In the time that I have been writing this column I have accumulated many different topics. The requests have been varied, but I must admit, I never would have come up with this week's topic myself. A reader has asked about vehicles owned by dead people.
On a sunny afternoon patrol one weekend I stopped a vehicle that had been exceeding the speed limit. As I approached, I could see two gray haired women in the front and two men of the same vintage in the rear of the car. I could also see a partially consumed cold beer in the hand of each of the men, who made no attempt to hide them from me.
This video contains scenes of a graphic nature. A disturbing new ad campaign has started to encourage people to wear their seat belts. The Government commercial shows graphic images of the fatal damage car crashes can cause to internal organs in a bid to persuade people to belt up.
This case involves a collision that happened at an intersection where one street is controlled by traffic lights and the cross street by stop signs. Dr. Schlappner stopped at the stop sign, saw that the traffic lights were red and proceeded to cross the intersection. While he was crossing, the traffic signal turned green and a vehicle driven by Mrs. Serfas proceeded and collided with him.
Perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of driving is taking responsibility for your actions when you drive your vehicle or your employer's vehicle. We tend to sit anonymously in the confines of the passenger compartment and not feel obligated to exercise our social manners toward the other unfamiliar drivers around us.
This case involves a collision where one of the drivers involved was making a left turn at an intersection. That driver, Madame Moreno Munoz was charged for failing to yield on left turn. The trial examines the concept of "immediate hazard" and whether the left turning driver or the driver proceeding toward the left turn driver is required to yield to the other based on the immediate hazard involved.
This video is an excellent illustration of the "No Zone," an area around a heavy commercial truck where the driver has difficulty seeing small vehicles. All drivers should view this video as it will change their attitude about sharing the road for good. If you do find yourself in the "No Zone," never spend any longer there than you have to.
I know enforcement people have become powerless in smartening up drivers, but something has gotta give. It seems a though everyone is driving on THEIR road, not OUR road. This mentality is shared by I'm guessing half of drivers these days, commercial and four wheelers a like. Driving defensively all day to save some of these people's lives is becoming a drag to say the least.
On June 17, 2009 the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights chaired by MP Ed Fast released a report titled "Ending Alcohol-Impaired Driving: A Common Approach." The report makes 10 recommendations, the most interesting of which says that police should be able to do random breath testing of drivers without having a reasonable suspicion that the drivers have alcohol in their bodies.
We strongly believe that now is the time to focus on changing the way that transportation planning is being conducted! Not only does every community have a network of roads and streets, but people in just about every community we have worked with for the last 34 years, have experienced problems related to their streets.