In some municipalities firefighters are attending collisions instead of the police. I've never felt comfortable with this decision for a number of reasons but even our government has joined in by removing the requirement to report collisions to the police. Morley Lymburner, publisher of Blue Line Magazine, a Canadian trade publication for the police writes on the subject.
I'm not sure if you'd call it a 'positive subject' but I don't remember in my 75 years (56 as a driver) reading much about safety chains on trailers.... Lot's of drivers these days are towing little domestic trailers around, moving garden refuse, furniture, dirt bikes and other 'stuff' from A to B...
Thoughts that make you go "hmmm..." This article by Eric de Place looks at civic government and the laws for the provision of parking at businesses. Why do they mandate parking at drinking establishments? Perhaps parking should be forbidden there, after all, we don't want people to drink and drive!
"Speed Kills!" is a popular road safety slogan that we hear often. It's pretty simplistic and when I look around me on the highway I am convinced that drivers either don't believe it or live in a world of denial. Speed alone doesn't kill, but combine it with poor driving skills or a bad decision and it definitely makes a bad situation worse.
If you insist on "do it yourself" when your teen needs a driving instructor, be prepared to do the job right. After all, safe driving is a life skill well worth learning properly from the beginning. Your teen trusts you, but are you really prepared to do a comprehensive job as a teacher?
I liked your article on left hand turns and taking the time to make sure you do it safely.
My mother is a rather large woman who has gotten larger due to medical causes...she also has a phobia of being confined as a result of a seatbelt not releasing and being trapped for quite a bit of time...as a result it is very difficult to get her to agree to put on a seatbelt when we take her to various doctors appointments...
How much time do you have to look, decide and then execute a left turn in heavy traffic? Do you feel pushed by the drivers behind you into making that decision quickly? If you cannot "check your six" quickly and confidently, it's time to wait for certainty.
Your recent bicycle column stirred me to ask a question about cyclists passing on the right. I was in Kelowna, travelling north on Harvey Avenue and wanted to turn right into a strip mall. Harvey Avenue is three lanes wide here and the curb lane is an HOV lane.
Worldwide, about 1.3 million people die each year because of road crashes. B.C.'s average of about 350 seems small by comparison and we probably think that we are one of the better examples of traffic safety. Well, think again.