DriveSmartBC

What's behind me and why should I care? I'm driving down the highway and I'm certainly not going to back into something! There are at least two common hazards that occur regularly behind every driver and looking out for them is just good sense.

Volume 45, Issue 5 of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Status Report is now available for download. This issue covers the following topics:

Conspicuity is an important word in any motorcycle rider's vocabulary. Being seen by other road users is a must to avoid being involved in a collision. One method of increasing a motorcycle's conspicuity is through the use of a modulating headlamp.

Canada's testing standards for child safety seats will be second to none when they are implemented on January 1, 2011. Children today are heavier and require that safety standards keep pace in order to take this into account and provide sufficient protection.

I would like to know of laws and regulations for off road vehicle use on residential roadways. My neighbours frequently use their dirt bikes to race up and down our street (drivers age from about 6 to grown adults) while other children are playing and there is traffic. Some drivers wear the protection, others not.

This advertisement from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership reminds us why we choose to wear our seatbelts.

The majority of this issue features information on child restraints. It reinforces the idea that children secured in child restraints are safer that children secured by seat belts alone, describes what good belt fit looks like and how 60 seats rate for lap and shoulder belt fit.

Buying a set of tire chains and stowing them in the trunk without ever trying to install them might not be a good idea. The first time you will be called to use them will mean installing them in the worst of conditions and taking too long to do the task could even mean being hit by a passing vehicle.

The province of British Columbia has not yet mandated that true winter tread tires be used during the winter months on all highways. However, one can only legally operate in the ice and snow using all season or summer tires if they are not traveling on posted highways or are carrying tire chains that are the appropriate size and type for the vehicle.

The eSafety background paper examines five systems: electronic stability control, warning and emergency braking systems, blind spot monitoring, lane support systems and speed alert. Unlike passive safety system we take for granted today, seatbelts and air bags, these systems are active.