Each year in Canada, around 2,000 people are killed and another 10,000 are seriously injured on our roads. Almost every one of these incidents is preventable, as more than 90% of road crashes are the result of human error.
Canada Road Safety Week (May 17-23, 2022) is a way to draw attention to the errors that drivers make when behind the wheel—in the hopes of saving lives and reducing road-related injuries. Led by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the week aims to draw attention to some of the common mistakes people make when driving.
The theme for this year's campaign is
"Safer You. Safer Me." It is meant to highlight how the decisions drivers make not only affect them, but also their passengers, other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Safety starts with knowing the rules
More often than not, tragic road crashes could be avoided if drivers adopted safe driving practices. Often, one simple mistake behind the wheel can have devastating and deadly consequences. This is particularly true when driving near or across railway tracks. For example, many drivers don’t understand the risks of trying to beat a train at a rail crossing.
Last month,
a woman died in Maple Ridge, B.C., in an incident involving a train, a flatbed truck, and the SUV she was driving. The woman was trapped in her SUV after a flatbed truck was hit by a train in the crossing. The force of the collision between the truck and train caused the truck’s trailer to swing around and pin the SUV. The woman is believed to have been sitting at the railway crossing waiting to cross the tracks when the incident happened. She died at the scene, but the driver of the truck wasn't physically injured.
Tragic incidents like this one are an important reminder for drivers to never try to beat a train, to always stop at least 5 metres away from the nearest rail at crossings, and to keep 30 metres back if there’s a vehicle stalled on tracks.
Avoid taking risks behind the wheel
Let’s work together to make Canada's roads the safest in the world. This
Canada Road Safety Week, make sure you know how to stay safe behind the wheel, particularly around rail crossings. Check out Operation Lifesaver’s
website and
Train to Drive program for helpful rail safety resources for drivers.