Behaviour

Information related to driver behaviour.

Bad Manners at the Stop Sign

Stop SignMirror, signal left, brake and stop before the marked stop line. Look left, look right and the pickup that was following behind stops ahead of me on my right, half on and half off the roadway, to make a right turn. Of course, I can't see cross traffic to my right properly, so he gets to go before I do.

Parallel Parking and the Impatient Driver

Parallel ParkingHere's another question from the DriveSmartBC inbox: I've noticed recently that often drivers are impatient of people parallel parking and pass them on the left rather than waiting in the right hand lane for the driver to finish parking before moving forward. In the event of a collision who is at fault - the person parallel parking or the person trying to go around the parallel parking car?

Use ALL Your Lights!

image of car with lights onOne DriveSmartBC follower shares that one of their pet peeves is drivers who do not have lights on during the day, particularly when it is foggy, raining very hard, or there is a very dark overcast. On their last trip they saw many vehicles with no tail lights on and it was very dark out because of low, thick clouds and rain.

If You Can't See, You Can't Go!

Dangerous Intersection SignA reader writes to me describing an intersection where collisions occur regularly, some resulting in fatalities. He has observed that the opposing left turn lanes in one direction don't line up directly across from each other but are offset by a few feet. The result is that through traffic in one direction is more obscured by standing vehicles than it is in the other. To complicate matters, one direction has a protected left turn signal and the other direction does not.

Driver Perception and Reaction Times

StopwatchI usually talk about driver perception and reaction times in relation to using a signal light but it applies equally well to many other areas of driving such as following distances or why the speed limit might seem low on what appears to be a straight road. The question is "How long do I need to do something such as signalling before I change lanes?"

Drive Green, Drive Safe!

green image of earth with plant growing out of itI wrote this article 14 years ago when gas prices rose by 6 cents a litre between leaving for work and driving home one day. The information that I shared then appears to be even more appropriate today with both prices and climate change to consider. Drivers can choose to drive economically and that choice can also result in improved road safety.