DriveSmartBC

I drive a semi tractor trailer for a living. I was wondering what cops' take is on slowly rolling through a stop sign at 5 kph, after scanning the intersection in a rural area and seeing no traffic.

I've always wondered how well the underride protection at the back of heavy commercial trailers would work, but I was never called on to investigate a collision like this. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has produced a video that shows these underride prevention structures provide poor protection when built to US standards and only slightly better protection when built to Canadian standards.

I have a question regarding driving violation 214.1(1) prohibiting cell phone usage while driving. I recently was pulled over by an RCMP officer and when I asked what was wrong he said that I had been using my cell phone while driving. I tried to respectively deny this as I had not been using my phone.

Is there a minimum speed on municipal roads? For example, if a road has a designated speed limit of 50 km/h, is there an inferred or statuatory minimum speed for that road?

As a pedestrian in Vancouver I am feeling increasingly at risk. Cars making left turns are a particular hazard. To get to work I need to cross Cambie St. at 57th, where there is a pedestrian controlled crosswalk. I think that there needs to be more awareness around this kind of intersection.

Maybe it,s just me,but if I was walking somewhere,and someone came  up behind me with a wepon (gun,knife,ect).and beiing trained in martial arts,It is my right to defend myself,,,as my life is at risk..I would be concidered somewhat of a hero,if I sucseeded to aprehend this criminal. If I did,nt sucseed,,Yes I could be dead or injured,,but at the time,,the choices beiing???????

What are we thinking about when we drive? More and more often I am convinced that we are thinking about anything but the driving task. Please be assured that when I say this I am giving drivers credit that they know how to drive properly in the first place.

ICBC has introduced interactive, online crash maps for British Columbia. There are three different types of maps showing vehicle, cycle and pedestrian crash data for BC communities. Choose between Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Southern Interior and Northern Central areas and then click the commmunity you are interested in. Data is current to March 31, 2012 and goes back to 2007.

I'm not sure if you have covered this in previous columns but two of my biggest peeves is people that can't maintain proper lane positioning and people that shave corners. This is extremely dangerous if the offending driver is coming into your lane and a friggin' nuisance when following behind someone that 'gets into the gravel" and spits it up. What happened to the drivers courtesy today?

A green light doesn't always mean go unless you've had a good look to make sure that there are no hazards present before you proceed. Jennifer Biggers learned this when the vehicle she was driving collided with Carol Murdoch, who was crossing quickly in a marked crosswalk against a red light.