DriveSmartBC

"Oh yeah, I know the trailer brakes are working, I could feel them grabbing on the hill!" To me, this was almost as reliable as "The cheque's in the mail!" when it came to testing trailers with surge brakes at the roadside. This driver used the wrench I offered him to show me that there was no brake fluid in the master cylinder of the surge brake. Surprise!

B.C.'s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) has implemented a program aimed at removing commercial vehicles with serious equipment defects from our highways. The program applies to commercial vehicles with a GVW over 5,000 kg that are part of the National Safety Code Program.

I was pulled over yesterday by a member of the police and issued a ticket and inspection order for illegal front window tint. I asked that I be able to remove the tint myself and then present the vehicle and notice to a peace officer.

I have a question about rear hitch mounted bike racks which are readily available in stores. We use one with 4 bikes on it for our family and when the 4 bikes are loaded they obstruct the view of the rear licence plate, brake lights and turn signals. The corner lights can be seen through the spokes of the bike wheels but not clearly.

Place two average adult feet side by side on a piece of paper and draw a box around their edges. The area of this box is about the same as the area of your tires in contact with the road on an average automobile. Tires are your only contact with the highway, and collisions result when that contact is lost.

Airbags go hand in hand with seatbelts to protect a vehicle's occupants during a crash. They have become smarter as manufacturers and regulators have refined how they work and how they are required to work.

Is this vehicle legal to drive with no drivers side mirror? The passenger side mirror is there, but the window is missing and replaced with plastic.

Last week's column on overdriving low beam headlights resulted in some interesting comments. Chief among them was the thought that this wasn't a problem because the driver had installed high wattage bulbs and now had more light to see with.

Window tinting looks cool, keeps your vehicle interior cool, or hides your vehicle contents from potential thieves. The drawback with tinting certain windows is that it limits the driver's ability to see and be seen. It is also illegal and may result in enforcement action in the form of either a ticket or a repair order.

When I was posted to Fort St. John detachment, the decision was easy, our family car had four studded winter tires. Once I was transferred to Penticton, these tires went with the car when we traded it in and we used all season tires throughout the year. Now that we live on Vancouver Island, we've come full circle and just purchased a set of four studded winter tires.