Nine people were hit by cars in under an hour Monday — including a woman pushing a baby in a stroller — underlining police concerns over an increased risk for pedestrian collisions at this time of the year.

“This is actually our worst period of time in the year — when we see the most pedestrians struck,” said traffic services Const. Clint Stibbe. “It’s a combination of weather conditions, as well as lighting conditions meaning obviously the time of day, additionally the lack of visibility on behalf of pedestrians.”

All the collisions occurred in a span of 43 minutes, between 6:41 a.m. and 7:24 a.m..

In the first incident, a woman pushing a stroller was hit near Havenbrook Blvd. and Don Mills Rd., just north of the 401. The woman was taken to hospital with minor injuries and the baby was unharmed.

The driver faces charges of careless driving.

“One of the common things we’ve been hearing from drivers is, ‘We didn’t see them,’ ” said Stibbe. “You need to make sure you do gain eye contact with drivers of the motor vehicles.”

Seven other people were hit across the city, including an 83-year-old man who was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

All but one of the people hit Monday morning were sent to hospital.

Dwindling hours of daylight play a role in the spike of pedestrian collisions, said Robert Tremblay, director of research for the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

It’s dark when people leave for work and return home, said Tremblay.

Stibbe said the number of pedestrian collisions starts to decline around Dec. 22 each year.

“People are going to be off that time of the month — that plays a big part in it because the downtown core becomes a ghost town,” he said.

Charges have been laid in three of Monday’s incidents, and police say at least two occurred at crosswalks, where the pedestrian had the right of way. It’s not known if the other incidents were at intersections.

Police and experts stress that pedestrians should remain visible and vigilant when walking around.

“High-visibility clothing is obviously an important thing to do and be aware of your surroundings. If you’re walking on your street you’re distracted and having your iPhone on in your ears, you don’t hear what’s going on,” said Tremblay.

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On average, six pedestrians per day are hit in Toronto. Last year, 2,031 people were hit.

So far this year, 1,688 have been hit “but that number will definitely climb,” Stibbe said.