Truth: The chance of getting hurt as a pedestrian is very low, with 4 injuries per 1,000,000 walking trips. This is lower than the chance of getting hurt as a driver or passenger (7 injuries per 1,000,000 driving trips).

Walking can prevent diseases such as heart disease (48,681 deaths in Canada in 2012), stroke (13,174 deaths) and diabetes (6,993 deaths), all of which kill far more Canadians than pedestrian fatalities (396 deaths in Canada in 2012).

Furthermore, there are many steps that you can take to be safer, such as wearing visible and reflective clothing, paying attention when you walk (no looking at your phone!) and making sure you have enough time to cross the street at intersections. 

More safety tips are available at the walking page on the City of New Westminster website: www.newwestcity.ca/walking