City of Toronto officials, apparently desperate in the face of 22 road deaths so far this year, have declared that “traffic collisions aren’t accidents, they are preventable events that can be eliminated through smarter street design, targeted enforcement and thoughtful public engagement.” This laudable concern for human life and ways to stop accidents has prompted Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25) to call for a team of citizens who are passionate about road safety to get involved in the Vision Zero challenge to reduce road accidents to zero. It is proper and necessary to try to do better. And education is the best hope, especially among pedestrians. But the goal as set out (zero deaths) and the tortured logic of the mandate (accidents aren’t accidents) may prove frustrating. The legal concept of intent is fundamental to law. A driver with no intent who hits a pedestrian has incurred an accident. He is responsible for it (or maybe not). He may pay a grievous penalty. But it is still an accident. Appalling accidents like the one linked here remain accidents, no matter how guilty the driver. Fatal hit-run woman did seven tequila shots before crash CBC
