Pedestrians in Surrey and Vancouver are sharing concerns about a lack of safety due to bad driving behaviour.
A thread was started on the Surrey subreddit, with many sharing their concerns about drivers essentially disregarding pedestrians.
The original poster said, “Is it just me, or are Surrey drivers extremely horrible for not stopping for people at crosswalks?”
While that Reddit post might be the origin of this story, people have been sharing their concerns about pedestrian safety on social media all over Metro Vancouver.
how many times do I have to get almost hit by mindless drivers in this city
— Kier Junos (@kierjunos) September 10, 2024
“I see this constantly, and it drives me nuts,” said one user in the Surrey subreddit.
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byu/Top_Army_3148 from discussion
inSurreyBC
Another user’s theory was that “some people DGAF.”
I asked myself today why we even have stop signs. They are “do whatever “ signs.
— Gord Wright (@gordwright) September 10, 2024
One X user wondered what the point of stop signs even is anymore.
Others also called out drivers for not observing stop signs properly.
I once did a time lapse of an intersection next to my kids’ elementary school and only about 10% of drivers came to a full stop at the stop signs. And that was only when people were actually crossing the road in their path.
— Lucy Maloney (@Lucyincanada) September 10, 2024
The City of Surrey has taken some steps to improve safety for both road users and pedestrians.
The City of Vancouver has also acknowledged that it wants to prioritize pedestrian safety, announcing a motion earlier this year that would do just that with new signs and signals.
We asked a couple of police forces about what law enforcement is doing to protect pedestrians and their safety, and while VPD didn’t respond to our request for comment, Surrey RCMP did.
“Surrey RCMP takes traffic enforcement around pedestrian safety seriously,” Surrey RCMP told Daily Hive.
“Traffic enforcement is the responsibility of all police officers when they are on shift, whether they observe a traffic infraction, respond to a call for service, or conduct pro-active enforcement, holding drivers accountable is a priority.”
Surrey RCMP also told Daily Hive that it has a full-time Traffic Services Unit.
“Officers working within Traffic Services conduct traffic enforcement on a full-time basis, and many of the officers within this unit have specialized training and are members of the Criminal Collision Investigation Team (CCIT) who are called in to assist and support investigations involving motor vehicle collisions that have resulted in fatalities or serious injuries,” they said.
“Surrey RCMP Traffic Services also participates in many provincial road safety campaigns throughout the year to combat distracted driving and impaired driving.”
What’s your experience like as a pedestrian around Metro Vancouver? Let us know in the comments. If you have a story you want to share about pedestrian safety in the region, email [email protected].