Alexander Zacher was walking to work early on the morning of October 31, 2014 in Tsawwassen. He followed the walk signal on 12th Avenue at the intersection of 52nd Street using the marked crosswalk. When he was about two-thirds of the way across he was struck by a left turning vehicle driven by Glenn Prescesky and suffered serious injuries.
Mr. Prescesky did not see Mr. Zacher as he was focused on the far
side of the intersection watching for oncoming traffic. When he did
become aware, it was too late to avoid the collision.
Mr. Prescesky denied liability for the injuries. It appears from the
text of the judgment that his position was based on the fact that Mr.
Zacher was wearing dark clothing.
During the trial in B.C. Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Affleck cited two
previous cases in his reasons for finding Mr. Prescesky to be solely at
fault for the collision.
The first, Miksh v Hambleton, holds that once a pedestrian has safely
entered the crosswalk, unless they do something negligent such as
running into the path of a vehicle, they may assume that drivers will
yield the right of way and will not be liable if struck.
The second, Achilleos v Nix and Vancouver Taxi Ltd., finds that
“Pedestrians in crosswalks who are proceeding when the “walk” pedestrian
sign is illuminated are free to wear whatever colour clothes they feel
are appropriate.”
On page 83 in Chapter 6 of Learn to Drive Smart drivers are cautioned
that pedestrians are often hard to see, especially at night. Don’t enter
a crosswalk without checking to see that it’s empty, even when the
light is green.
Clearly, the duty of care lies most heavily on the driver.
With Vision Zero in mind, should the function of our traffic signals be
revised? If turns to the left and right were not permitted at times when
pedestrians are in the adjacent crosswalks this collision would not
have occurred. The pedestrian scramble is one
example of this type of solution.
Leading pedestrian intervals would not have been much help here. This
scheme allows the pedestrian a 3 to 7 second head start to make them
more visible to turning drivers. A potential crash reduction of up to
60% is possible when traffic signals are set this
way.
Even though Mr. Zacher did everything required by law, he’s still the
biggest loser in this incident. While he was not required to, there are
still precautions that he might have chosen to take in order to protect
himself. When you are a vulnerable road user
doing more than you have to could pay off.
Story URL:
https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/case-law/pedestrians-drivers-turning-left
—
Constable Tim Schewe (Retired)
DriveSmartBC: Where better than average drivers satisfy their curiosity.