A 68-year-old man is fighting for his life in a Halifax hospital after he was struck by a car in a Dartmouth, N.S. crosswalk Sunday night.
The accident occurred at the corner of Albro Lake Road and Victoria Road and some area residents say the intersection is a bad spot for inattentive drivers. However, police say the corner is no worse for pedestrian accidents than several other places in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
In this case, the driver received a $700 fine. Some residents are calling for tougher penalties, while others say different tactics are needed.
"The biggest problem is at night there's not a lot of visibility, so if they want to make it safer, they should add more street lights," suggests one resident.
While some say a $700 fine is not enough for failing to yield to a pedestrian isn't enough, police say it is just the first step in the process.
"You'd have to look at whether drugs or alcohol were a factor," says Const. Brian Palmeter. "So if the person were impaired, that might automatically be a criminal offence in and of itself. It might rise up from simply being an impaired to criminal negligence causing death or injury."
Civil suits arising out of such accidents can amount to millions of dollars in penalties, but criminal law experts say tougher penalties aren't always the answer.
"The criminal law is already in place," says law professor Robert Currie. "The criminal law is there to deter people from doing these things. If it's still happening, if there's a rash of these events, that means we need something else, other than a criminal law remedy to try to prevent these accidents."
Some area residents say that pedestrians, as well as drivers, need to be more aware at crosswalks.
"I think you should make yourself apparent to the driver and you know, just slow down I guess for drivers," says a resident.
Police say that despite the difficulties of enforcement, more tickets have been written for jaywalking in recent years.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
