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RCMP doubles down on brutal viral video about motorists

Many cyclists and vulnerable road users were aghast at the clip

A distracted driver Photo by: Richmond RCMP
October 19, 2023
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After the Richmond RCMP posted a controversial video on X (formerly Twitter) about the responsibility of vulnerable road users when it comes to collisions, cyclists and pedestrians were outraged. The article that was linked was titled, “Pedestrian safety is a two-way street: What pedestrians and drivers can do to make our roadways safer.”

Strange messaging about road safety

The pedestrian safety recommendations included making eye contact with motorists, exercising caution at intersections, donning reflective clothing, and refraining from using headphones while crossing roads.
However, in the video shared, a pedestrian was depicted strolling in a dark hoodie with headphones on. This individual narrowly avoided a collision with a distracted driver who was engrossed in his phone. Given the post’s emphasis on shared responsibility between pedestrians and drivers, numerous responses rightfully expressed their discontent.

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Distracted driving

The community notes function on X/Twitter–which offers corrections and insights to questionable Tweets, got right in there. “The province of British Columbia has a Distracted Driving Law that prohibits the use of handheld devices such as cell phones. No laws prohibit the use of headphones or hoodies while pedestrians use marked crosswalks. In this video, only the driver performs an illegal act,” it read.

Police shocked at response

On Wednesday, seemingly undeterred by the many, many, many responses to it, the Richmond RCMP made a statement.

“What I’m quite shocked about is most of the negative comments are not even local, not even based here…they’re mostly from the United States, which I’m not even sure they know where we are located,” Richmond RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dennis Hwang. “Fall season is particularly bad for pedestrian safety, and pedestrian awareness and we have the most incidents of pedestrians getting struck in the fall months and that’s why we usually send out some safety tips.”

He went on to tell the Richmond News that the clip was created by a high school videographer and some volunteer actors. “We received no funding…it was done in-house. Done with volunteers,” he said.


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