Pedestrians, cyclists can trade tickets for road safety session
Éric Desrosiers thought he could make it.
Walking a little faster than usual, he crossed half of René-Lévesque Boulevard West before briefly pausing on the concrete median.
The pedestrian countdown signal on the other side was approaching zero, the orange hand symbol flashing above it.
Having missed his usual commuter train from the Pierrefonds-Roxboro station Tuesday morning, Desrosiers was running late for work. He had to make up that time somehow. He swears he never jaywalks but — after a slight hesitation — he went for it, the traffic light by then turning red, the hand symbol no longer flashing.
Waiting for him on the opposite sidewalk was a Montreal police officer and a $48 ticket.
As part of a new pilot project from the SPVM, Desrosiers and several others who were ticketed the same way on Tuesday have a choice to make: pay the ticket or trade it in for an upcoming road safety information session hosted by police.
“It’s an opportunity to give some prevention tips and a different way of trying to discourage inappropriate behaviours,” said Vincent Richer, an inspector with the police force’s special operations division. “Reprimanding people (with tickets) always has its place — it’s one way of changing behaviours — but at the moment we’re in prevention mode.” Three information sessions will be held downtown the second week of June. They’ll each be 90 minutes long and come with a short exam at the end. Pedestrians or cyclists who were ticketed during Tuesday’s operation can have their ticket waived by attending.
The SPVM will continue trying out the method at other busy intersections this summer and fall.
In 2015 (the most recent year available), the SPVM issued 9,326 tickets to cyclists and 20,461 tickets to pedestrians.
Three cyclists died in collisions, as did 11 pedestrians.
The new pilot project is based on one completed by the Longueuil police department last year.
The force says it had a positive impact — accidents involving cyclists were down 37 per cent from the previous year. And of the 743 tickets issued last summer, about half the people who received them attended the information sessions instead of paying.
Will Desrosiers attend his session?
He wasn’t quite sure on Tuesday. Given that he lives on the western tip of the island, driving in for an hour and a half long session isn’t the most appealing. But he did feel the idea had some merit.
“Raising awareness is always a good thing,” he said before pausing to gather his thoughts. “Let’s put it this way. I knew I was in the wrong while I was crossing. I can’t lie about it. But that’s life — there are just some mornings when you’re rushing a little more than others.”