The number of crashes involving pedestrians is down slightly this year, according to the Regina Police Service (RPS).
Fifteen pedestrians have been hit by vehicles in Regina this year.
In 2020, RPS responded to 19 vehicle collisions with pedestrians in the same time period.
However, Sgt. Mark Verbeek says his collision team with the traffic safety unit is responding to more serious crashes, including fatalities, this year.
“If the patrol members on scene determine the injuries are that serious that someone may pass away or someone has died at the scene, then the collision team is called out,” Verbeek said.
The RPS collision team has responded to approximately 24 crashes this year. Eight have involved pedestrians and one involved a cyclist.
Three pedestrians have died as a result of those crashes, including a 68-year-old woman hit by a semi and a 61-year-old man hit by a city bus.
Verbeek says the circumstances around the collisions vary, adding some happen in intersections, while others take place mid-block when people cut in between vehicles or children chase a ball onto the street.
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“It’s those sorts of things where it catches the motorists off guard and they don’t physically have the reaction time to be able to see the threat, understand that it is a threat and then react,” he said.
Other times, he says, the driver is distracted and doesn’t see the pedestrian.
As far as who is most commonly at fault, Verbeek says it is split fairly evenly between the pedestrian and the driver.
“If people slow down, take the precautions and that extra time to look – whether you’re a pedestrian or a driver – to ensure that it is safe to proceed, I think we’d be in better shape,” Verbeek said.
According to RPS, overall motor vehicle collisions are also down from this time last year.
In the first six months of 2020, Police responded to 111 vehicle crashes that resulted in injuries.
So far this year, officers have responded to 92.
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