DriveSmartBC

A common message that arrives in the DriveSmartBC inbox concerns the perception of a local problem and either no response or an unexpected response from local government. The writer is usually looking for someone to solve their problem for them with little or no effort on their part beyond the initial complaint. Chances are excellent that the problem will continue to be a problem unless there is a concerted effort to resolve it.

Every year an average of 52 pedestrians are killed and 2.400 are injured by collisions in B.C. These incidents typically take place at night or when visibility is poor. While there is no law requiring that pedestrians take steps to make themselves more visible to drivers in times of low visibility it simply makes sense to protect yourself when crossing or walking along the road.

The majority of all traffic collisions occur in the urban environment, where there is a more complex traffic environment and a higher predominance of road users that are more susceptible to injury and fatality in the event of an accident. A relatively straightforward and cost-effective speed management measure, involves reducing speed limits.

Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You! This is probably the biggest concern among motorcycle riders everywhere and with good reason. Last year in B.C., 1,600 motorcyclists were injured in 2,600 crashes. In addition, on average, 34 riders die in crashes each year on our roads.

I want you to focus your writing on the driving behaviour of many police officers. I realize that not all of them only follow the rules when it is convenient, but there is a significant number of them. Why don't they follow the traffic rules like the rest of us?

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.