Information regarding heavy commercial vehicles.
Have you ever found yourself trailing a large commercial transport truck on a British Columbia highway and felt an overwhelming urge to get around it? It is a common psychological reaction for passenger vehicle drivers. We don't like being slowed down but the maneuver that happens next is often one of the most dangerous actions on our roads: passing the truck, immediately cutting back into its lane, and then slowing down.
When British Columbia drivers see a pilot car with flashing amber lights, it is an immediate warning that an oversize, slow-moving, or extra-wide commercial load is nearby. Navigating safely around these escorts requires exercising extreme caution and being prepared to yield the right-of-way, regardless of where you are driving in the province.
Failing to measure a load properly is an expensive crisis on B.C. highways. About once a month, an over-height vehicle or its load is involved in a collision with an overpass somewhere in British Columbia. According to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, these preventable infrastructure crashes cause millions of dollars in structural damage, gridlock commuter traffic, and compromise public safety.
Effective in November 2018, commercial trucks were forbidden to use the leftmost lane on the Coquihalla Highway between Box Canyon and Zopkios. The aim of the pilot project was to keep "spun out" trucks on the right side of the highway and the left lane clear for snow removal equipment and tow trucks. The project has been expanded.
Question: What are the laws in BC about wearing hearing protection while operating a non-commercial vehicle? I drive a diesel panel van, and the noise level in the cab is VERY high at highway speeds - to the point that conversation is difficult and my ears ring after extended drives.
One exemption from having to wear a seatbelt during normal operation of a motor vehicle is when one travels at 40 km/h or less and is engaged in work that requires them to make frequent stops. The Motor Vehicle Act does not define what the term frequent stops means.
I asked a couple of truckers what bothered them about the drivers of small vehicles. We had a lively half hour discussion from which I gathered their top five concerns. Each of these concerns could have serious consequences for everyone on the highway.
Trip inspection report standards for commercial and business vehicles in B.C. are defined in both National Safety Code 13 and the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. Daily pre- and post-trip inspections of these vehicles are mandated to insure safety by identifying and repairing defects that would cause a collision or result in a breakdown before driving.
Here is a series of four videos from TranBC that are part of the Be Truck Aware initiative. They illustrate dangerous choices made by the drivers of small vehicles when they fail to share the road properly with heavy trucks.
The case of Topolewski v Blyschak arises from a collision between a commercial truck and a Honda Civic at the intersection of Mary Street and Hodgins Avenue in Chiliwack. Mr. Topolewski had driven his commercial truck northbound on Mary Street intending to make a right turn onto Hodgins Avenue.