We want to hear from you. Road safety is everyone's responsibility, and public input is essential in guiding future policy, enforcement, and education. Please take a moment to share your thoughts on driving conditions in British Columbia.
Many people think of traffic policing consists mostly of handing out speeding tickets. This is not the case as there are many other job functions that officers are responsible for. One that I often found to be an interesting challenge was conducting roadside mechanical inspections.
I asked a couple of truckers what bothered them about the drivers of small vehicles. We had a lively half hour discussion from which I gathered their top five concerns. Each of these concerns could have serious consequences for everyone on the highway.
Question: I get a lot of dirty looks when I'm in the HOV lane with my young child in the back seat. I'm sure he counts, doesn't he?!? I've tried asking various authoritative bodies, but no one seems to know for sure.
We don't hear a lot about B.C.'s Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing program except when the government is handing out grants to the municipalities. The money is supposed to be employed to "support community safety and address local policing priorities."
A few times every summer I'm riding my motorcycle and come up to a set of traffic lights and have to stop. I find myself behind a diesel pickup as we both wait for the light to turn green. When it does, the driver hits the throttle and I become another victim of "rolling coal". What am I to do?
This incident took place at the intersection of Canada Way and Rosewood Street in Burnaby. It involved three vehicles, two of which changed lanes as their drivers did not want to wait for left turning traffic ahead of them. Those lane changes resulted in a crash involving the third vehicle traveling straight through using the right lane.
When someone designs a parking lot, it would seem to me that the aim is to get as many vehicles into it as possible with little thought for anything else. I've often thought that they should be designed like a marina with walking spaces that vehicles park up to, ideally by backing in.
If you ever have the chance to talk to a school crossing guard, flag person, highway maintenance worker or anyone else whose job requires them to work in the cone zone on our highways, ask them how safe they feel when they are on the job.
This case is an appeal of a traffic court conviction where the officer who issued the ticket used a visual observation of vehicle speed to base the ticket on. The estimation was 90 km/h in the posted 60 km/h zone on the Lougheed Highway near the North Road intersection.