NHTSA's Getting There Safely Team focuses on pedestrian safety in this 21 minute video designed to teach elementary school children to walk safely in environments that contain traffic or other safety hazards. Designed for pupils in grades 3 to 6, it teaches critical thinking skills for walking around traffic.
A collaboration between the Traffic Injury Research Foundation and State Farm Canada has produced the Drug Impaired Driving Learning Center. This web based resource is a summary of the latest research about drug-impaired driving in several key areas:
I was wondering when police have the power or ability to take or suspend a driver's licence or impound their vehicle. Essentially, what are police powers to immediately prevent a driver from driving after a traffic stop?
This is a video produced by the Belgian Federal Highway Police in collaboration with the Parents of Child Highway Victims. It is in French with English sub-titles. It features conversations between drivers caught speeding and the parents of children who died in collisions. Both are seated in the rear of a vehicle immediately after the driver had been stopped by police.
B.C. is moving a little closer to having a modern traffic ticketing system. Instead of an officer hand writing a violation ticket, the data will be entered into a computer at the roadside and a printed copy of the eTicket issued to the offending driver. In addition to producing a completely legible document the data can be transmitted to ICBC and the court system, eliminating a significant duplication of effort.
Today's high tech cars have centre console mounted displays that allow anyone (including the driver) to play around with while in motion; should be against the law. Some cars even need to have the driver use the touchscreen to change the radio volume or station; a dangerous practice.
I was driving home from a family event at about 9:30 pm on a recent Sunday night using the Island Highway. The vehicle in front of me drew my attention as it strayed to the right, half way onto the shoulder. We were traveling at about 85 km/h in the posted 90 zone. After a moment the driver resumed the proper lane position but soon drifted off to the right. The direction of the drift did not depend on the curvature of the roadway.
Occasionally someone preparing to dispute their speeding ticket would ask me to give them a copy of the radar manual for the device that I used to check their speed. Instead, I would offer them the opportunity to come to the detachment and sit down in the interview room with it to plan their defence. This may not have been enough according to the courts.
News Item: Ontario introducing $50,000 fines for careless drivers causing death (Globe and Mail, September 20, 2017).
Bill 158, Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act, 2017 will implement significant consequences for drivers who break the listed rules and cause serious injury or death. The penalties include a mandatory probation order that will require the driver to take a driving instruction course and perform community service. The community service must include activity related to improving driving safety and public education on driving safety. Their driver’s licence will be suspended during the probation.
The TranBC web site has published three maps of B.C. showing the highways where winter tires must be used or commercial vehicles must carry chains.