By Persis Abraham
Toronto Police responded to more than 90 injury collisions and 18 involving pedestrians on Thursday.
While it was a rainy, wet day in Toronto, Const. Clint Stibbe of Toronto Police Services told CP24 that the weather was not the main cause.
“Weather was a factor in some of these collisions but it wasn’t the main factor; it was a contributing factor,” he said.
“The main factor was somebody either stepping out into the road when they shouldn’t have or a driver making a mistake. In the end it is a mistake that is made by one of these road using groups that is resulting in these collisions occurring,” Stibbe said.
According to Metro News, 10 people were hit by drivers before 12 p.m. and and seven were hit in just one hour.
Toronto paramedic spokeswoman, Kim McKinnon said people need to be more aware of the weather conditions when walking.
“People wearing dark clothing and rushing across streets in the rain were among the causes. Both drivers and pedestrians need to be careful, especially with darker fall mornings and reduced visibility from rain,” McKinnon said.
“People are “rushing with umbrellas” and “maybe even rubber boots that they haven’t worn” and, overall, aren’t “paying attention,” she said.
Metro News city columnist Matt Elliot questioned McKinnon’s comments on his Twitter page.
“Blaming rubber boots? That’s a new one,” Elliot said.
Above is a map outlining the large number of fatal accidents and their exact locations in Toronto that occurred from Jan. to Oct. 2016.
Statistics were provided to Humber News by Toronto Police.
The fatalities in the locations are colour-coded by each month they took place.
- January- blue
- February- yellow
- March- red
- April- pink
- May- orange
- June- green
- July- black
- August- brown
- September- grey
- October- purple
There have been a total of 65 traffic-related fatalities this year.
“If two more people are killed this year, it will be the highest number of traffic deaths in 12 years,” Stibbe told CBC.