Black ice is a hazard here on Vancouver Island and the best defence is a good set of winter tires. They are designed to help hold the road better than M+S rated all season tires and it's now time to find a set for my wife's Honda CR-V. I'm fortunate to be able to afford what I want, so it was off to Honda for a set of steel wheels, Consumer Reports for the best tire choices and then the retailers for the best price.
For the last ten to fifteen years I have had drops put into my eyes to dilate my pupils yearly. Many years ago I was advised to bring my sunglasses to the appointment with my optometrist and / or my ophthalmologist. Since then I always have my sunglasses with me for these appointments.
Every now and again I run across something that makes me stop and say to myself "I wish that I had thought to write about that!" Today's example dropped into my inbox from the One Crash is Too Many web site and it's about empowering your children in road safety.
The basis of this story comes from an inquiry posed by a young man who moved from BC to Alberta for work and was convicted for drinking and driving. He lost his job and was forced to move back home.
The matter at trial is the liability for a serious collision that took place on the Coquihalla Highway in an area known as Larson Hill on August 11, 2011. A pickup truck and camper driven by Mildred Eileen Boizard was travelling southbound in the rightmost of 3 southbound lanes at a speed of between 80 and 85 km/h in the posted 110 km/h speed zone. She overtook two tractor-trailer units, one in her lane and one in the center lane.
One of the recurring themes among DriveSmartBC correspondents involves avoiding penalty points after a driver has received a traffic ticket for committing a hazardous moving violation. Often the driver realizes that they have erred and are willing to pay the fine but want to avoid having penalty points assessed for the transgression.
On January 13, 2015 Van Nhut Nguyen was sentenced for failing to produce his driver's licence. The penalty was a $750 fine and one year term of probation during which he was not allowed to operate a motor vehicle between the hours of 7:00 pm and 6:00 am. It would appear that this is the result of an incident of driving while being prohibited from doing so.
Counsel for Lee Michael Wilson argued that the Approved Screening Device (ASD) result alone could not provide the officer with the reasonable grounds and that the officer was also required to point to other confirmatory evidence. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled today that this is not the case and dismissed the appeal of his Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP). The ruling supports the BC Motor Vehicle Act legislation that allows police to quickly and effectively remove impaired drivers from our highways.
This publication, commissioned by the Royal Auto Club Foundation for Motoring, reviews the current scientific literature on the use of smart glasses and driver distraction. It also contains information obtained from an on-the-road experimental study comparing driver behaviour whilst navigating using smart glasses, smartphone-based satellite navigation and verbal instructions.
I've just finished reading Eliminating Serious Injury and Death From Road Transport and find myself in agreement with much of its content. The time I've spent in traffic law enforcement and the investigation of a large number of collisions has shown me that many of them are suffered by people just like you and me.