Be careful what you ask for! I needed a topic to write about here so I sent a message to DriveSmartBC followers on Twitter and asked for suggestions. The one that intrigued me the most came from fellow road safety blogger Scott Marshall, the Director of Training for Young Drivers of Canada. He asked if, when I learned to drive, was I really ready?
In a public opinion survey of Canadian knowledge of and attitudes towards vehicle safety features, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) found that a concerning 67.3% Canadians agree or strongly agree that vehicle safety improvements make being involved in a collision less likely, meaning that they can drive faster. In addition, 17.2% agreed or strongly agreed that they would drive the speed limit or faster if their vehicle had safety features, even though it was raining and they felt it might be risky to drive the speed limit.
I was given a ticket after I alledgedly hit a parked car with no one inside.
I was first given a ticket for breaking section 68(1) for hitting this vehicle. Several days later a different officer of the Port Moody police came back and gave me a second ticket for breaking section 68(2). These 2 tickets were given to me for the one single alledged offense. They both have the same date as well.
I am often asked about driver testing, particularly now that some older drivers are being given cognitive testing as part of the mandatory medical evaluation at and after age 80. This is called the SIMARD test and was developed at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
So I recently got my letter from the superintendent informing me of my unsatisfactory driving record, and that I will be prohibited from driving for 3 months. My first speeding ticket was on April 28th 2014 going 70~km/h in a 60km zone and my second was on Dec 24th, 2014. For my second ticket I was caught going 89km/h in a 50km zone.
Several weeks ago I followed two cars, already in a left turning lane, thinking turning left was only prohibited Monday through Friday up to 6:00 PM. While in the lane could see that it was Monday to Saturday, and I was in this lane on a Saturday prior to 6:00 PM.
What choices did I have!!
Sometime around 15 to 20 years ago I remember reading in one of the Courtenay newspapers, someone from the City of Courtenay saying that they were changing the timing of the lights in intersections from (possibly) a half second to a full second – meaning all the lights would be red for this amount of time.
There're quite a few accidents daily in Vancouver, pedestrians being hit. Just last night, someone was hit in New West and they had to close Stewardson Way. Its crazy the way people walk here. Full deep black is not visible through a wet screen with a thousand lights flashing in your eyes from the oncoming cars lights.
Question: I operate a 14 passenger Ford Econoline E350 van, which is registered both as a driving school vehicle, and a bus. Government inspection rules appear strict (as they should be) for this type of vehicle, used in these circumstances. I am required to be tested twice a year at designated inspection facilities.
"Will driver education ever be made mandatory?" asks a DriveSmartBC reader. "Why don't we teach driving in high school?" While I would like to see mandatory training I don't think that this could be done well in high schools because of the lack of an opportunity to actually drive under the supervision of a qualified instructor.