The dark winter months of low light and bad weather can be deadly on our roads.
Sadly, in recent weeks there have been plenty of reminders, with several pedestrians hit and injured and one killed on the North Shore.
A 29-year-old was killed after being struck trying to cross Highway 1 on foot, only a block away from a pedestrian overpass.
Two North Vancouver seniors were sent to hospital after being hit in separate incidents.
The serious accident in which a teenager was hit this weekend is another terrible reminder that cars are travelling chunks of metal that can change a life in the blink of an eye.
According to ICBC , one in five people killed in car accidents are pedestrians. Most of those hit are in the Lower Mainland, during afternoon rush hour, in the fall and winter months.
Young people - 16-to 25-year-olds - are most likely to be struck.
Our habits don't help. Whether you're a driver cocooned inside a vehicle with a radio on or a pedestrian staring at a smartphone as you walk, we're less aware of our surroundings.
Too often we're distracted.
Pedestrians assume drivers will see them and react in time.
Drivers assume pedestrians will be visible and won't make sudden moves.
But logic is often a poor barometer of human behaviour.
As we head to the shortest, darkest time of year, we urge everyone on the roads and sidewalks to pay attention.
Your life - or someone else's - could depend on it.
