Woman, 81, struck by car in Etobicoke – May 19, 2016 CityNews
A May 19, 2016 CityNews article is entitled: “Woman, 81, struck by car in Etobicoke.”
The woman who was hit at Twenty Fourth Street around 6:00 am on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 was seriously injured, with head injuries, according to another news report.
On Thursday morning, May 19, 2016 I observed a police investigation that was underway, to determine the circumstances of the collision. The investigation lasted about four hours, as I understand.
The collision serves as a reminder, for drivers to be alert and avoid speeding and driving on “autopilot” – that is; it’s so important for us to have our attention on the road ahead, and on what is happening in front of us.
From the pedestrian perspective – I’ve recently had experiences from that perspective – we need to be super alert, because not every driver cares to look where they are going, especially when their attention is on getting to some destination as quickly as they can.
Over the years, I’ve had some experiences where I’ve stopped for a split second, about to step off the curb. At that split second, on more than one occasion, a car has sped by at a high speed, with the driver oblivious to the situation precisely at the point, in time and space, where I have been about to step off the curb.
These near-misses, that I have described, have occurred in incidents spread out over a period of many decades, in Vancouver, Mississauga, and Toronto. One split second can serve as the borderline between life and death, in the cases I have described.
An earlier post is entitled:
Some related posts include:
Dangerous driving conditions at Fortieth Street and Lake Shore Blvd. West in Long Branch
Don’t drink and drive. Pay attention while you drive, even if your head is clear.
Consumer Reports
A Consumer Reports article (which I downloaded on May 21, 2016) is entitled: “Distracted Driving & Teen Safety.”
Driving while drowsy
A May 13, 2016 WBUR (Boston) article is entitled: “Asleep At The Wheel: Drowsy Driving As A Public Health Crisis.”
‘Don’t call them accidents’
A May 22, 2016 New York Times article is entitled: “It’s No Accident: Advocates Want to Speak of Car ‘Crashes’ Instead.”
I live in Long Branch (Toronto). I’ve seen plenty of accidents over the years.
When I have a choice between, say James St. or some other back street, and choosing to drive on Lake Shore Blvd. West, I tend to go with Lake Shore Blvd. West.
If a person is using the back streets regularly, the chance of somebody going through a stop sign and hitting a car that’s passing by is pretty high.
I saw an accident in New Toronto on a back street years ago. A car came up to a stop sign and the driver ignored the sign – and smashed (I remember the sound of the smash) into a car that was passing by in front of the sign. I had the sense that the driver who ignored the stop sign may have been a local driver who always ignored the stop sign, at that particular street.
On a related topic, it’s a very positive development that the Ward 6 Councillor, Mark Grimes, made a point of supporting the desire, expressed by local residents in the past, that a 4 way stop be instituted at Park and Long Branch. That was a good move.
Although accidents are still bound to occur when people ignore the stop signs, the 4 way stop is an improvement, from what I can gather, from the state of affairs that existed at Park and Long Branch in the past.
The reference to the area reminds me of the great local history associated with that area of Long Branch, as with other areas, which I’ve highlighted at a post at my website, entitled: “A History of Long Branch (Toronto) – DRAFT 4.” If anybody’s interested, it’s available at the landing page at Preserved Stories.