Michael's essay - Pedestrians at risk from distracted drivers

One afternoon in late September, the novelist and columnist Elizabeth Renzetti sat down to write her regular Globe and Mail column. It was about how the streets of Toronto were becoming increasingly more dangerous for pedestrians. As she was finishing the piece, her 13-year-old son came through the front door and said: "Don't freak Mom, but I've been hit by a car." He had been hit in a crosswalk on his way home from school. He was shaken up but aside from a bruise or two, he was fine. The driver, also shaken up, remained at the scene.

There is a suspicion that in car-crazy Toronto, people who walk are an endangered species.

For example, during a recent week-long pedestrian safety blitz, two pedestrians were killed.

In one two-hour period a couple of weeks ago, five pedestrians were struck by cars in separate incidents. Pedestrians are knocked down by any number of various vehicles. They are hit by cars, of course, but also street cars, buses, trucks, bicyclists. But mostly cars.

They can be hit in any season of the year and at any time of night or day, but November is especially bad. Part of it is due to the time change. Part of it because of earlier dark hours. Add to that the proclivity of pedestrians to wear dark clothing, and their habit of jaywalking.

On top of all of that, there is the increasing and devilish problem of the distracted driver. One morning while waiting for a bus a few days ago, I counted six drivers who were checking their cell phones. How serious that can be, was demonstrated in Abu Dhabi in 2011. During a two-day power outage of BlackBerry devices, traffic accidents fell by 40 per cent. Drivers were paying attention.

Increasing the danger levels in my city is the fact that Toronto drivers are just about the worst in the country. Montreal drivers can be pretty bad, but at least they have the mechanical competence to operate the vehicle, a quality that we Torontonians lack.

Last January I interviewed an Australian traffic expert named Ian Johnston. He actually teaches a course called accident prevention. The thrust of his argument is that cities and towns, with their particular street layouts, actually contribute to traffic accidents. He suggested that planners could design for accident prevention by copying some European installations, such as roundabouts instead of red lights and stop signs. Other suggestions include narrowing intersections and adding speed bumps.

But all of these ideas and more would be almost impossible to implement in this country where the car is king. We have raised the car to the level of hockey in our national consciousness. Any attempt to lower speed limits is usually met with derision by elected officials as being another example of the "war on cars."

Our large cities are jammed to gridlock with cars. They are also filled with pedestrians. If we don't learn to get along with each other, the killing will continue.