Safety Equipment

We all know that the law requires that we wear our seat belts when driving. The Motor Vehicle Act says in part "..wear the complete seat belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner." Why should we worry, and how do we know what is proper?

Two women once appeared for trial on on of my traffic court dates. Both were disputing a ticket for failing to wear a seat belt under section 220(4) of the Motor Vehicle Act. They each testified that they were wearing their seat belt, but had placed the shoulder belt under their arms.

When I learned to drive more than 4 decades ago, seatbelts were becoming standard equipment on all vehicles. Fast forward to today and we have seatbelts, multiple airbags and a host of automatic systems designed to either avoid a crash or minimize the damage to us if we are in one. Why then do some of us ignore the systems that are there for our protection?

Q: I have a truck that the previous owner installed 4 point harness seat belts in. The previous owner drove the truck on the road regularly. I just want to see if the 4 point harness is legal to use or if I should swap them out for the stock seatbelts.

Question: I'm wondering what the offence is if I carry 3 passengers in a vehicle that's only equipped for two? If one passenger was seated on the floor / a box between the two installed seats? It's a 3 ton truck.

This video is a news story carried on CTV Vancouver Island. It explains that helmet use has been mandatory for a long time but may cyclists don't bother wearing them. Those that don't believe that it should be a personal choice. This is balanced by those who wear one and have avoided serious injury in a crash because of it.

Q: I have a hypothetical law question for you. Not saying in ANY way that this would be a good idea, only a law question.

Could a child of 5 years old (3’7", 50 lbs) ride in the sidecar of a motorcycle in a booster seat? This situation would be in the City of Surrey for reference.

You don't just keep your vehicle clean so that it looks good anymore. The sensors for your vehicle's safety systems need to be kept clean so that they will function as intended as well. This video from Consumer Reports describes six sensors that your newer vehicle may be equipped with and the maintenance that they need to continue to protect you properly.

The TranBC web site has published three maps of B.C. showing the highways where winter tires must be used or commercial vehicles must carry chains.

Is summer over already? It seems that the lawn is just coming out of dormancy in my yard but night time temperatures have dipped below 7 degrees. That and the fact that it is October the first means that it's time to get winter tires installed. Winter tire and chain up routes are now in effect.