Media Release

Monday April 26, 2004

 

Brampton Council and Safe City Partnership Announce Road Safety Town Hall Meetings

 

Brampton, Ontario - For the past several years, road safety has increasingly been identified among the top priorities of Brampton residents.  Coincidently, on April 7, 2004, the World Health Organization marked the beginning of a year long international campaign to address this important issue and the tremendous impact that road related injuries have on communities. While road safety concerns are not unique to Brampton  (road and traffic issues are growing across the GTA) city council, in partnership with Brampton’s community safety groups have recognized the need to create a more comprehensive strategy to address this complex issue.  As the first step towards creating a new road safety strategy Brampton residents are invited to take part in the Brampton Road Safety Town Hall Meeting series. 

 

Brampton Safe City Partners (the Safe City Association, Peel Police, Region of Peel Health and the Ministry of Transportation) will work with members of Brampton’s City Council to coordinate 5 community consultations across the City.  The goals of this initiative are to: provide residents with an opportunity to identify the road safety issues that exist in their ward(s); identify ideas for possible solutions to these issues; and to provide an opportunity for the City, Police and Community Organizations to share information on the road safety initiatives that currently exist. Details and dates for these important meetings are as follows:

 

 

Brampton residents are asked to register for these events by calling the Brampton Council Office at

(905) 874-2616.  For more information on Brampton’s Road Safety Town Hall Meetings, Residents can call the   Brampton Safe City Office at (905) 793-5484.

 

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Media Contact:          

Paul Damaso, Executive Director, Brampton Safe City

Phone: (905) 793-5484;

E-mail: paul.damaso@city.brampton.on.ca                                                         

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BACKGROUNDER

Brampton Road Safety Town Hall Meetings

 

 

Why are Council and the Safe City Partnership Coordinating Road Safety Oriented Town Hall Meetings in Brampton?

 

·         Road safety and traffic issues continue to rank among the top concerns of Brampton residents

·         Brampton residents have not had a formalized opportunity to express their views on the issue of road safety.  In order to move towards the development of a comprehensive road safety strategy for Brampton, it is essential that public input be included

·         As a “Safe Community” through the WHO’s safe community initiative, this year’s World Health Organization theme (Road Safety) provides Brampton with an opportunity to link our local road safety efforts back to our broader connection within the national and international safe community movement. 

 

Total Collisions are on the Rise in Brampton

 

·         Total collisions in Brampton have increased 32% since 1996
(1996 - 2,110 collisions; 2003 – 3,081 collisions)

·         The increase in auto collisions has exceeded the increase of vehicles on our roads by 5%. Vehicles on Brampton’s roads have increased by 27% (207,874 – 286,440) between ’96 and ’03

 

Statistics Suggest Driver Related Behaviour Has A Major Influence on Road Collisions

 

·         The role of alcohol in collisions has been consistently in decline since 1996

·         The majority of collisions (67%) are occurring during daylight hours

·         77% of collisions occurred in clear weather conditions

·         65% of collisions occurred on clear dry roads

·         Only half (50.69%) of those involved in collisions were deemed to have been driving properly (i.e. no charges were laid by police)

 

Other Findings

 

·         15 to 24 year olds were involved in 25% of all Brampton collisions in 2003 (this group makes up only 14.6 % of Brampton’s population)

·         70 pedestrians were injured in auto related collisions during 2003

 

Why Has Road Safety Been Identified as a WHO Priority?

 

1.       1.2 million people are killed on roads across the world every year.  Approximately 50 million more people are injured

2.       If trends continue, the number of people killed and injured on roads will rise by more than 60% by the year 2020

3.       Road deaths and injuries are highly preventable.  A wide range of effective interventions exist, and experience in countries with long histories of motorized travel has shown that a scientific, “systems approach” to road safety is essential to tackling the problem.  The World Health Organization slogan, “Road Safety is No Accident” draws attention to the fact that road traffic injuries can be prevented if governments and others take action.

 

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