DriveSmartBC

BC's Auditor General has released the report of an independent audit of commercial vehicle safety in our province. The audit looked at whether the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General have effectively managed their respective programs to promote the safe operation of commercial vehicles on B.C. roads.

Last week we looked at the story of a cyclist who was told by a constable that it was too dangerous to ride a bike on the road and he should find another hobby. Not knowing anything more about the encounter that produced this advice I asked the cyclist if he had done anything about questioning this attitude. No was the response, I'm afraid of retaliation.

Effective immediately, the rules governing the use of tire chains on commercial vehicles traveling on BC highways have been made more extensive and the penalties for failing to follow them are under consideration and will become more expensive later this winter.

Do you have less than 5 years of driving experience and hold a BC Driver's licence? If you are interested in taking part in a driver telematics pilot project starting in the spring of 2019, ICBC would like to hear from you. They are accepting up to 7,000 volunteers to see if using telematics will make you a safer driver.

ICBC's current corporate slogan is "Building Trust, Driving Confidence." Pair that with this week's announcement of a $582 million loss for the first six months of the corporation's fiscal year and one begins to wonder about the confidence part. That loss is being blamed on the rising number and cost of claims.