October a deadly month on roads

Now that we’re back to standard time — the first week of brighter mornings and darker evenings is considered the most dangerous time to be on the roads. And after three traffic fatalities in the last week — it’s proving to be true.

So far, Hamilton has experienced 13 fatal crashes this year — three of them have happened in the month of November.

In fact, it’s been a deadly start to the month of November throughout the Golden Horseshoe. On Halloween, 19-year old Neeko Stein was killed in a two-car crash in a Flamborough intersection notorious for crashes.

Neighbour: “Within three months, I’ve experienced the most horrific scenes in my life.”

The next day, 19-year Marshal Kampmen was killed by a car while crossing Cootes Drive in Dundas. This Monday, 23-year old Jordan Jull was killed after his bike was involved in a crash on Bay Street downtown. And earlier today, a 16-year old girl was struck by a Hamilton city bus and suffered serious head injuries.

Three road deaths in a week. A popular belief is that roads for drivers and pedestrians are more dangerous after we return to Eastern Standard Time.

Hamilton police Constable Claus Wagner: “We notice that the change of season especially the clock changes, people slow themselves down, they don’t understand that it’s getting darker. They’re still wearing the same clothes that maybe doesn’t put them as visible as it does at that time of day.”

However, according to Hamilton’s traffic operations, November’s pedestrian collision rate is on par with all the other months.

Martin White, City of Hamilton Transportation Operations: “In the month of November, 133 pedestrians were involved in motor vehicle collisions in Hamilton in a five-year period in November. In October it’s 132, December 126, there’s nothing abnormal about the month of November in Hamilton.

When it comes pinpointing a cause for pedestrian accidents, a lack of attentiveness could be to blame.

For many people when time is short and they have to get somewhere they can’t wait for the light to change, so they put matters into their own hands, or in this case, their feet.

“People jaywalk because everyone is in such a rush. Yes, I may have done it once in a while because of the red light try to get across the street on lunch.”

According to police reports, Kampen was jaywalking when he was struck by the car that killed him.

When it comes to preventing such tragedies, everyone, even those on foot, need to understand the rules of the road.

Cst. Wagner: “There’s a stop sign, even though it’s for the vehicles, pedestrians need to stop too, cars coming the other way have the right of way to just turn. people don’t have the right of way to just walk across.”

White said that in 2015, the Ministry of Transportation are going to give pedestrians more right of way and some new signage for pedestrians and motorists. He also said that one intersection that they’re going to be working on and are in fact working on right now is that dangerous intersection in Flamborough that has had two serious crashes in the last three months — one of them fatal.