REGINA – The sun is shining and the snow is melting – a perfect day for a stroll.
Until the dreaded splash.
You’re not immune to it – whether a dog walker or even a Global News journalist reporting from the side of a road – at this time of year, every puddle near a roadway brings pedestrians the danger of being sprayed.
So we did a test to see if drivers will slow down for a puddle at a bus stop. It’s safe to say, not many did.
“That entire sidewalk is soaked all the way to the bench,” said Notanee Bourassa, who was a good sport and helped us with our experiment.
It took only a few minutes and we were drenched. Out of dozens of cars, only a handful seemed to slow down or change lanes when they could.
“People were splashing water to the top of my head,” Bourassa said. “They just kept going and didn’t say, ‘I’m sorry.’ ”
Payback is unlikely too.
Most cities have a bylaw against splashing pedestrians. A violation in Regina comes with a mandatory court appearance – but just one person has been charged since 2006.
The difficulty comes when officers need to find out exactly who was behind the wheel, said Sgt. Ian Barr of the Regina Police Service.
“I think one of the reasons we don’t lay a lot of charges under the bylaw section is there’s no provision to charge the registered owner of the vehicle,” Barr said.
We took our experiment to a downtown location. Drivers there were much more courteous – perhaps they’ve been in soaked shoes before.
“It changes how you think about other people,” said Bourassa. “I think people should be more considerate.”
A lesson learned on just how wet this melt can get.
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