Over 600,000 near-miss incidents with pedestrians, cyclists recorded at intersections across Canada
One in every 770 pedestrians and one in every 500 cyclists experience a high-risk or critical near-miss at intersections across Canada, according to a new study commissioned by CAA.
CAA and Miovision—a traffic data analysis company—watched 20 intersections nationwide between August 2024 and February 2025 using cameras and artificial intelligence.
They logged over 600,000 near-miss moments, indicating that at least three serious incidents occur at a single location every day.
CTV News Toronto spoke to people at the intersection of Park Lawn Road and Lakeshore Boulevard in Etobicoke, and asked how safe they feel crossing the street.
'I always wait extra time and I have a toddler, it terrifies me,' one woman told CTV News.
'I don't even bike on the street I'm so scared someone will hit me,' a cyclist said.
The study found that one in every 770 pedestrians and one in every 500 cyclists were involved in a high-risk or critical near-miss with a vehicle.
'That's almost a cyclist every single day that's coming into an intersection and having a conflict with a vehicle,' said Kristine D'Arbelles, director of public affairs at CAA.
'I would say that's a pretty scary number.'
The majority of close calls involved right-turning vehicles, followed by left-turning vehicles, then through-vehicles, according to the study.
It also found that if those near-misses were actually crashes, there would be an 85 per cent chance of serious injury.
'Using AI helps to tell us what areas (in intersections) there seems to be an issue, so hopefully we can implement a design that will prevent a collision,' D'Arbelles said.
CAA says these near-misses are collisions waiting to happen and are urging municipalities to make intersections safer by improving engineering and infrastructure.
The study offered three solutions that would help make intersections safer, including more dedicated left-turn lanes, pedestrian first signal crossings—meaning pedestrians could start crossing the street before vehicles move, and advanced green lights for left-turning vehicles.
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