Vulnerable Road Users > Pedestrian Safety
According to Transport Canada data, in the year 2002, pedestrians accounted for 12.6 per cent of roadway fatalities in the country. In Manitoba, from 1994–2003, 164 pedestrians were killed and 1,936 were injured in traffic-related incidents.
In Winnipeg, there were 4,342 reported collisions involving pedestrians between 1991 and 2001 which resulted in 99 pedestrians killed and 4,255 injured.
Currently, Manitoba Public Insurance is running a minimum of 25 “Walk Alert” Pedestrian Safety Clinics per year to educate the public on the tenets of pedestrian safety.
We encourage pedestrians to take note of the following safety tips:
- Cross intersections defensively.
- Always watch for turning vehicles. You have the legal right to be there, but that doesn’t protect you from the carelessness of some motorists. Turning drivers have more concern for other vehicles than for pedestrians.
- Cross only at intersections whenever possible, preferably at those controlled by signs or traffic control signs.
- When crossing the street, regardless of the availability of signals, cross as quickly as possible. Minimize your time in the roadway.
- No matter what age you are, it is important to stop at the curb and look left-right and left again before stepping out into the street even when the light is green and the signal says "walk".
- Before stepping off the curb, make sure that all vehicles in the roadway have stopped for you and that all drivers can see you. Just because one car has stopped does not mean that a car coming from behind or in an adjacent lane will stop. The second driver may not have noticed you standing there and may not be able to see you crossing in front of the stopped vehicle.
- Do everything possible to increase your chances of seeing and being seen by drivers at night. Use the best lit streets available, use a light or wear or carry reflective or bright coloured clothing. Fabric retro-reflective tape worn around the arm can make a pedestrian visible to a driver at 200 meters instead of 45 meters.
- Hold small children by the hand when crossing.
- Teach your children the rules of the road for their protection.
- Set boundaries for your small children. Show them where they can play safely and the limits beyond which they cannot go. Be prepared to enforce your rules.
- As your children grow older, teach them the basic rules for crossing the street safely. Take a walk with them demonstrating and explaining the correct way to cross as you go along. Children will imitate your actions so set a good example.
- Children need to be taught to stop at the edge of the street and look left-right and left again for vehicles before crossing. Ask children what they see to determine that they know what they are looking for and not just turning their heads.
- Intersections are more complex. Children need to watch for vehicles turning left as they are looking left-right and left. Children should be taught to wait until the vehicle stops before venturing out into the street.
