Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: to get run over by an SUV

Since I've been in Vancouver I've had 3 very close calls crossing the street and almost been run over. And before you start blaming it on my unfamiliarity with right-hand driving, I would add that all of those near-misses were when I was crossing with a pedestrian walk signal.

I know 3 people who have been hit by cars since I've been here, plus have been witness to a hit and run.

A few reasons spring to mind to explain this pedestrian risk:

• there is a free right hand turn at any time (equivalent to a left hand turn in NZ), even through a red light, so people just assume they can drive through without checking whether pedestrians have a cross signal
• if you are turning left across traffic you have to give way to everyone, even those turning right, so people try to sneak through as soon as possible rather than wait for all traffic to clear. You often see cars trying to sneak through a gap between pedestrians
• the preponderance of foreign drivers, SUVs, and people using cellphones or supping on frappuchinos instead of concentrating on the road.