In case you had any doubts that distracted driving is a very real problem, here's a short dashcam video shot in Toronto that illustrates the issue perfectly.
The video, posted to Reddit, starts with the cammer rolling up to a red light on Islington at Central Park Roadway in Toronto's west end. A couple seconds in, the driver of a white Ford F-150 begins making a right turn on a (presumably) green light. What they somehow don't see is the pedestrian with a small dog already halfway through the intersection, again, presumably crossing the street on a walk signal.
At first glance, it seems like a close call for the pedestrian, but look again: the dog escapes being hit by a matter of inches, largely because the person holding the leash realizes what's about to happen and yanks Fido out of harm's way.
It's easy to assume the pickup driver was doing something that took their eyes away from the road at a critical moment. Imagine if the dog-walker's attention had been focused on a smartphone at that moment; at the very least, the dog would have ended up in bad shape. We'll give the driver credit for at least stopping momentarily, and only driving away when they realized all they had done was left someone badly frightened.
Eyes up on the road, folks. You don't have to be moving quickly to do some serious harm.
