Pedestrian Hit by a Driver Turning Left or Right at an Ontario Intersection
- 14 hours ago
- 8 min read
Many pedestrian collisions at Ontario intersections happen for a simple reason: the driver is looking for traffic, not for the person walking across the road.
This is especially common when drivers are turning left or right. A driver turning left might be focused on oncoming vehicles and trying to clear the intersection before the light changes. A driver turning right could be looking left for a gap in traffic while a pedestrian is crossing from the sidewalk or directly in front of the vehicle.
When a pedestrian is hit in this situation, the driver often says, “I didn’t see them.” However, at an intersection, pedestrians are expected. If someone was crossing at a marked crosswalk, crossing with a walk signal, or walking through an area where drivers should expect pedestrians, the question is not whether the driver saw them, but whether the driver should have seen them.
Our Ontario pedestrian accident lawyers represent people injured while walking, including pedestrians hit by drivers turning left or right at intersections, crosswalks and signalized crossings.
Why Left-Turn and Right-Turn Pedestrian Cases Are Different
In left-turn cases, drivers had often been waiting in the intersection while the pedestrian was already crossing. Once a gap opened in oncoming traffic, the driver moved through the turn and struck the pedestrian.
In a right-turn case, the driver’s attention may have been pointed in the wrong direction. A driver stopped at a red light could be looking left for approaching vehicles and begin turning while the pedestrian is crossing from the right. By the time the driver looks forward again, the vehicle may already be where the pedestrian is walking.
Left Turns Across a Crosswalk
Drivers will often claim that the pedestrian “came out of nowhere.” Sometimes the scene evidence tells a different story. If the pedestrian was already crossing while the driver was waiting, then the pedestrian could have been visible for several seconds before the vehicle moved.
This is where video, signal timing and point-of-impact evidence become important. A pedestrian who is hit near the far side of the crosswalk is in a different situation from a pedestrian who stepped off the curb immediately before impact.
A green light may permit the driver to turn, but it does not excuse turning into someone lawfully crossing the road. The driver still has to look, assess the crossing area and complete the turn safely.
Right Turns and Right Turns on Red
Right-turn pedestrian collisions usually happen at lower speeds than left-turn collisions, but they can still cause serious injuries.
The common pattern is familiar. The driver stops or slows, looks left for traffic, sees a gap, and begins turning right. The pedestrian is crossing from the sidewalk, moving in front of the vehicle, or already partway through the crosswalk. The driver may have checked for cars but not properly checked the pedestrian’s route.
Right turns on red deserve close review. Drivers can be allowed to turn right on red in some situations, but only after stopping and only when it is safe to proceed. The stop, the direction of the driver’s attention, and the timing of the vehicle’s movement are often the core issues.
Rolling right turns are especially important. If the driver never fully stopped, the available time to see the pedestrian is shorter. If the vehicle continued forward after contact, that may help explain how the pedestrian was knocked down, pinned, dragged or run over.
Walk Signals, Countdowns and Late-Crossing Arguments
Walk signals can be strong evidence for an injured pedestrian, but these cases often require more than a simple statement that the pedestrian “had the light.”
Section 144 of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act deals with traffic control signals and pedestrian control signals. In an intersection pedestrian claim, the signal evidence can help show whether the pedestrian was permitted to enter the roadway and whether drivers should have expected people in the crossing area.
Disputes often arise around countdowns. The defence may argue that the pedestrian entered too late. The injured person may remember entering on the walk signal, or may have no clear memory because of the collision. The timing plan for the intersection can help answer those disputes.
The useful questions are specific. When did the walk indication start? When did the countdown begin? How far did the pedestrian have to cross? Where was the pedestrian when the vehicle began to turn? Was the pedestrian already in the crosswalk before the vehicle entered it?
Crosswalks, Crossovers and the Type of Crossing
People often use “crosswalk” and “crossover” as if they mean the same thing. Ontario law does not. Section 140 of the Highway Traffic Act deals with pedestrian crossovers, which are designated crossings with specific signs and markings. Section 144 deals with traffic signals and pedestrian control signals. A school crossing, slip lane, uncontrolled intersection or driveway access near an intersection may raise different issues again.
Highway Traffic Act Provisions That Often Apply
Several portions of the Highway Traffic Act can be applicable if a pedestrian is hit by a driver turning left or right.
Section 142 addresses signalling turns and stops. It requires that a driver, before turning left or right at an intersection or into a private road or driveway, to first see that the turn can be made safely and, where required, to signal the intention to turn.
Section 144 deals with traffic signals and pedestrian control signals. It is often relevant when the pedestrian was crossing with a walk signal, during a countdown, or against a “don’t walk” indication.
Section 140 applies to pedestrian crossovers. It becomes important when the collision occurred at a designated crossover rather than a standard signalized crosswalk.
Section 193 is the reverse-onus provision. In many pedestrian claims involving a motor vehicle on a highway, it can require the driver or owner to prove that the loss or damage did not arise through negligence or improper conduct.
Ontario Cases Involving Drivers Turning Into Pedestrians
In Morris v. Prince, the plaintiff was walking through a crosswalk in London, Ontario when he was struck by a pickup truck turning left. The driver had been charged under section 142(1) of the Highway Traffic Act for making an unsafe turn, pleaded guilty and was convicted.
The court reviewed the lighting at the intersection, the missing median pole, the driver’s window tint, the crosswalk location, the timing of the turn, and whether the pedestrian should have been visible to an ordinary driver exercising reasonable care.
R. v. Gill is also useful, although it was a provincial offences case rather than a civil damages claim. The case involved a tractor-trailer turning right at an intersection and striking a pedestrian near or within the crosswalk. The court focused on whether the driver should have seen the pedestrian before beginning the right turn.
Reverse Onus in a Left-Turn or Right-Turn Case
Section 193 of the Highway Traffic Act does not mean a pedestrian automatically wins. It does not prevent the defence from arguing that the pedestrian contributed to the collision. But where it applies, it can require the driver or owner to prove that the collision did not arise through negligence or improper conduct.
In a left-turn or right-turn pedestrian claim, that usually brings the focus back to the driver’s attention before the turn. Where did the driver look? What was visible? Was the pedestrian already in the crossing area? Did the vehicle stop before turning right? Did the driver accelerate through a left turn without re-checking the crosswalk?
Evidence That Usually Decides These Cases
The best evidence often comes from the intersection itself. Video can sometimes show whether the driver stopped, rolled forward, accelerated through a left turn, looked toward traffic, or entered the crosswalk while the pedestrian was already there. Signal timing records may show whether the pedestrian’s position fits the walk phase or countdown. Vehicle damage may help identify the angle of impact and where the pedestrian was struck.
The point of impact can be particularly significant. If the pedestrian was hit near the far side of the crossing, the driver may have a more challenging time explaining why they were not seen. If the impact was at the very start of the crosswalk, the timing and visibility need closer review. Front-end contact, passenger-side contact, mirror contact and wheel contact can each tell a different story about how the vehicle entered the crossing area.
Scene photographs should show more than the intersection from a distance. The driver’s view and the pedestrian’s view both need to be preserved. Stop lines, crosswalk markings, signal heads, traffic islands, slip lanes, snowbanks, parked vehicles, bus stops and nearby driveways can all affect the analysis.
Common Defence Arguments
Drivers and insurers often raise the same arguments after a pedestrian is hit at an intersection. They may say the pedestrian entered during the countdown, crossed outside the painted lines, appeared suddenly, wore dark clothing, used a phone, failed to make eye contact, or should have known the driver was turning. Some of those points deserve review. Others are used to shift attention away from the driver’s failure to check the crossing before entering it.
The defence may also say the driver had a green light. That is only part of the story. A green light may allow a driver to proceed, but it does not allow a driver to turn into someone lawfully crossing.
The analysis should stay tied to the evidence. Where was the pedestrian when the vehicle began to turn? What did the signal show? What was visible to the driver? How fast did the vehicle move? Did the driver have time to stop? Those are the questions that usually determine whether the defence argument has weight.
Shared Fault Arguments
A pedestrian can be found partly at fault in some cases. That does not automatically defeat the claim. Ontario’s Negligence Act allows responsibility to be divided where more than one party contributed to the damage. In a left-turn or right-turn pedestrian case, the defence may rely on signal timing, crossing location, visibility, distraction or the pedestrian’s entry into the roadway.Those arguments still have to be measured against the driver’s obligation to check before turning.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pedestrians Hit by Drivers Turning
Is a driver automatically at fault for hitting a pedestrian while turning?
Not automatically. The evidence still has to be reviewed. However, Ontario’s reverse-onus rule may require the driver or owner to disprove negligence in many pedestrian claims involving a motor vehicle on a highway.
What if I was crossing with the walk signal?
A walk signal is strong evidence that you were permitted to cross and that drivers should have expected pedestrians in the crossing area. The claim still needs evidence about signal timing, the driver’s lookout, the vehicle’s path and the point of impact.
What if the driver was turning right on red?
A right turn on red does not excuse the driver from checking for pedestrians. The investigation should look at whether the driver stopped, where the driver looked, where the pedestrian was, and whether the driver entered the crosswalk before it was safe.
What if the driver says they had a green light?
A green light does not provide a driver with permission to turn into a pedestrian who is lawfully crossing. The analysis depends on both the driver’s signal and the pedestrian’s signal, along with whether the driver took reasonable care before turning.
Can the driver blame the pedestrian for entering during the countdown?
The defence can always try to raise that argument, but it is not dispositive. The timing plan, crossing distance, pedestrian position, driver lookout and opportunity to stop all need to be reviewed.
What evidence is most important in a left-turn or right-turn pedestrian case?
Video, signal timing, witness evidence, point of impact, vehicle damage, photographs of the intersection, driver sightlines and the pedestrian’s position in the crossing can all be important.
Speak With an Ontario Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
Pedestrian cases which involve a driver turning left or right at an intersection can sometimes depend on signal timing, the driver’s view, the pedestrian’s crossing path, the point of impact, reverse onus under the Highway Traffic Act, and shared-fault arguments under the Negligence Act.
Foster Injury Law represents pedestrians injured in serious collisions throughout Ontario. If you were hit while walking through an intersection or crosswalk, speak with our Ontario pedestrian accident lawyers about the evidence and steps needed to protect your claim.
