(Photo credit: Robert Taylor/Flickr)
If you spot a streetcar on Toronto’s roads, it’s important that you double check whether it’s stopped or coming to a stop before you cross in front of it.
This fall, there’s been a spike in streetcar collisions with three of them occurring within a three week time frame.
In early October, a cyclist was struck by a streetcar near the intersection of Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue during the early morning hours. The cyclist was taken to the hospital with a serious head injury, according to the Toronto Star.
A 73-year-old pedestrian was pronounced dead on the scene after suffering “massive trauma” when she was struck by a streetcar at the end of September, according to CBC News. The woman was jaywalking near St. Clair Avenue and Keele Street in the middle of the day. The TTC driver tried to stop by applying the emergency brakes, but the crash couldn’t be prevented. Streetcar safety is being investigated after a new shopping mall has led to more frequent jaywalking, says CBC News.
While in mid-September, a 79-year-old pedestrian was hit by the streetcar when he was trying to cross St. Clair Avenue West near Yonge Street during the evening, according to CBC News. He was in life-threatening condition when he was taken to the hospital and he died at the hospital.
Streetcars take a longer time to stop and it’s important that pedestrians and cyclists ensure that the streetcar driver sees them before crossing in front of it. Pedestrians should avoid jaywalking and cross the street at crosswalks since they offer better lighting, especially during the evening. Also, if you’re walking along the streets at night, you should wear brightly coloured clothing and avoid texting or listening to music when crossing the road.
On the other hand, the city may want to consider more dedicated streetcar lanes since it could decrease pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions by 48 per cent, according to recent research by the Hospital for Sick Children. When drivers and streetcars share the same lane, it puts pedestrians at risk when they walk onto the road to catch a streetcar. SickKids studied St. Clair Avenue West’s dedicated streetcar lane that was completed in 2010 and along with a drop in accidents, the incidents were also more spread out along the route with fewer accidents at major intersections, such as Bathurst and St. Clair and Dufferin and St. Clair.
“Some explanations for this could be better separation of pedestrians from motor vehicle traffic. The barriers along the platforms force pedestrians to cross the street at the light, rather than jaywalk from the middle of the street,” said Dr. Andrew Howard, principal investigator of the study and Senior Scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences at SickKids, in a press release.
“The new design also prevents cars from going straight through St. Clair or turning left from streets where there is no signalized intersection, thereby reducing pedestrian motor-vehicle contact.”
Between 2000 to 2011, there were 441 collisions on St. Clair Avenue.
When streetcars stop and open its doors, drivers are expected to stop behind the vehicle. Unfortunately, sometimes this isn’t the case and pedestrians should always look both ways before disembarking.
Last year, pedestrian-vehicle fatalities hit a 10-year high and with the end of daylight savings time on the horizon, there’s an even higher chance of pedestrians involved in motor vehicle collisions. Studies have also shown that countdown crosswalks could even lead to more accidents.
Motor vehicle accidents happen and accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Greg Neinstein
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