DriveSmartBC

Ouch! My ICBC insurance rates are going up as much as 42% over the next five years according to an article in the Province newspaper. I already paid $630 this year for the privilege of having my fellow British Columbians help me pay for collision liability if I make a mistake and crash my pickup. I’m not looking forward to paying $895 in 2021, but when you consider how much you could be on the hook for if you didn’t have insurance, even that doesn’t look too bad.

Currently in BC, motorcycles are required to sit in traffic like any other automobile is expected to, but this is very dangerous for motorcyclists! The solution is 'lane filtering', a practice vilified by the general driving public in much of North America.

It has often puzzled me that we undergo rigorous testing to get a driver’s license around the age of 16 or 17, and yet are not required to take a driving test again until some time in our 80s.  In some cases, that is 60 or more years of driving without re-testing.

Quoted from the YouTube video page: Our speed is one of the few things we control on the roads. While speed doesn’t always cause crashes, it always determines the severity of a crash. This is because the speed we travel at creates a force and it’s our vehicle and our bodies that absorb this force in a crash. This means the faster we choose to travel, the more severe a crash will be (whether the crash is our fault or not).

I am a transit operator in the Central Okanagan. Can you please tell me how best to direct my concerns that British Columbia might not be communicating clearly enough to drivers the contents of Section 169.1?

Last week we looked at what you should be entitled to expect as a driver on B.C.’s highways. It only seems fair that we should examine what your duties as a driver are this week. As before, if I miss or misstate any of them, you are welcome to e-mail webmaster@drivesmartbc.ca and express your opinion.

Gurpreet Dhaliwal and Herman Randhawa were driving southbound on 152nd Street approaching 76 Avenue in Surrey, British Columbia. Mr. Randawa attempted to change lanes and, in doing so, struck the driver’s side of Mr. Dhaliwal’s car with the passenger side of his vehicle.

The headline read “Malahat crash sees angry motorists verbally abuse first responders.” Police already at the scene had to call other officers to provide crowd control. The incident raises the question of what should I expect as a road user?

Christine Bayfield was driving her van southbound on the Inland Island Highway in rainy and wet road conditions. She overtook a logging truck to avoid being sprayed by the water it picked up off the pavement. As she passed, she lost control, began to rotate and left the pavement, rolling over in the median.

Paul examines the case of Tran v Edbrooke where the law governing slippery roads is the subject in deciding liability for a collision. A driver is required to slow down enough that they won't slide if the roads are slippery and if slowing down won't be enough to prevent sliding, then the driver must choose another way to reach their destination.