A 15-year-old girl died Wednesday in Burnaby.
While RCMP are still investigating the accident, there is one thing we know for sure – it is a tragedy that was probably preventable.
The girl was attempting to cross Cariboo Road in the morning. It was early and cloudy – possibly even dark and raining at the time. To be sure, visibility was probably very low and drivers were caught in the morning rush hour. That crossing does not have an overhead light and neighbours say they have complained about it.
It had all the ingredients for a potential tragedy.
Lives associated with and impacted by this event will never be the same. Never.
On the same day there were several other similar incidents in the city. No one died in those, but it has probably not escaped the people involved in those close calls that they too could have lost their lives, or been the driver involved.
We nag and plead with drivers to be extra careful during the winter months – we virtually beg pedestrians to wear bright clothes and reflective tape to make them as visible as possible. We do stories on distracted drivers, policing efforts, egregious incidents. Stories on poorly lit crossings and places people think should be blocked off to prevent crossing. We share our own stories of near-misses – a glimpse of a portion of a white T-shirt in our peripheral vision, stories of crossing at a lit crosswalk with the walk signal and jumping back when a driver turns without looking at us and nearly hits us. Shaking our fists at the driver with anger – but mostly shaking with adrenaline and fear.
The media and police call these pedestrian-vehicle collisions “accidents.” And they are. No one intends on being a victim or hitting anyone. When someone steps into traffic without noticing a car coming, it is surely not premeditated. When a driver looks the wrong way for a moment and hits a pedestrian – it is surely not intended. No one, we hope, thinks to themselves “checking on my cellphone is more important than avoiding striking a pedestrian.”
Human beings are fallible and take chances and simply miss things.
But many accidents can be prevented by simply taking more care, wearing brighter clothing, driving the speed limit – and under the speed limit – when conditions are dark and glare is increased.
Anticipating problem areas on our drives, on our walks, and watching out for others who aren’t aware of such areas, is the right thing to do. So why, oh why, do drivers take chances and risk such horrible consequences? Because, we believe, everyone thinks it happens to “someone else”. Well, we have news for you: you are that “someone else.”
And the next pedestrian who perishes – that person is also not just “someone else.” It could be your daughter, your mom, your dad. Please, please, be careful out there.
