[TwinHuey]

This happened last Thursday. I wasn't sure I should post the video (I ran it by @lenaitch for his law enforcement insight).

I had a slightly different sight line than the dash cam and I was certain the pedestrian had been crushed by the rear wheels of the transport. Shocked is an understatement.

I ran over to her and she appeared to be uninjured, refused my suggestion we call an ambulance or the offer of a ride to hospital and insisted she be left alone and went on her way.

FYI, the driver of the transport stopped and walked back.

I was on Kennedy Road southbound, in the left turn lane to Progress Ave eastbound. Watch the pedestrian carrying the red bag on the left side of the road.

 

[reaperexpress]

This happened last Thursday. I wasn't sure I should post the video (I ran it by @lenaitch for his law enforcement insight).

I had a slightly different sight line than the dash cam and I was certain the pedestrian had been crushed by the rear wheels of the transport. Shocked is an understatement.

I ran over to her and she appeared to be uninjured, refused my suggestion we call an ambulance or the offer of a ride to hospital and insisted she be left alone and went on her way.

FYI, the driver of the transport stopped and walked back.

I was on Kennedy Road southbound, in the left turn lane to Progress Ave eastbound. Watch the pedestrian carrying the red bag on the left side of the road.

Holy crap, that was a few centimetres from being a fatal collision.

Apart from the obvious situational awareness issue for the truck driver (and to a lesser extent the pedestrian, though they had the right of way), the issue was caused by the early start for the truck driver relative to the pedestrians. If there had been a leading pedestrian interval + no right turn on red, the pedestrians probably would have been in a more visible position for the truck driver when they started to turn.

 

[txlseries4]

This happened last Thursday. I wasn't sure I should post the video (I ran it by @lenaitch for his law enforcement insight).

I had a slightly different sight line than the dash cam and I was certain the pedestrian had been crushed by the rear wheels of the transport. Shocked is an understatement.

I ran over to her and she appeared to be uninjured, refused my suggestion we call an ambulance or the offer of a ride to hospital and insisted she be left alone and went on her way.

FYI, the driver of the transport stopped and walked back.

I was on Kennedy Road southbound, in the left turn lane to Progress Ave eastbound. Watch the pedestrian carrying the red bag on the left side of the road.

Jeez, even knowing she was fine it's shocking and hard to watch. For me it highlights the benefit of the leading pedestrian interval/signal, which the East and West directions don't have (edit: but North and South does have LPI) according to the city's data (Traffic Signal file. Dunno if that's up to date).

I really dislike crossing at signaled intersections depending on where I am and how many others are walking. Sometimes I'll cross mid-block instead and wait for 0 cars either direction so I don't have to deal with putting my trust in a driver's attention. Of course, that's just not viable/practical along really wide roads like Kennedy.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Jeez, even knowing she was fine it's shocking and hard to watch. For me it highlights the benefit of the leading pedestrian interval/signal, which the East and West directions don't have (edit: but North and South does have LPI) according to the city's data (Traffic Signal file. Dunno if that's up to date).

I really dislike crossing at signaled intersections depending on where I am and how many others are walking. Sometimes I'll cross mid-block instead and wait for 0 cars either direction so I don't have to deal with putting my trust in a driver's attention. Of course, that's just not viable/practical along really wide roads like Kennedy.

Don't know if truck side guards would help, but maybe the sight of the guards might.

 

[11th]

Holy crap, that was a few centimetres from being a fatal collision.

Apart from the obvious situational awareness issue for the truck driver (and to a lesser extent the pedestrian, though they had the right of way), the issue was caused by the early start for the truck driver relative to the pedestrians. If there had been a leading pedestrian interval + no right turn on red, the pedestrians probably would have been in a more visible position for the truck driver when they started to turn.

Off-setting half of the pedestrian crossing (the half where vehicles are heading away from the intersection) may also help with blindspots.

 

[Northern Light]

The video from @TwinHuey is harrowing, glad to hear the outcome was far more benign, that it appeared.

@reaperexpress is always insightful with his commentary. I have reason to believe his suggestions here may be well received.

 

[Coolibop]

This happened last Thursday. I wasn't sure I should post the video (I ran it by @lenaitch for his law enforcement insight).

I had a slightly different sight line than the dash cam and I was certain the pedestrian had been crushed by the rear wheels of the transport. Shocked is an understatement.

I ran over to her and she appeared to be uninjured, refused my suggestion we call an ambulance or the offer of a ride to hospital and insisted she be left alone and went on her way.

FYI, the driver of the transport stopped and walked back.

I was on Kennedy Road southbound, in the left turn lane to Progress Ave eastbound. Watch the pedestrian carrying the red bag on the left side of the road.

I'll add my two cents, as I frequent this intersection weekly and have been driving here for decades.

This area is highly congested, and I often witness driving errors. It's also not very pedestrian-friendly, as the sidewalks are uncomfortably close to the busy road. Despite the presence of a red light camera, near misses are still common. Just last week, I saw a near miss where someone ran the red light halfway through an opposing green cycle.

The northbound right lane on Kennedy is particularly packed with vehicles trying to turn onto Progress Avenue toward STC, access the gas station, enter Kennedy Commons, or merge onto both the eastbound and westbound ramps of the 401. This situation desperately needs improvement—cooperative driving doesn’t work well here, as everyone is vying for position. The intense focus on merging and maneuvering leaves pedestrians vulnerable; anyone walking in this area must remain extremely alert.

In addition to the above LPI, I’d suggest that pedestrian crossings be set farther back from the intersection rather than at the corners, if feasible. Given the commercial traffic, I imagine sharper corner turns onto Kennedy aren’t viable—but I’ll leave that to those with more expertise. Walking along this stretch up to the 401 is uncomfortable, with constant right-turning traffic cutting across the sidewalks. I wish they could be set farther back to improve pedestrian safety. I can go on, but I think my point is made...

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

I'll add my two cents, as I frequent this intersection weekly and have been driving here for decades.

This area is highly congested, and I often witness driving errors. It's also not very pedestrian-friendly, as the sidewalks are uncomfortably close to the busy road. Despite the presence of a red light camera, near misses are still common. Just last week, I saw a near miss where someone ran the red light halfway through an opposing green cycle.

The northbound right lane on Kennedy is particularly packed with vehicles trying to turn onto Progress Avenue toward STC, access the gas station, enter Kennedy Commons, or merge onto both the eastbound and westbound ramps of the 401. This situation desperately needs improvement—cooperative driving doesn’t work well here, as everyone is vying for position. The intense focus on merging and maneuvering leaves pedestrians vulnerable; anyone walking in this area must remain extremely alert.

In addition to the above LPI, I’d suggest that pedestrian crossings be set farther back from the intersection rather than at the corners, if feasible. Given the commercial traffic, I imagine sharper corner turns onto Kennedy aren’t viable—but I’ll leave that to those with more expertise. Walking along this stretch up to the 401 is uncomfortable, with constant right-turning traffic cutting across the sidewalks. I wish they could be set farther back to improve pedestrian safety. I can go on, but I think my point is made...

The pedestrian (and cycling) crosswalks need to be setback away from the actual intersection corner. Along with nearside traffic signals AT THE STOP LINE, not on the farside. To tell the motorists NOT to enter the INTERSECTION, currently tells them NOT to enter the roadway on the other side of the intersection.

 

[Coolibop]

I decided to look and thought it merited a separate post instead of an edit above...To further support my post...it's a top 10 percent in terms of red light tickets...pretty high for a non-major intersection. It was 30th most in terms of tickets issued (1008) in '24, and 28th (1354) in '23.... Number 1? Kennedy and 401 E ramp in '24 (3641 tickets issued)...It also has this top spot in 2018 (5641 issued), 2019 (5454), 2020 (4890), and #2 in 2021 (2662).

Source

 

[lenaitch]

Holy crap, that was a few centimetres from being a fatal collision.

Apart from the obvious situational awareness issue for the truck driver (and to a lesser extent the pedestrian, though they had the right of way), the issue was caused by the early start for the truck driver relative to the pedestrians. If there had been a leading pedestrian interval + no right turn on red, the pedestrians probably would have been in a more visible position for the truck driver when they started to turn.

I agree that the truck had a higher duty of care simply by virtue of size and mass in relation to other road users, the truck appears to have been conducting a legal turn (was at a full stop and the way was clear when the turn was started) it's difficult to declare that the pedestrian had the right-of-way when the truck was roughly half of its length into the intersection when the pedestrian stepped off. Note that the other pedestrian had sufficient situational awareness to stop.

I'm guessing that, given the angle of the tractor during the turn, the driver would be unable to see the side of trailer during most of the turn, possibly until it was straightening out.

If the event had been observed by law enforcement or they had been called to the scene, the appropriate charge would have been 'turn not in safety' under the HTA, since there was an interaction and most HTA offences are strict liability (meaning elements such as intent, negligence, etc. are not factors). Whether a sympathetic JP might accept a defence is unknown.

 

[reaperexpress]

I agree that the truck had a higher duty of care simply by virtue of size and mass in relation to other road users, the truck appears to have been conducting a legal turn (was at a full stop and the way was clear when the turn was started) it's difficult to declare that the pedestrian had the right-of-way when the truck was roughly half of its length into the intersection when the pedestrian stepped off. Note that the other pedestrian had sufficient situational awareness to stop.

I'm guessing that, given the angle of the tractor during the turn, the driver would be unable to see the side of trailer during most of the turn, possibly until it was straightening out.

If the event had been observed by law enforcement or they had been called to the scene, the appropriate charge would have been 'turn not in safety' under the HTA, since there was an interaction and most HTA offences are strict liability (meaning elements such as intent, negligence, etc. are not factors). Whether a sympathetic JP might accept a defence is unknown.

Indeed the situational awareness issue on the part of the truck driver is partly due to the combination of blind spots on the truck with the location of the pedestrian crossing, and the pedestrians within it. Though truck drivers are supposed to be trained to move their body to widen the field of view via the mirrors in tight situations such as this.

I never made any claims about any traffic violations, or legal fault for either party.

Jeez, even knowing she was fine it's shocking and hard to watch. For me it highlights the benefit of the leading pedestrian interval/signal, which the East and West directions don't have [...]

It also highlights the importance of combining LPIs with No Right Turn on Red. If this crossing had an LPI but still permitted right turns on red, exactly the same situation would have occurred, since the truck driver was turning right on red already.

 

[evandyk]

Incidents like this are the inevitable result of drivers trying to "beat" the pedestrians when they're about to get a green light, justified in their mind by the fact that they're allowed to turn right while their light is still red, but knowing full well that the pedestrian green is about to light up. Happens at every light cycle at busy intersections.

That said, when you're walking in a city, keep your eyes up and your earbuds low. Thankfully that person got out just in time.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Sound proximity systems, often using ultrasonic sensors, are installed on commercial vehicles to alert drivers of nearby obstacles, including pedestrians and cyclists, especially during turns. These systems provide audible and/or visual warnings to the driver and can also include external speaking alarms to notify pedestrians that a vehicle is turning.

...unless the truck or trailer is old, not regulated as such in the province or state that requires them, or the sensors are broken.

 

[lenaitch]

Sound proximity systems, often using ultrasonic sensors, are installed on commercial vehicles to alert drivers of nearby obstacles, including pedestrians and cyclists, especially during turns. These systems provide audible and/or visual warnings to the driver and can also include external speaking alarms to notify pedestrians that a vehicle is turning.

...unless the truck or trailer is old, not regulated as such in the province or state that requires them, or the sensors are broken.

Do you have a link to a North American jurisdiction that mandates them, keeping in mind that vehicle standards exist at the national level, not sub-national?

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Do you have a link to a North American jurisdiction that mandates them, keeping in mind that vehicle standards exist at the national level, not sub-national?

In Ontario, while there aren't specific regulations mandating truck proximity sensors, the province encourages and supports their use for enhancing safety and visibility in industrial workplaces and for commercial motor vehicles. Proximity sensors, along with other assistive devices like mirrors and warning lights, are recommended to improve driver awareness and reduce blind spots.

In other words, it may happen with time. Like seat belts, they became mandatory in Canada in phases. Ontario was the first province to enact a mandatory seat belt law on January 1, 1976.