May 28, 2008 – Today, Thunder Bay motorists had their driving speed exposed as they traveled through the notoriously high-speed area of Victoria Avenue and Oakwood Street. After receiving complaints from crossing guards in this area, Thunder Bay Police, in partnership with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, confronted passing motorists with their actual speeds. Placement of a roadside speed display sign allowed drivers to see how fast they were driving as they came out of a curve in the road that stretches across a pedestrian crosswalk.
According to Transport Canada, twenty-nine percent of child pedestrian fatalities occur at intersections, with children aged 10-14 having the highest injury and fatality rate. Three courses of action have been proven to reduce the incidence of pedestrian injury. These are: the reduction of driver speed, guided practice to teach children pedestrian safety, and increasing the walkability of communities.
Sgt. Glenn Porter, of the Thunder Bay Police, acknowledges the need for enforcement, education and engineering to increase the safety of all those using our streets. “Speed limits exist and must be followed or those who speed and put our children at risk will pay the price,” says Porter. Marita Campbell, Public Health Nurse working in Injury Prevention, refers to the parental responsibility in preventing pedestrian injuries, “Caregivers need to discuss and demonstrate safe crossing behaviours in a variety of situations from the time they first start walking with their children.”
In order to increase the visibility of the crossing guards and students at this particular high risk area, Thunder Bay Police, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and the Community Traffic Awareness Committee were on hand to present the crossing guards with a flashing handheld stop sign on behalf of Safe Kids Canada.
Safe Kids Canada is a national injury prevention program of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. It is promoting pedestrian safety for this year’s Safe Kids Week, May 26 to June 1, 2008.
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