DriveSmartBC

Nicola Varga was late for an Epicure party and was using her iPhone's GPS app to navigate westbound on the Lougheed Highway from the Golden Ears Bridge in Pitt Meadows. She needed to make a left turn at the Park Road intersection so she began to make her way from the acceleration lane across three lanes of traffic to the left turn lane for the intersection. As she crossed from the center through lane to the left through lane she was hit from behind by a delivery truck driven by Bryan Kondola.

This was a question that I asked myself more frequently as my time in traffic enforcement with the RCMP grew longer.  Everyone wants to do their job well, and mine was to encourage the motoring public to conform to the law in the hope that doing so would minimize the number of collisions in my patrol area.

Nadia Brownson was driving her pickup truck on First Avenue, within a 50 km/h speed zone, in Prince George on a rainy, autumn night. Scotty Bryan and Tony Shubert had been dropped off near the Dominion Street intersection and were crossing First Avenue from north to south near a nightclub. They saw Ms. Brownson approaching but thought that they had sufficient time to cross.

Judging by the questions submitted to DriveSmartBC, one of the first responses people have after receiving a violation ticket is to find a defect, real or imagined, as a justification for not having to pay or to justify a dispute in traffic court.

I received a speeding ticket and in the description of offence field it simply states "Speed 57 km/h" It does not include what the posted speed limit was.

Is this a sufficient description?

Does the offence noted need to indicate what the posted speed limit was?

The Australians are are passing the Christmas message that we all have a role to play in reducing road trauma. It's up to you to do your part. Plan how you are getting home from any parties or get togethers, don’t be distracted by your phone, keep your drinking separate from your driving, don’t drive when you are tired and overall – look out for each other on our roads.

One of the more common questions that I receive at this time of year is "Do I need winter tires to drive to ________." The Province of B.C. has provided maps of locations where winter tires (or carrying tire chains for commercial vehicles) is mandatory. Now you can go to the site, choose the appropriate map and answer that question.

This is a story from Chestnut Street in Parksville, but could just as easily take place on any residential street in British Columbia. It appears that both the residents there and the City Council are upset about the speeds of the drivers who use that street. What no one seemed to agree on was what to do about it beyond asking police to do enforcement and perhaps posting the speed limit at 40 km/h.

A survey of municipalities in 2015 found that they were interesting in having more knowledge on road safety planning, safety designs, and strategies. The toolkit will be built and distributed as part of the province's Vision Zero initiative and is intended for all agencies with a mandate related to road safety.

“My tires aren’t the greatest, there’s really no point living in Vancouver to get, you know, snow tires. But yeah, a little slippery, but just drive slow, you’ll be fine.” These words of wisdom came from a young woman standing on an icy city street with a dog under her arm and a small child in tow. Do you think that this is a reasonable outlook for winter driving in the lower mainland, or anywhere else in B.C. for that matter?