Police warn of the dangers of distracted walking, following teen’s death in Oshawa
Posted by news | Filed under All News Stories, Durham, GTA, Toronto
We’ve all heard of the dangers of distracted driving, but Durham Police want pedestrians to realize things like cell phones and head phones can put them in danger too. Sergeant Jeff Galipeau says just because there isn’t a law against it, doesn’t mean it’s not a life or death issue. Galipeau says electronic devices can steal your senses, and leave you unaware of oncoming traffic and other dangers. The warning comes after the death of a 16 year old boy in south Oshawa, Monday. He was hit by a train and witnesses say he may not of noticed the flashing lights at the train crossing, because he was texting, and listening to music. Meanwhile, police also say the rail crossing where the boy was hit was equipped with automated traffic barriers, bells and lights which were fully activated at the time, however there’s no pedestrian barrier and local by-laws prevent trains from blowing their whistles. Several residents in Bowmanville have been fighting to have trains there, stop blowing their whistles as well, saying they’re a nuisance. Opponents of the idea say it’s a simple matter of safety, and Monday’s accident in Oshawa, is a prime example.
2 Responses to “Police warn of the dangers of distracted walking, following teen’s death in Oshawa”
-
Kim Says:
February 14th, 2012 at 4:35 pmI hope the people that are trying to fight to have the whistles stopped in Bowmanville realize that it is a safety issue more than it should be a nuisance. The trains were there before you lived there…if you have recently moved to an area where there is a train, that’s no one persons fault but your own. There would be no way you would not have known it was there. Any one I know, including myself that has lived by train tracks, gets used to the sound within weeks of living near them. I would rather be woke up by the sound of the whistles than the sound of sirens going off because someone has been killed by a train. Hope that they will reconsider what they are asking to have done. Are we not in a society where every thing these days are about safety? So why are safety measures being taken away?
-
I agree Says:
February 14th, 2012 at 5:28 pmI agree with Kim 100 %
Also, why couldn’t the whistle blowing by law rule be broken for that one time, long enough to save the teens life????? So many people just want want want in this world. So complicated these people that complain.
