016-2018, reaching an unprecedented proportion: 21.4% in 2019. The 2019 road report is the last complete one available which has not been affected by the pandemic measures.