I would like to tackle a subject that might be a bit odd for DriveSmartBC but the consequences could be related back to safety. I’m thinking about travel speed and fuel economy because the faster you go, the more it costs, probably in more ways than one. Slow down and save.
Back in 2004 I put tongue in cheek and wrote about the trailer tug test. You hook the trailer up, drive off and look in the rear view mirror, if it’s still following you, carry on! I found myself behind a couple of vehicles pulling trailers yesterday and wondered if their drivers had missed the fact that I was being facetious. Neither trailer had any functioning lights and I can only guess what else might have been overlooked.
When you turn right after stopping at an intersection, you are required to turn from a position close to the curb to a position close to the curb. Failing to do so properly could result in a side swipe collision if a vehicle is passing by in the left lane of the cross street. In the case of Matharu v Gill, Hardeep Matharu was travelling to work westbound on Nordell Way using the left hand lane.
One evening while patrolling in an unmarked police car I approached a cross street that was controlled by stop signs. I could see a car approaching from my right going fast enough that I was concerned that the driver did not intend to stop.
Love 'em or hate 'em, speed enforcement cameras save lives. This review of the evidence of the British experience with speed camera enforcement shows that camera use results in a substantial improvement in compliance with speed limits, a particular reduction in extreme speeding, a marked reduction in average speed at fixed sites and an appreciable, though more modest, reduction at mobile sites.
I'm one of those odd drivers who tries their best to drive at or below the posted speed limit. I include the word below here as sometimes there is a need to slow down to less than the posted speed limit for safety reasons. This often has consequences for me when I have to share the road with other drivers who do not subscribe to my philosophy on road safety. A good example of this is looking in my rear view mirror and finding the Volvo logo on the grille of a heavy transport truck following me closely enough that I could count the bugs stuck to it.
It’s very interesting that some new drivers to BC can easily obtain a driver license with no written test on BC traffic laws and no road test to demonstrate competency .
Road safety should not be based on political agreements.
While many of the 12 Countries that are exempt from testing, have lower vehicle Fatality rates, Some countries have triple the Canadian average fatality rates.
Erin Couldwell was operating his bicycle at the exit of a parking lot onto a lane near the Victoria Police Department headquarters just before 7:00 am on September 25, 2014. His bicycle had neither lights nor reflectors. Constable Horonowitsch had just commenced his dayshift and was approaching the parking lot exit in the lane driving a marked police vehicle with it's normal vehicle lighting on.
The driver reaction to traffic tickets has always puzzled me. Arrest someone, fight with them, throw them in jail and see them through to penalty in criminal court seems to be business as usual for the police, but write someone a traffic ticket and it's like you've called their mother a bad name.
I sat in court to see what it is like in traffic court as I have never been to one before. I noticed that on many occasions, the officer would take the defendants outside of the courtroom to speak to them about their plea to the court.