As people continue to die on Toronto’s streets in alarmingly high numbers, there appears to be growing consensus among the public and local leaders that the city is in the midst of a road safety crisis. But advocates say there are still persistent misconceptions about the causes of fatal pedestrian collisions that are distracting from implementing effective solutions. “I think we’ve made scant inroads in the public’s understanding of ‘road violence,’ but not nearly enough,” said Jess Spieker, a spokesperson for Friends and Families for Safe Streets, and herself the survivor of a violent crash. “I still hear a really disturbing amount of victim-blaming going on, which … is harmful and flagrantly false.”In 2016, city council unanimously approved Vision Zero, its first comprehensive road safety plan. But despite increased funding, the strategy has made little progress toward the goal of eliminating traffic deaths, prompting council to reboot it as Vision Zero 2.0 in July. As of Saturday, at least 24 pedestrians had died in 2019, including a 35-year-old woman who police said was killed in a hit-and-run in Scarborough on Friday night.Spieker said she fears the current conversation still focuses too much on changing the behaviour of individuals, whether they be pedestrians or drivers, at the expense of aggressively pursuing fundamental changes that have been proven to reduce traffic deaths, such as physical redesigns of the road.“Every day wasted by our political leaders on debating or spreading misinformation about the causes of road violence is a distraction from the action we need to take, which is building safe, complete streets,” she said.Here are some myths about pedestrian safety that advocates and experts say aren’t backed up by the facts.Smartphones are a leading cause of pedestrian injuriesThe ubiquitous use of smartphones has stoked concern among policy-makers and some members of ...
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