On June 29, a cyclist struck two pedestrians in downtown Vancouver, sending one to hospital in critical condition. (Tragically, a week later the man passed away). As a road safety advocacy group, we’re mourning this tragic loss of life and thinking about his wife, his family, and his friends who lost a loved one.
The police put out a statement shortly after the incident:
The story sparked extensive news coverage; an associated reddit thread had over 440 comments. There was a keen sense of loss; people were eager to discuss ideas and solutions.
The news coverage around this tragedy was commendable. We learned the victim was 72, he was a tourist. He was married and out with his wife. These details make the tragedy feel palpable – as it should. We learned what hospital he was sent to, and his condition at the time. There even details on who had the right of way.
In that same week, a motorcyclist was killed in a collision in Vancouver. The reporting was a bit different:
Although we got the victim’s age, there was nothing else to humanize this person. They died “after a collision with a vehicle” (was it a self-driving vehicle, or perhaps was there a driver involved?)
Another fatal collision on July 6 made news primarily because of the traffic jam it caused:
Indeed, this is all too common of a trend in coverage of serious road collisions. Headlines referring to “vehicle incidents”. The primary concern of a story being which roads are closed and for how long. Pedestrians “struck by cars” or “vehicles” (never “drivers” – imagine if the story at the top of this page referred to a “pedestrian struck by a bicycle”).
As badly reported as the above stories are, they’re actually the exception. Most don’t make the news at all, especially if they don’t cause a traffic disruption.
The reason the story of the cyclist hitting this married couple received the attention that it did – and as it rightly should – is that it’s noteworthy. Things like this shouldn’t happen; it’s not normal, it shakes us. (The last incident we could find of a pedestrian killed by a cyclist in Metro Vancouver was 12 years ago. This is a once-in-a-decade tragedy).
Every year in Metro Vancouver, 100 people are killed in vehicle collisions and thousands more are seriously injured. Crashes just as serious as the cyclist hitting this pedestrian happen every single day, almost exclusively involving a driver behind the wheel. Because they’re so commonplace, they’re treated as normal (if remarked upon at all). The media needs something “interesting” to accompany the crash for to write comprehensive story (did it cause a highway shutdown? People were having picnics on the side of the road? How whimsical! Oh, incidentally, someone died.)
Once more, our thoughts go out to the 72 year old man killed by a cyclist while visiting our city last week. We can’t even imagine the pain his wife and his family are going through.
Every single crash that leaves someone dead or with life-altering injuries is devastating. Every one involves a victim who has a family, friends, and an entire rich and meaningful life. Each one is deserving of the same outpouring of grief and emotion as the victim of last week’s tragedy. We need to stop normalizing road violence, and start treating all these crashes as the shocking, tragic, and unacceptable events that they are.
Vision Zero Vancouver 