DriveSmartBC

If you went to the nearest ICBC Driver Service Center to renew your BC driver's licence and were directed to take a computer based knowledge test to qualify, would you pass? We all tend to think of ourselves as better than average drivers, but the truth is, by definition, half of us are not. Chances are good that we have done nothing to improve our driving skills and knowledge since the day we first received our full privilege driver's licence.

Cycling advocates in BC would like to see our government enact a safe passing distance law so that drivers are aware of how much space they must leave between their vehicle and the cycle as they drive by. Two US cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Knowville, Kentucky have such laws and were chosen by NHTSA for a study of how high visibility enforcement of the law influenced passing distances.

Moving licence plates from one vehicle to another is not just a simple matter of being able to use a screwdriver. Many people run into trouble when they try to move their plates to a substitute vehicle and don't do it properly. Of course, this could look like small change in retrospect if that person were to cause a collision before being discovered by police.

In this 30-minute online presentation and question and answer session, author Philippe Crist presents the new ITF report “Streets That Fit: Re-allocating Space for Better Cities”. Street space in cities is a rare resource. Much of it is currently allocated to highly space-consuming transport modes without taking into account that demands for that space vary over time.

Here is another video from Road Guy Rob who explains about advisory bike lanes, just like the ones installed recently Victoria. In this case the installation was in San Diego, California and "the people living nearby lost their collective minds.  Here's why these lanes aren't quite as bad as local TV coverage claims."

An incident that took place in Surrey on March 26 was headlined as street racing, which brings to mind the following questions:  How is "street racing" defined? How do the courts recognize street racing as opposed to, say, speeding? And why are the rules currently on the books for things like speeding, reckless driving and endangerment alone not harsh enough to apply to street racers?

The case of Carrero v Park takes place on North Road at the intersection with Rochester Street in Burnaby. Bobby Joe Carrero was riding his bicycle southbound on the sidewalk on the west side of North Road approaching the intersection. Na Young Park was driving southbound on North Road intending to make a right turn onto Rochester Street. Neither one saw the other as they approached the intersection.

Vancouver's Worst Drivers is a YouTube channel that features submitted dash cam video from BC's Lower Mainland highlighting examples of terrible driving. The videos show collisions, people being dumb behind the wheel, people having no idea how rules of the road work, pedestrians doing stupid things, along with rants on things that drive the channel author nuts about other drivers.

Here is another request from a correspondent: If you have not commented on right turns at red lights you might want to consider it. I see so many people that fail to stop at a red light when turning right. They seem to feel that all they have to do is yield. Unless the rules have changed, it requires a full stop before turning.

The case of Clark v ICBC involves an alleged single vehicle hit & run collision on Marble Lake Road between the Ashton Creek Store and the Cooke Creeke Campground. Christopher Clark was driving a Jeep Patriot eastbound from the store when he met a pickup that strayed over the yellow centre line of the highway into his lane.