Peter Malone estimates that he has a close call while crossing the road about once a week.

All of those near-misses occur at the pedestrian crossover on Kingsway Drive in Kitchener, at the entrance to Fairview Park Mall, which he uses daily.

“Most people are either texting or not paying attention, or just in a big hurry,” he said in an interview.

How to get drivers to pay more attention at crossovers has been a thorny issue for the provincial government some time.

Officials at the Ministry of Transportation hope a new traffic law taking effect Jan. 1 will make a difference in that area.

Starting in 2016, drivers must yield the entire road to pedestrians crossing the road at a crossover.

Up until now, vehicles have been legally able to proceed once a pedestrian was out of their path.

The new rule doesn’t apply to all crosswalks. Only pedestrian crossovers – which have button-activated flashing lights, and typically don’t occur at intersections – and areas with school crossing guards are affected.

“When you approach a pedestrian crossover or an intersection that’s controlled by a school crossing guard, you can’t proceed until all the pedestrians have completely crossed the road,” said Staff Sgt. Jim Strand of Waterloo Regional Police.

Several pedestrians using the Kingsway crossover on Thursday said they felt the new law would make a positive difference for their safety.

Wanda Boyd, for one, praised it as an “excellent” idea.

“Cars don’t stop here at all – even if you put your hand out (and) press the button,” she said.

Malone was less confident.

“I really don’t think it’s going to do much good,” he said.

There are a few other tweaks to the rules of Ontario’s roads that motorists will need to watch out for in 2016, including:

  • All private insurance companies must offer discounts to drivers who buy and install winter tires
  • Self-driving vehicles are now allowed to use provincial roads, including highways
  • The cost of issuing a permit for a vehicle and trailer climbs from $14 to $20
  • A permit, number plate and validation for a trailer will now cost $59, up from $53
  • Farm vehicle validation fees rise from a minimum of $123 and maximum of $975 to a minimum of $140 and maximum of $1,110
  • Dealer and service plates now cost $172, up from $156, while motorcycle service plates see a price increase from $96 to $172
  • New regulations will allow municipalities to mail traffic tickets to out-of-province drivers, increasing the chances of them paying their fines