Waterloo Region has seen a rise in serious pedestrian injuries from being struck by cars in comparison to this time last year. There have been 38 incidents, many involving multiple injuries, in the past 67 days between November 1 and January 7, with 10 of those incidents resulting in serious injury to 16 pedestrians.
Police have yet to pinpoint a common cause, but the School of Planning’s Dr. Clarence Woudsma recently spoke with CTV News Kitchener to provide insight into what may play a part in this trend.
Dr. Woudsma noted that “driver behaviour is something that is always a major contributing factor”, indicating rushed or distracted driving could be contributing factors. Dr. Woudsma also indicated the types of vehicles present on the road may play a role, with roughly 1.4 million vehicles sold in Canada last year, and 1.1 million of those being light trucks and SUVs.
Additionally, Dr. Woudsma made suggestions with regards to intersection design, including “narrow(ing) (..) intersections so that the pedestrians are less exposed in terms of crossing with traffic.”
For the full article, including portions of a video interview provided by Dr. Woudsma, please visit the original story via CTV News.
Dr. Clarence Woudsma