Where is it safe?

A British Columbia perspective

Over the past year there has been growing media focus on the "home invasion crime spree" which BC has endured. The perpetrators of these crimes, plus the car-jackings and garage invasions pose a very difficult challenge to our police and security services. As a result the concerns of seniors in particular have grown to almost hysterical proportions as they almost expect to become victims of this heinous crime. Sales of home and auto alarm systems are booming, seminars on personal safety and security abound and undoubtedly many homeowners are "arming" themselves with a variety of self-defense mechanisms.

We would urge everyone to keep this issue in perspective - the greatest threat to the safety of seniors, and almost everyone else remains the "old-fashioned" traffic crash. In recent years traffic fatalities in BC outnumber all homicides by a 4 to 1 margin*, traffic injuries outnumber all criminal assaults by a 3 to 1 margin, and the cost of property loss in traffic crashes outweighs theft by a 2 to 1 margin.

Of course traffic crashes don't garner the headlines and there isn't always a clear "bad guy" to blame for our troubles. It's harder to look in the mirror for the culprit, but it's where we'll find the perpetrators of traffic crashes.

If you're prepared to spend money on home and auto security, are you also prepared to spend some on personal traffic safety? If not, why? By not addressing this issue you are turning a blind eye to BC's highest priority when it comes to personal safety. Only five per cent of new drivers receive a full professional driver training program, and few citizens ever take a driver improvement course to refresh and upgrade their behind-the-wheel skills. If we took this approach to on-the-job safety the workplace would be a lot more hazardous than it is now. Why do we choose to ignore the risks of traffic?

The choice is yours, you can tackle traffic safety risks through training, or you can continue to ignore it, but don't complain when it bites you. You can't hide from the reality that you're safer on the job than on the street.

The above editorial appeared in the BC Safety Council's newsletter Safety First, Spring 1999 issue.

* The ratio Canada-wide for 1997 was over 5 to 1 (3,064 traffic fatalities to 581 homicides).

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