Report outlines collisions on our regional roads

November 1, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons

Collisions in York, and King Township are at record lows. Yet it seems Bathurst Street continues to be one of the worst roads for local accidents.
York Regional Council received the 2017 Annual Collision Statistics Report, capturing road safety and collision trends on Regional roads.
“York Region continues to see a decrease in the total number of collisions, and in 2016 the total number of collisions was at a 10-year low,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “As our population continues to grow and there is an increasing number of vehicles on the road, this type of data is vital to ensure we continue to build safe communities.”
The 2017 Annual Collision Report uses a variety of statistics collected including collision rates, traffic volumes, weather and population. Using this information, the York Region develops and implements strategies that make Regional roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. This includes creating AODA compliant intersections, building new cycling infrastructure, continuing yearly educational and enforcement initiatives to enhance awareness, installation of new traffic signals at 36 intersections since 2014 and installing an additional 20 red light cameras by the end of 2017.
Additional highlights in the report:
• October to February is the month with the highest number of vehicle collisions.
• August sees the highest number of cyclist vehicle collisions; pedestrian-vehicle collisions occur most in November.
• Fridays have the highest number of vehicle collisions; Wednesdays see the highest number of collisions for cyclists and pedestrians with vehicles.
• An hour with the highest number of collisions is between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• 40 percent of all vehicle collisions are rear-ended collisions.
• Most common actions causing collisions is following a vehicle too closely (25 per cent), followed by failing to yield the right-of-way (16 per cent) and improper turns (12 per cent).
• 73 per cent of all collisions occurred on dry road surface conditions.
According to Nelson Costa, Yorks’ manager, Corridor Control and Safety, the top 10 high collision locations in the Township of King include (number of collisions between 2014 and 2016 – from the 2017 Annual Collisions Statistics Report):
• Davis Drive West and Bathurst Street (72).
• King Road and Highway 27 (46).
• Highway 11 and Bathurst Street (42).
• King Road and Bathurst Street (38).
• King Road and Dufferin Street (35).
• Highway 11 between Bathurst Street and Kalvers Street (33).
• Bathurst Street and Green Lane West/Miller’s Sideroad (30).
• Bathurst Street and 15th Sideroad/Bloomington Road (30).
• Keele Street and King Road (28).
• Davis Drive West and Keele Street (27).
Roundabouts are relatively new in the region, and King’s first initially caused some opposition.
According to Costa, the roundabout in King has been in operation for about a year and has only experienced one minor collision, compared with five collisions before construction, of which four were serious collisions.
Roundabouts can reduce collisions by up to 75 per cent at intersections where stop signs or signals were previously used for traffic control.
Roundabout designs consist of one-way traffic and angled entry points which help avoid angled and head-on vehicle collisions. These are the types of collisions that generally result in serious injury. There are many accidents that can happen when on the road, being as vigilant as you can be is your best defense, however, sometimes a left turn accident can happen when driving and it may not be your fault, it is best to contact a lawyer to discuss your options and give as much evidence as you can to back up your case.
The benefits of a roundabout include lower speeds, fewer delays and fewer collisions.
Costa noted that whenever York Region studies intersection improvements this can include consideration for roundabouts, and some of the key factors that determine the appropriate traffic control for an intersection includes environment, road conditions and the number of travellers using the intersection.
“Road safety is top of mind in York Region, and it is important to have the right initiatives in place to ensure the safety of everyone travelling on our roads,” said Richmond Hill regional councillor Vito Spatafora, chair of the Region’s Transportation Services. “The safety initiatives we implement aren’t done in isolation, and with the data collected in this report we can modify as needed to ensure everyone comes home at the end of the day.” Despite the fact that governing bodies in the region seem to be keeping on top of collision management, road traffic accidents are still possible so it is always important to be prepared just in case it happens to you. Always have the contact details of your insurance provider, roadside assistance provider, and personal injury lawyer close at hand when driving. The latter is something that most people forget, so visit www.severeaccidents.com to make sure you’re covered.
York Region is responsible for more than 4,200 lane kilometres of Regional roads, 2,000 intersections and approximately 875 traffic signals connecting our nine municipalities together. Each year, Regional roads carry more than six billion vehicle kilometres of travel and more than 2.7 million vehicle trips daily.