Twenty years of traffic policing has left me wondering if today is the day that another driver will involve me in a crash. I seem to be asking myself this more and more often as I observe the behaviour of other drivers around me. Driving is probably the largest risk that I take in my life right now.
Recently I have been given a ticket for not stopping on a stop sign at an intersection equipped with a pedestrian controlled light while it was green. I live in Vancouver and could say that such intersections exist everywhere and almost every driver in the city is aware of the problem.
The case of Blackburn v HMTQ, RCMP and Leyh occurred at the intersection of Ferry Avenue and Highway 16 West in Prince George. A member of the RCMP was responding to a rollover collision with injuries when he proceeded through a red light at low speed and collided with a car driven by a deaf person who passed by other traffic that was stopped to allow the police vehicle to clear the intersection.
Many Canadian drivers do not believe driver training programs for passenger vehicles provide adequate education about sharing the road with large trucks.
The survey conducted in September and October of 2009 found that 62.4% of respondents did not believe training is adequate. Another 20.2% of respondents simply answered they did not know whether training is adequate or not.
"Haven't you got anything better to do?" This was a common response from drivers after being told that they had been stopped for a traffic rule infraction. "Why aren't you out catching real criminals?"
I am guessing that most people see the code 3 operation of an emergency vehicle as something that would be exciting or thrilling. From my own experience I can say that this feeling quickly wears off and a sense of responsibility settles in. The lights and siren provide no protection for you or anyone else on the highways and the speeds involved expose us all to danger.
Australia is known for its hard hitting advertising campaigns aimed at reducing death and injury due to motor vehicle collisions. This video is a retrospective on 20 years of road safety campaigns. It features iconic scenes and images from commercials that have helped change they way we drive, all edited to the moving song Everybody Hurts by REM.
I saw a hitch hiker this morning sitting with his back against the left turn signal post on the traffic island adjacent to a left turn lane. He was holding a destination sign and was in a perfect position to talk to drivers who were waiting for the signal to change. The duration of the signal was such that he had plenty of time to hop in if he was able to convince someone to give him a ride.
Why are radar locations are allowed to be broadcast on the radio road reports? I have seen, so many times, people drive slow where they know radar is, only to start speeding once they get past them. Isn't the idea of radar to catch the speeders?
Most motor vehicles need a licensed driver, a license and license plate and insurance in order to be operated on a highway. This is not always the case with a farm tractor or other motorized implement of husbandry. The driver may not need a license or license plates depending on how the vehicle is used.