TORONTO, Ont. – In a push to save pedestrian lives, the Ontario coroner is calling for a reduction in speed limits on roadways.

“If you’re hit at 50 km/h as a pedestrian, you’re chance of dying is twice as great than when you’re hit at 40 km/h,” Dr. Bert Lauwers said. “There’s no dispute about that.”

“Only approximately five per cent of those who died were struck in areas where the posted speed limit was less than 50 km/h,” he said. “Speed kills.”

He recommends the limit be 40 km/hr, down from 50 on roadways and 30 km/hr on residential streets.

A reduction in speed limits on the province’s roadways is among 26 recommendations made in his review to prevent pedestrian deaths.

It is also the most controversial.

Drivers in Toronto said the onus should not solely be on motorists.

“I think they’re punishing the people that aren’t breaking the law,” one man told 680News. “It’s s just going to encourage more jaywalking.”

In the review of a wave of 95 pedestrian deaths in 2010, Ontario’s deputy chief coroner pinpointed jaywalking as the largest single cause of pedestrian fatalities in the province.

Error by pedestrians accounted for nearly half of the fatalities.

According to the review, 31 per cent of pedestrian deaths occurred at mid-block crossings. Fourteen per cent of pedestrians were killed walking by the side of the road, Dr. Lauwers said.
 
Eleven per cent of pedestrians were killed when they crossed against the traffic light at an intersection where the car had the right-of-way.

Seven per cent happened when the pedestrian was crossing with the right of way — and was struck by a right-turning vehicle at a light.

According to the coroner’s office, around 113 pedestrians die on an annual basis in Ontario.

Last spring, statistics released by the City of Toronto showed it has the highest rate of pedestrian and cyclist injuries in the country.

The last time the province issued a road safety report was in 2008.

Other recommendations include driver education and improved crosswalk technology.