Road Safety
Pedestrian & Road Safety Involves Us All!
In January 2018, the Toronto Police Service launched their pedestrian Safety Campaign following a major spike in road fatalities since 2017. As we enter the spring season and head outside to enjoy the warmer weather, road and pedestrian safety remains a major priority for us all. Educating yourself on how you can improve your road safety skills and habits can help to prevent accidents and injuries. Our neighbourhood is a more vibrant place when we work together to ensure the safety of ourselves and those we care about! Check out the links below to discover what you can do to help makes the roads a safer place for everyone.
Test yourself! See if you are safe driver. Take the quiz here.
For Pedestrians:
Suggested Safety Rules for children and individuals:
- Stop, Look and Listen for traffic
- Walk in pairs or groups to and from school
- Obey crossing guards and school bus drivers
- Walk on the part of the sidewalk furthest away from the curb
- Walk facing traffic when there are no sidewalks
- Cross at corners with traffic lights or stop signs. Never cross in the middle of a block
- Remove head phones when walking, riding, or playing near the road
- Stay off snow banks
- Make eye contact with drivers before moving past them and watch for moving vehicles in driveways and lanes
- Look and listen for vehicles backing up e.g. white reverse light and/or beeping sounds
- Cross only at marked crosswalks or traffic lights. Don’t cross in the middle of the block or between parked cars.
- Make sure drivers see you before you cross. If the driver is stopped, make eye contact before you step into the road.
- Wear bright or light-coloured clothing or reflective strips, especially at dusk or when it’s dark.
- At a traffic light:
- Cross when traffic has come to a complete stop.
- Begin to cross at the start of the green light or “Walk” signal, where provided.
- Do not start to cross if you see a flashing “Do Not Walk” symbol or the light turns yellow. If you already started to cross, complete your crossing in safety.
- Never cross on a red light.
- Watch for traffic turning at intersections or turning into and leaving driveways.
Create safer places for children
- Go to the park or a safe space away from traffic to play with your child
- Choose bright, reflective clothes for your child
- Report road safety problems such as cracked sidewalks or broken street lights, by calling City of Toronto 3-1-1
- Work with your city councillor and municipality to create safer walking and play spaces for children
- If traffic in your neighbourhood is too fast, call the police at 416-808-2222
For more information about pedestrian safety, click here.
Sources from: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/pedestrian-safety.shtml
For Drivers:
Tips to avoid distracted driving
Use any of these tips to avoid distracted driving and its penalties:
- Turn off your phone or switch it to silent mode before you get in the car
- put it in the glove compartment (lock it, if you have to) or in a bag on the back seat
- Before you leave the house, record an outgoing message that tells callers you’re driving, and you’ll get back to them when you’re off the road
- some apps can block incoming calls and texts, or send automatic replies to people trying to call or text you
- Ask a passenger to take a call or respond to a text for you
- if you must respond, or have to make a call or send a text, carefully pull over to a safe area
- Silent notifications that tempt you to check your phone
For more information about driving safety, click here.
As a driver, remember about School Bus safety.
For more sources from ministry of transportation. 
School bus travel is very safe in Ontario. Injuries and fatalities, which are very rare, happen more often outside the school bus as students are boarding and leaving the bus or crossing the street.
Parents, help keep your children safe by talking about bus safety with them.
When you board or leave a bus
• Be at the bus stop before the bus comes.
• Wait in a safe place well back from the edge of the road – don’t play in ditches or on snow banks.
• Stay out of the DANGER ZONE. If you can touch the bus, you’re too close. Use 10 giant steps to take you out of the DANGER ZONE, and make sure you and the bus driver can see each other.
• Always cross the road in front of the bus, never behind.
• Look all ways and wait for the driver to signal before you cross in front of a bus.
• Walk at least 10 big steps from the front of the bus.
• Enter or exit the bus in single file. Never push or shove.
• Walk – never run – across the road.
• NEVER stop to pick up anything that you may have dropped in the DANGER ZONE. Ask an adult or the bus driver to help.
As a driver, remember the school bus rules:
When driving on a road WITHOUT a median:
- drivers travelling in both directions must stop for a stopped school bus with its upper red lights flashing
- when you approach the bus from the front, stop at a safe distance to let children get on or off the bus and cross the road
- don’t move forward until the red lights have stopped flashing or the bus begins to move
When driving on a road WITH a median:
- traffic coming from the opposite direction is not required to stop.
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