CAA-commissioned study finds 660 near misses at 30 Canadian school crosswalks, Montreal included
Researchers recorded 660 near misses over five school days at crosswalks in 11 Canadian cities, including Montreal, with crossings controlled by signals or stop signs far safer.
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A CAA-commissioned study recorded 660 pedestrian-car near misses at 30 school crosswalks in 11 Canadian cities, Montreal among them, over five school days. That works out to roughly one in 84 pedestrians crossing being involved in a near collision with a vehicle.
The study, conducted by Miovision and Fireseeds North Infrastructure using video cameras and AI analysis, found that crossings with a traffic signal, stop sign or roundabout had a near-miss rate 20 times lower than crossings without one. Lower school-zone speed limits were also linked to fewer life-threatening injuries.
Craig Milligan, the study's principal author at Fireseeds North Infrastructure, said the work "quantified for the first time ever in North America some of the effects of mitigating risk in school zones." He argued that AI-based analysis can help municipalities identify problems and act sooner, "in this case, for some of our most vulnerable pedestrians."
Officials point to crossing design, traffic controls and the hours safety measures are in effect as factors that matter most. The study covers 30 crosswalks over five days, and does not give a Montreal-specific near-miss count.
