I'm sure that you have already determined that if I don't write this column based on reader requests, I write about something that I have seen happen around me in traffic. This column is no different, and it is about a behaviour that struck me when I was using the freeway in Vancouver recently.
Judging by the result, it may be a significant event in many driver's lives to be pulled over by the police. I've seen everything from jamming on the brakes and stopping in the middle of the lane to following oblivious drivers for many kilometers before they caught sight of my emergency lights.
My job requires me to pull over and park for a short period of time on the freeway. There is sufficient space to pull off and I'm not obstructing a lane but I'm wondering what the regulations are in respect to signaling and signage.
Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement has received numerous complaints and enquiries regarding vehicles operating on the highway without the driver and / or passenger door(s) in place. Reports most commonly identify certain makes and models of Jeep as some of these vehicles have side doors that may be easily removed. Any vehicle operating on the highway without doors represents a serious safety concern for the occupants as side intrusion protection and passenger containment would be compromised in the event of a collision.
Would you kindly comment on the spate of right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles that have appeared in B.C. recently? I have always been under the impression that imported vehicles had either to meet, or be modified to meet, Canadian standards before being licenced in Canada.
When I was young, we thought nothing of throwing a mattress in the back of the station wagon, loading up my brother and sisters and heading off on holidays. We would sprawl on that mattress reading comic books or playing games. Sometimes we even fought over whose turn it was to be in the back.
It's common knowledge that you must report a collision to police if there is death, injury, aggregate damage over $1,000 for motor vehicles, $800 for motorcycles and $100 for cycles. Until the law changes in British Columbia, effective this past July 1, this is no longer the case. Collisions do not have to be reported to police, or anyone else, to fulfill the reporting requirements of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Question: Would you write an article on painted traffic islands? As I pass an island with my left turn signal on, someone behind me will often drive across the island, attempting to pass me and turn at the same intersection. I have seen professional drivers do this as well.
"Cash for Scrap Vehicles" reads the slogan spray painted on the side of a brightly coloured rust bucket parked precariously on the bank between a fence and the side street. Is it eye catching or an eyesore? I suppose that would depend on your point of view.
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization based here in our province dedicated to developing innovative and practical solutions to transportation problems. They regularly make research papers available to the public and here are the most interesting from their last newsletter: