Reachable Roads Blogs

School buses are one of the safest ways for children to get to school, yet many people fail to obey laws upholding school bus safety. Consequently, most injuries that occur happen when exiting the bus, outside the bus, or crossing the street.   As a road user, it is important you are extra cautious of your road use patterns around school buses. Not only can your actions be extremely dangerous, but they may also be illegal. To combat these dangerous behaviours in Ontario, there are strict laws ensuring adherence. Additionally, as of September 2020, the Ministry of Transportation has made it...

Street design is a vital component of influencing road safety and creating a space for shared streets. Community safety zones are sections of the road that have a higher degree of safety concerns and complaints, such as schools or retirement homes. The goal of specific community safety zones is to reduce instances of speeding, distracted, and dangerous driving. What differentiates community safety zones from regular stretches of road is penalties associated with certain traffic offences. In community safety zones, which are indicated by signage, fines are doubled for traffic offences such as speeding and traffic signal violations. In order to...

What makes a road user vulnerable? All road users are vulnerable to the dangers presented by incomplete streets and spaces that are not designed to incorporate all methods of transportation. However, in terms of road safety, vulnerable road users are groups of people who experience a higher burden of injury on roads that are predominantly utilized by cars and other motor vehicles. This includes pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, novice drivers, youth, and older adults. Road safety is a shared responsibility between all users. Every individual must be aware of what they can do to make sharing the road safe for everyone...

Pedestrian crossovers and pedestrian crosswalks; they sound similar but what is the difference?   The major difference between crosswalks and pedestrian crossovers is location and design. Pedestrian crosswalks are the typical walkways attached to larger intersections on roadways, and usually have traffic and pedestrian signals.   In contrast, pedestrian crossovers or PXOs are road crossings outside of intersections at which vehicles are required to stop to allow for pedestrians to cross. These crossovers are always indicated by pavement markings and signs, and in busier locations, some may have overhead lighting and pedestrian push buttons. PXOs allow for pedestrians to safely cross...

According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, every individual has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person. In terms of road safety, this includes the right to safe mobility made possible through well designed transportation systems. This is the essence of Vision Zero. Vision Zero as a concept originated from the Swedish government in attempt to eliminate accidental deaths and serious injury from roadways. Since its launch in 1997, Sweden’s Vision Zero has cut traffic related deaths in half, all while capturing attention of various countries globally. In comparison to Sweden, Canada has more than...