Cst. Gerry Jorgenson is a familiar face to our Downtown community. Walking the Beat as a Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) officer, we’ll see him for his D-Platoon shifts, and likely visiting his favourite businesses in his time off! Here to keep us safe, this note, from Cst. Jorgenson:
January 27, 2021 | Crosswalk Safety
If you’re like me then you’re a fan of sports. As I thought about keeping my community safe through Crosswalk Safety, I thought of an analogy that sports fans may be able to relate to…
In the National Hockey League there is a rule for Boarding (see below). The rule is meant to protect the player that is moving towards the boards.
Rule 41.1 Boarding – A boarding penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who checks an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards. The severity of the penalty, based upon the degree of violence of the impact with the boards, shall be at the discretion of the Referee.
There is an enormous amount of judgement involved in the application of this rule
by the Referees. The onus is on the player (or goalkeeper) applying the check to ensure his opponent is not in a vulnerable position and if so, he must avoid the
contact. However, there is also a responsibility on the player with the puck to avoid placing himself in a dangerous and vulnerable position. This balance must be considered by the Referees when applying this rule.
One of the purposes of legislation that SPS enforces is to protect life and property. There are many laws in place that protect people by penalizing those who put them at risk. There is a hefty fine ($230) for Failing to Yield to Pedestrian at an Intersection/Marked Crosswalk. Although the onus is on the driver of a vehicle to yield right-of-way, the greatest risk is to the pedestrian who may be injured, or worse, killed, if they were struck by a vehicle. Similar to the Boarding rule above, there is a responsibility on the pedestrian crossing the road to ensure it is safe to do so.
Always look both ways before crossing the road and if there is a vehicle in close proximity to the
crosswalk, then make eye contact with the driver before proceeding.
There are also laws in place that penalize a pedestrian for failing to use a crosswalk:
- The Traffic Bylaw #7200, Sec. 37(1), Jaywalking, $50.00
- Traffic Safety Act, Sec. 223(3), Pedestrian walk into path of vehicle when unsafe, $70.00
- Traffic Safety Act, Sec. 237(3)(a), Pedestrian start to cross highway on “Walk/Don’t Walk” signal, $70.00
Protect yourself by only crossing at crosswalks, and only when it is safe to do so!
