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MPP Harris wants to see roundabouts included in Highway Traffic Act
by Helen HallKitchener Citizen
April 11, 2013
Waterloo Regional Police (WRP) officers can’t enforce legislation that doesn’t exist.
That is the reason the local police force supports an idea by Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris to have a section on roundabouts added to the Highway Traffic Act.
Staff Sgt. Scott Diefenbaker, who is head of the WRP Traffic Services Branch, said the law enforcement community would like to see the Highway Traffic Act outline the rules for roundabouts, and “clearly define that a pedestrian has the right of way once they enter a roundabout.”
Local roundabouts include a yield to pedestrians sign that is not included in Regulation 615 of the Highway Traffic Act, and therefore cannot be enforced by police.
“We can only enforce legislation,” Diefenbaker said.
Harris tabled his private member’s bill, the Safe Roundabout Act, on
March 28.
“To maintain driver safety, we need to ensure province-wide traffic laws are in place for all areas, including roundabouts. Whether it’s in Ottawa or Hamilton or Waterloo Region, drivers should be able to apply the same rules of the road when manoeuvring through these intersections,” Harris said at an April 3 press conference at the roundabout at Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road in Kitchener.
Harris has also called on the Minister of Transportation to include roundabout testing on the G2 and G road exams.
“The rising number of collisions and the resulting increase in public anxiety clearly demonstrates the need to take action,” Harris said.
“A critical component of making our roads safer starts with creating clear guidelines. But we also need to ensure drivers are properly trained. That’s why I have recommended that further information on roundabouts be added to the Driver’s Handbook and that drivers be required to enter and exit these intersections on their road tests.”
Diefenbaker said that because Waterloo Region is “a leader in the design and implementation of roundabouts,” the WRP force is receiving phone calls from other police departments in Ontario asking for advice about dealing with roundabouts.
Signs, like the one above, telling motorists to yield to pedestrians at local roundabouts are not included in the Highway Traffic Act.