Surrey’s Vision Zero traffic safety initiative, aiming to achieve no fatalities or serious injuries on the city’s streets, is making progress during the pandemic with a 22 per cent decrease in serious collisions recorded over the past three years.
This was contained in a corporate report before city council on Monday night. The city last year installed 15 speed humps, 13 full traffic signals, 18 left-turn signals, 24 flashing lights at crosswalks, 23 kilometres of sidewalks and three kilometres of protected bike lanes.
Police issued 2050 distracted driving violation tickets, 1,546 immediate roadside suspensions and Speed Watch volunteers put in more that 1,770 hours, contributing to more than 370,000 vehicle checks.
Coun. Allison Patton said she wants the city to get a strong road safety message out to new drivers in particular, in Grades 9-12. “I’m not sure they always understand the power of a vehicle,” she said, “and potentials for damage.”
“I’m pleased we’ve already saved lives through this particular endeavour.”
Meantime, a study conducted by hellosafe.ca revealed that distracted driving is the cause of 27 per cent of road fatalities in B.C. and makes up 35 per cent of this province’s crashes overall.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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