Montreal Gazette

Coroner’s report won’t change driver behaviour

- ALLISON HANES ahanes@postmedia.com

The coroner’s report on the death of Montreal jogger Concepción Cortacans, struck by a car while crossing Parc Ave. at the foot of Mount Royal in January 2016, is typical of the official response when pedestrian­s or cyclists are killed in this city.

Cortacans’s untimely death was “preventabl­e,” coroner Stéphanie Gamache found. But the five-page report amounts to a collective shrug. It lets the driver off the hook by dismissing as an unfortunat­e accident the kind of reckless behaviour that is ubiquitous on Montreal roads.

Consider the circumstan­ces. The 62-year-old was out for a run on a brilliantl­y sunny January day. Cortacans was waiting to cross on the east side of Parc to head up into the winter wonderland of Mount Royal. When the light changed, she stepped off the curb, made it by a bus that was stopped in the right lane, and was rammed mid-intersecti­on by a northbound driver running the red light. He didn’t even brake.

Cortacans was thrown several metres by the force of the impact. She suffered broken bones and severe head trauma. She died a short time later in hospital — all because she trusted that traffic would stop when the signal indicated she should go.

According to the coroner’s report, the driver didn’t see the light change because he had never driven on Parc Ave. before and had glanced at his GPS momentaril­y. Also, the bus blocked his view of Cortacans. Feeble excuses.

The coroner recommends that the Société de Transport de Montréal move its stop so buses don’t obstruct the view of wayward drivers; and that there should be more signage to explicitly tell motorists to watch out for pedestrian­s — just in case they’re too dumb to notice the obvious.

Once again, the official answer is all about moving heaven and earth to accommodat­e drivers and not about providing any more place, prominence or priority to pedestrian­s.

It’s a whitewash that falls far short of the kind of change in dubious driver behaviour, and social acceptance for it, that is required to protect lives.

Pedestrian deaths surged 40 per cent in Quebec last year, while vehicle fatalities fell to their second-lowest point in 70 years. And yet, even when they have done nothing wrong, pedestrian­s and cyclists are sometimes blamed for their own demise. The latest initiative by Montreal Police offers pedestrian­s caught jaywalking a choice between a ticket and attending a 90-minute informatio­n session.

Where is re-education for dangerous drivers?

What makes Cortacans’s death particular­ly galling is it occurred at an intersecti­on that is often teeming with people — winter, spring, summer and fall — and already has many features in place that should give drivers pause.

There are not one but six — six! — sets of traffic lights from Pine Ave. to Mount Royal Ave., all designed to slow traffic and permit safe pedestrian and cyclist crossings for those getting to and from the mountain. There are three lights after Pine up to where Cortacans was killed, all of them clearly visible from a distance to the northbound driver because the road slopes upward. There is wide open parkland on both sides. These are some pretty significan­t visual cues. Yet too many cars treat Parc Ave. like it’s the Daytona speedway, propelled by impatience, a sense of entitlemen­t and their need to beat the light.

If all these fail-safes failed Cortacans at the gateway to the mountain, what hope do pedestrian­s have at ordinary intersecti­ons in Montreal?

The man at the wheel in this case got a $1,000 fine and lost four demerit points. While it is illegal to use a smartphone while driving in Quebec, there is an exception for consulting GPS. But there are no buildings on that one-kilometre stretch of Parc Ave., so why was it so urgent for him to look at his phone anyhow? It’s not like he was in danger of missing his destinatio­n. Such weak consequenc­es all but condone distracted driving and reinforce the car-first attitude that has been so difficult to shake, even as times change.

The death of Cortacans hits close to home for me. Winter running on Mount Royal was apparently one of her favourite pastimes. It is one of mine as well. And while I didn’t know her, it’s certainly possible we crossed paths. When she was killed in the winter of 2016, I was on maternity leave and spent a lot of time on Mount Royal with a baby who only seemed to nap in her stroller in the fresh air.

Whenever I pass the white “ghost sneakers” hung from a lamppost by Cortacans’ grieving husband and son to mark the place where she was run down, it’s a grim reminder to take a second look before leaving the curb. Until something fundamenta­lly changes in this city, the unfortunat­e reality is that pedestrian­s have to watch their backs — even when they have the right of way.

While it is illegal to use a smartphone while driving in Quebec, there is an exception for consulting GPS.

 ?? JOHN KENNEY ?? Too many drivers treat Parc Ave. like it’s the Daytona speedway, propelled by impatience, a sense of entitlemen­t and their need to beat the light, writes Allison Hanes.
JOHN KENNEY Too many drivers treat Parc Ave. like it’s the Daytona speedway, propelled by impatience, a sense of entitlemen­t and their need to beat the light, writes Allison Hanes.
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