DriveSmartBC

This is the case of Lemma v Wong. Messele Lemma attempted to cross Commercial Drive at East 11 Avenue in Vancouver. He stepped off the curb slightly outside the unmarked crosswalk into the path of a pickup truck driven by Gary Rolfe. Mr. Rolfe stopped suddenly to avoid colliding with Mr. Lemma. Mr. Lemma continued to cross Commercial Drive, now in the crosswalk, where he was struck by a car driven by Lindsey Kwan who had changed lanes to the left and passed the Rolfe vehicle.

The City of Kelowna has a roundabout at the corner of Burtch Road and Guisachan Road that has been designed it in a way that forces cyclists onto the sidewalk.  I regularly walk in the area and am always hearing "On your left" or "On your right" from cyclists that expect me to get out of their way. As far as I am concerned I have no legal obligation to move or relinquish the sidewalk to satisfy the cyclists.  I do believe they have a legal obligation to yield to me - even if they are forced to dismount and push their bike.

I have a question that I hope you will answer for me. If an intersection safety camera ticket is sent to the vehicle's owner, do they get penalty points on their license? I found a web post that says you only get penalty points if you were caught by a cop. Is that true?

I enjoy these videos by Road Guy Rob. He explains how the road structures that we use daily function in an easy to understand manner. In this video he takes on the subject of raised medians. On one hand, they prevent crashes, but on the other, they keep us from turning left where we might want to. This video explains how engineers decide how to build raised medians.

I was driving home after shift last week listening to the radio and enjoying the sunshine. The traffic report was being broadcast and in it was a cell phone call from a woman who had been stopped in the lineup for the highway construction on Highway 4 between Port Alberni and Parksville. She wondered if anyone knew what was going on.

This case involves a collision between vehicles driven by Shafiqullah Bismellah and Sung Lee. They were both approaching a sharp right angle corner from opposite directions where Southpoint Drive becomes Sounthwynde Avenue in Burnaby. Evidence of Fawad Facher, a passenger in Mr. Bismellah's vehicle, is that he was traveling too fast for the corner, failed to stay in his lane and collided with Ms. Sung. His position was that one of both of the others were responsible for injuries that he sustained in the collision.

Question: The Galloping Goose Trail is shared by pedestrians and high speed cyclists. Should one walk facing the traffic or keep right? I see both happening and there are arguments in support of both. I often have difficulty hearing cyclists and there is frequently not any warning.

British Columbia's view of what consists of acceptable methods of transportation on our roads had changed considerably since I started policing in the 1980's. Back then, cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and feet were pretty much all that was allowed. Devices like rollerblades, skateboards, motorized bicycles and scooters were either strictly controlled or forbidden completely.

Here's a simple, almost no cost change in pedestrian walk signal timing that can reduce vehicle / pedestrian collisions by as much as 60%. Instead of illuminating the white pedestrian light at the same time as the green light for traffic, the pedestrian gets a few seconds head start. This puts them out into the intersection before drivers start to move, making them more visible.

Probably one of the most dangerous things that we do as drivers is to make a left turn. As we sit in traffic waiting for a large enough gap between oncoming vehicles we risk being hit from behind, the most common collision type on our roads. When we do turn, we present the sides of our vehicle to other traffic which is the most vulnerable position to be in.