Information regarding topics that don't fit in established categories.
A reader asks about an incident where a ladder had fallen off a truck traveling on the highway. The driver following behind the truck took evasive action that resulted in a collision. This question raises many important issues including hazard avoidance, duty at a collision and load securement.
I spoke with a father once about his teen's vehicle. I had inspected it at roadside and because of various defects I had issued it a Notice & Order #2. The father was trying to convince me to withdraw the order because he knew that the vehicle would not pass inspection and it would be too expensive to repair.
Requesting disclosure from the issuing officer should be one of your first steps in preparing to dispute a traffic ticket.
According to John Sullivan, a RAF pilot, we are the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. Our eyes, and the way that our brain processes the images that they receive, are very well suited to creeping up on unsuspecting antelopes and spotting threats such as sabre-toothed tigers. These threats are largely gone and they’ve been replaced by vehicles travelling towards us at high speeds. This, we’ve not yet adapted to deal with.
Our Motor Vehicle Act defines traffic as pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, cycles and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using a highway to travel. That's right, horses being ridden on the highway are considered to be traffic.
The People's Law School is a non-profit BC society whose goal is to make the law accessible to everyone. The section of their website dedicated to Cars & Getting Around has a section on Your Rights & Driving.
I enjoy tinkering with electronics in my spare time and was pleasantly surprised to come across instructions on how to build my own speed camera system using a Raspberry Pi and Python based software that was freely available to download and use. You can probably create the whole system for less than $100!
Your dog may be licensed, but it isn't a licence to drive a vehicle reminds a reader. This person was concerned about the number of human drivers that drive with their dogs riding in a position that might interfere with their control over the vehicle. They are correct, it's not a good idea, even with small dogs.
Having trouble resolving problems with your new vehicle? The Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan (CAMVAP) is a free service to resolve disputes with a manufacturer about defects in your vehicle’s assembly or materials, or how the manufacturer is applying or administering its new vehicle warranty.
Three incidents this week prompt me to remind everyone about load security. Two boats have taken unexpected cruises along the pavement and a falling ladder caused a minor injury collision when the driver following along behind attempted to avoid the sudden obstacle in front of her. All of these incidents were cases of improper load security.