We are a coalition that is supporting Bill 62, the Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act. You (or another representative from your organization) are warmly invited to attend a meeting with us on Friday, May 3, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Centre for Social Innovation, 192 Spadina Ave, Meeting Room F. At this meeting, we will discuss the details of Bill 62 and share strategies to engage and mobilize citizens in support of the Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act. Please register using the form below.
Vulnerable Road Users are people using the road who are not motor vehicle occupants. This includes pedestrians, cyclists, people using wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility devices, first responders, and construction workers. In 2016, 4189 pedestrians and 2159 cyclists were injured by a driver on Ontario’s roads. 108 vulnerable road users were killed by people driving motor vehicles in our province. Road crashes are the leading cause of death for people under 18 years of age. These statistics are particularly heartbreaking because road violence is 100% preventable. None of these 108 people needed to die, and none of their families needed to be shattered.
If passed, Bill 62, the Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act, would be the most comprehensive vulnerable road user law in North America. The legislation would add penalties for drivers who hurt or kill vulnerable road users, regardless of which Highway Traffic Act charge the driver is convicted of. The bill proposes immediate license suspension when a driver strikes a vulnerable road user, with a requirement for the driver to complete remedial training before reinstatement. The driver would also be required to appear in traffic court to hear the victim impact statement and would also need to complete community service related to road safety. Bill 62 would impose a serious fine (up to $50,000) on offenders who choose not to fulfill the requirements of their sentence (for example, driving without a license or refusing to attend traffic court or complete community service). This legislation is an essential component in deterring lethal driving behaviour, correcting bad driving habits, and in providing real justice to those who are harmed by road violence. Currently, drivers who kill or maim often receive no charges, or if they are charged, the drivers get away with fines as low as $85 and (maybe) a few demerit points. Families and victims are left with no sense of justice or closure and convicted drivers are allowed to carry on as though nothing had happened, often continuing to drive around the same neighbourhoods where they’ve already taken a life. This is wrong and this needs to be fixed.
All road violence is preventable. It requires serious political will to enact the changes required to stop the carnage on our streets, which is why citizen engagement with MPPs is such a crucial component to getting this legislation passed. We believe your organization has a role to play in contacting MPPs and the wider community and building widespread support for this legislation, and we believe our organizations have a mutual interest in making our streets safer for all people – children, seniors, walkers, runners, cyclists, emergency and construction workers: vulnerable road users.
