Behaviour

Spring ahead this weekend as Daylight Saving Time begins for another year. However, watch out for a lack of spring in your step as you drive to work on Monday morning. The crash rate then is 23% higher than the crash rate of the preceding Monday according to the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation.

Watch AT&T's new 10-minute documentary titled "The Last Text," featuring stories of real individuals whose lives have been adversely affected by texting behind the wheel.

Stay in Mantrol is an anti-speed campaign from the New Zealand Transport Agency. The following quote from their web site summarizes the campaign:

The use of vehicle impoundment as part of an array of penalties to discourage improper driving behaviour will expand significantly when amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act become law on September 20, 2010. In every case the cost of the impoundment will be the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle. If the owner was not the driver at the time, they may recover costs from the driver as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

This report produced by the US Transportation Research Board's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) explores human factors principles and findings for consideration by highway designers and traffic engineers. The report is designed to help the non-expert in human factors to consider more effectively the roadway user’s capabilities and limitations in the design and operation of highway facilities.

"Haven't you got anything better to do?" This was a common response from drivers after being told that they had been stopped for a traffic rule infraction. "Why aren't you out catching real criminals?"

A large majority of drivers have simply forgot about traffic laws, safety and respect for others. Daily, one can see many drivers traveling at 20-50 km/hr faster then the posted speed limits. The problem is so bad that some of us residents have formed a Concerned Residents Committee to help us voice our concerns for a solution to this on-going problem.

Being a young person I don't have the best driving record. I have 13 points in the last 5 years couple of speeding tickets a failure to signal and a no drivers license (I had a license but it wasn't on me it was at home). So after 2 speeding tickets in the last 2 years I got rid of the motorcycle and the fast car and grew up.

Safe Kids USA has released a report that explores the extent to which drivers are engaging in other activities while traveling through school zones. It is very likely that the observations made in this report are representative of distracted driving behaviours that occur in BC school zones as well.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council looked at the addition of reflective stripes to the posts holding up stops signs and then studied driver behaviour. They found that the signs were easier to see in the daylight if the post did not have the stripe installed. The opposite was true at night. However, the conclusion of whether the treatment was useful or not did not surprise me.