News

Death and injury on Canadian highways and byways continues to be a major problem. Despite steady and considerable progress on this front, more than seven people are killed and 600 seriously injured (requiring more than 24 hours of hospitalization) every day.

The report containing these statistics, which are from 2001, the last year for which full reports are available, from the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, shows that among young road users, between the ages of 15 and 24, crashes cause more than twice as many fatalities as the next three causes combined -- tumours, diseases of the circulatory system and respiratory diseases.

The council says estimates of the societal costs of crashes range from $10-billion to $25-billion a year depending on what is included in the calculation.

The CCMTA is at the centre of this issue because of the way the road transportation system works and is governed in this country. The federal government and provinces share responsibility for safety initiatives -- Ottawa through Transport Canada and each province through its department of transportation.

Transport Canada is supposed to play the leadership role through research, data collection and analysis such as that quoted above, program development and evaluation and as a central clearing house. The federal government is also responsible for the development of passenger vehicle safety regulations and interprovincial bus and truck regulations and is responsible for the Criminal Code of Canada under which dangerous and impaired drivers can be charged and prosecuted.

The provinces and territories maintain direct control and jurisdiction over the roads, drivers, and licensing, including rules of the road, enforcement and vehicle inspection. The rules are generally common but there are specific differences from province-to-province.

The Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals is one body that works toward commonality and improvement in this area, representing provincial governments and interests in an continuing dialogue. Provincial and territorial governments are also responsible for driver training and improvement regulations and issues such as those related to impaired driving and suspensions for other offences.

The provinces and territories carry full responsibility for the design, construction and maintenance of all roads within their jurisdiction. Municipalities are obviously involved in maintenance, engineering, policing and other issues related to their specific jurisdictions. Research, development, monitoring and evaluation of safety programs and initiatives also fall within provincial jurisdictions.

A decade ago, Canada initiated a couple of major traffic safety initiatives, one aimed at increasing the use of belts and child seats and the other at reducing the incidence of impaired driving.

Despite these efforts, the numbers weren't improving at the desired rate so CCMTA adopted what it called Road Safety Vision 2001 in 1996 with one simple goal -- the safest highways in the world. Specifically the hope was to reach 95 per cent belt usage with special emphasis on child restraints and reduce the per cent of fatalities and serious injuries attributed to drinking and driving by 20 per cent.

In the six-year time frame of the program, fatalities dropped by 10 per cent, serious injuries by 16 per cent and national belt usage in urban areas increased slightly to 90 per cent. The percentage of drivers killed, who had been drinking, decreased from 42 per cent to 36 per cent.

The next phase is Road Safety Vision 2010 covering the nine-year period from 2001 to 2010. The overall goal is the same -- the safest roads in the world. The specific goals this time are:

30 per cent fewer overall fatalities;

95 per cent belt use;

40 per cent fewer fatalities and injuries attributed to alcohol;

40 per cent cut in death and injury on rural roads;

20 per cent reduction in intersection and speed-related crashes leading to death or injury;

20 per cent reduction in death or injury from crashes involving commercial vehicles;

30 per cent reduction in the number of fatally or seriously injured pedestrians, motorcyclists or cyclists;

20 per cent fewer crashes involving high-risk drivers.

Lofty goals that can only be achieved when motorists start paying attention and taking an interest in their own safety and that of other road users.

Halifax-based Richard Russell runs a driving school

rrussell@globeandmail.ca