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Taming The Beast On Our Streets

Taming The Beast On Our Streets
Toronto crosswalk photo courtesy of Ashley Buxo  My daughter Sofia has been home from daycare for the past couple days with a fever. While walking to the pharmacy this morning, I was crossing a busy downtown street with Sofia in the stroller and my dog in tow. I waited about 20 seconds for a small ...

Dad Arrested For Picking Up Kids At School By Foot 202

Dad Arrested For Picking Up Kids At School By Foot
Screenshot from YouTube video of Jim Howe being arrested for picking up his children on foot A Tennessee father was arrested recently by an overzealous officer for picking his children up at school by foot. The school’s policy is that children can only be picked up by parents driving cars or kids can board a ...

“Cars Kill So Many People It Staggers The Imagination” 5

“Cars Kill So Many People It Staggers The Imagination”
Car crash carnage – Photo courtesy of Atomic Hot Links  Yesterday we discussed how bicyclists are encouraged to break the law because of bad road design. Coincidentally, on the same day the Toronto Star wrote an article entitled “Lawbreaking cyclists putting everyone in danger”. The author cites a middle age woman who was riding the ...

How Rotterdam Crowdfunded a Bridge 2

How Rotterdam Crowdfunded a Bridge
Prior to World War II, the Hofplein area in the centre of Rotterdam was a lively, bustling gathering place where pedestrians were king, and cars were secondary. Just as we have seen in many North American cities, a highway was built after the war that divided central Rotterdam from Hofplein, and pedestrians became an afterthought ...

Volvo Technology For Inattentive Drivers 1

Volvo Technology For Inattentive Drivers
Photo screenshot from Volvo YouTube video Volvo has recently announced new sensor technology that automatically applies the brakes if a cyclist obstructs the path of the car. From the YouTube video: All of Volvo’s new cars sold from May will include the sensors, which initially warn drivers with a row of red lights that flash ...

Toronto Police: To “Serve and Protect” Whom Exactly? 11

Toronto Police: To “Serve and Protect” Whom Exactly?
Toronto Police Service car photo courtesy of Stewart Rand The Toronto Police Service, with its long history of blaming the victims when it comes to traffic fatalities, has kicked off its latest blame the victim campaign, which it is calling “Do the bright thing”. The campaign urges pedestrians to wear fluorescent clothing so that distracted ...

External Airbags on Cars: Novel Idea? Or Band-Aid Solution? 11

External Airbags on Cars: Novel Idea? Or Band-Aid Solution?
External airbags photo courtesy of Fast Company There has been talk for several years now about putting airbags on the exterior of automobiles to protect pedestrians and bicyclists if they get hit. The idea originated in the Netherlands and was lauded by our friend Mikael at Copenhagenize back in 2010. Mikeal wrote in 2010: So, ...

Ignoring Careless, Dangerous Driving 6

Ignoring Careless, Dangerous Driving
Pedestrian Crossing Lights – Photo courtesy of Dave Delaney On Monday morning, nine pedestrians were hit by cars in Toronto in under an hour – between 6:41AM and 7:24AM, according to the Toronto Star. These incidents triggered an infuriating PR campaign by Constable Client Stibbe on Twitter where he tore the victims a new one ...

Preventable Deaths – Asking All The Wrong Questions 82

Preventable Deaths - Asking All The Wrong Questions
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country (via Instagram) Yesterday morning a 30-year-old woman who was walking downtown was hit by a truck, pinned under the wheels and later died from her wounds. The woman’s death is eerily similar to the death of Jenna Morrison last November. Jenna was also run over by the ...

Toronto Taxi Drivers Resort To Victim Blaming 24

Toronto Taxi Drivers Resort To Victim Blaming
Toronto taxi line – photo by Gabriel Perez Last week a Toronto taxi driver was charged with second degree murder after 28-year-old Ralph Bissonette was killed on a longboard (a surfboard-style skateboard) in what appears to be a result of road rage. As reported by the Toronto Star: “What occurred is still under investigation, but ...