Miscellaneous

I have a question about the dash cam that I use while driving around in Vancouver every day. I see a lot of "interesting" driving, if you know what I mean. That said, I am wondering if I am breaking any privacy laws. Either way, could a police officer use my video to give the driver a ticket?

Aside from fire or being hit by other vehicles post crash, a danger most of us may not consider is electrocution. If the collision that you are involved in includes a kiosk or utility pole BC Hydro would like you to know about the dangers presented by electricity.

Vision Zero takes the position that any loss of life in traffic is unacceptable. The driving environment should be build so that road users are protected. A self-enforcing road is a roadway that is planned and designed to encourage drivers to select operating speeds in harmony with the posted speed limit.

The National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims occurs in Canada each year on the third Wednesday in November. The BC Government issued an official proclamation of the day, which comes before the World Day of Remembrance held on the third Sunday of November.

When winter weather turned bad suddenly I would often find my shift was a busy one, driving from vehicle to vehicle in the ditch at the side of the road. Of course, we were obligated to check collisions and insure that no one was hurt but in this situation manpower often did not match the number of incidents reported. The situation was made worse by repeated reports of the same vehicle with a different description and location.

Slow Streets is a Vancouver based urban planning and design group. Their website features the biography of Darren Proulx who describes himself as a plangineer of places, active transportation and tactical urbanism to create great cities for people. The group's position is that "A street is more than simply about moving automobiles. Reconsidering the use of streets can achieve significant and positive impacts for cities."

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has updated their list of pilot projects in BC municipalities that allow the use of electric kick scooters on streets. Designed to assess the safety of e-mobility as safe modes of personal transportation these projects must be enabled by municipal bylaws.

Are the drivers going through your neighbourhood going too fast? Do you want to do something about it? Your first reaction might be to approach authorities to install a stop sign or speed bumps. This may or may not be the appropriate way to deal with the situation.

PlugShare is a database that currently offers information on over 200,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Canada and the US. It even lists the personal home charging stations of EV drivers who will share their them with others. Until charging stations become as ubiquitous as service stations selling fossil fuels, being a member of plugshare can help you avoid becoming stuck with no charge when you travel in unfamiliar areas.

Curb space. This can be a very valuable commodity in urban areas due to the increasing competition among different road users for that space. During COVID it was even valuable for unrelated uses such as outdoor dining for restaurants. How should this be managed by officials, planners and engineers in the future?