My Journey With Health And Fitness – A Major Rant

Saturday I was out for a very early morning walk before heading off to bootcamp. It was early enough that it was still dark out. I got to an intersection where the light was red in the direction I was heading. I watched a large RV bearing the logo of a non-profit stop at the red light and then I guess the driver decided since there was no traffic it was ok to drive through the red light (it was about 45 seconds before that light turned green). Later in the afternoon I was out walking and got to a 4 way stop and I watched a pick up truck roll right through the crosswalk while looking at me obviously knowing I was there waiting to cross the street. Yesterday I was crossing the street at a controlled crosswalk near an elementary school. A car approaching the crosswalk saw me and stopped before I even hit the crosswalk button. The car behind them laid on the horn annoyed because that driver had stopped.

I preface this post with those stories because I am a very safety conscious walker. In spring when I am out early I have a light coloured running jacket with reflective stripes. When it gets warmer if I am out before sunup I have a mesh running vest that I wear again with reflective stripes. Now that it is colder I have a heavier running jacket that is neon chartreuse and it too has reflective stripes. For the winter I even now have a toque with reflective stripes. Recently I bought a running vest with flashing LED lights to take to Mexico because my next trip there I will be running in the early morning and I want to be seen. I wear earbuds while I am walking/running but I always ensure the volume is at a level that I can hear my own footsteps so that I know I can hear sounds around me. Finally I look in all directions when I am crossing the street including over my shoulder in case a car behind me is trying to turn into the intersection I am crossing. Despite all of this pretty much every day I have to take evasive movements to avoid been hit my a vehicle.

So what is my point to all of this? Well last week a local RCMP detachment posted a video on social media. The first scene depicted a woman wearing a darker jacket on a gloomy day. The woman puts earbuds into her ears and then flips up her hood. She then activates the lights at a controlled crosswalk and starts crossing the street. The second scene is a male driver who is doing things like looking down at his cell phone and not paying attention to the road. Ultimately the video shows the man almost hitting the woman in the crosswalk. The RCMP’s statement was ‘responsibility is 50/50’.

WTAF!!! Let me get this straight, the woman in the video did what she was supposed to an activated the controlled crosswalk. The man is illegally looking at his cell phone. How the hell is the responsibility 50/50? I will say there was a lot of negative comments to this video which I agree with. There was a small minority that said the video sent the right message but I so disagree. To me the message the RCMP was sending validated what I see daily, don’t worry about the pedestrian, they can get out of the way. The message also indicated that somehow if a driver doesn’t follow the rules of the road (and the law) and hit a pedestrian, well then part of the fault is the pedestrian’s. I cannot believe that when criticized they would double down on this ridiculous message.

I want to be clear, I encourage anyone out there walking/running to try to be in control of their own safety (that would have been a much more appropriate message for the RCMP to send). Those of you who follow me have seen the many posts I have put up about keeping yourself safe. But do not for one minute think that keeping yourself safe in any way abdicates the responsibility of drivers. They are the ones driving a 2 ton potential death machine and by law must give you the right of way (though never assume they are going to). Giving drivers any sort of message that a pedestrian shares the responsibility of drivers being diligent is in my view absolutely insane.

On a final note, all drivers out there, if you strike or injure a pedestrian because you were distracted, unfocused, or breaking the law (or for any other reason you could have avoided) think about how you are carrying that guilt for the rest of your life. And pedestrians, stay safe!