Setting a Bad Example for Others
It's not nice to take vicarious pleasure from the troubles of other drivers, but sometimes I can't help myself. Yesterday I found myself #3 in line waiting for a red light to turn green at an intersection. The vehicle in front of me was a shiny Porsche Boxster convertible driven by a mature male. The light turned green and he stalled it. By the time he had started it again the light had turned red and we all ended up waiting for the next cycle.
Most of us have probably done the same thing at some time in our motoring career and I kept my smile for myself lest I tempt Murphy and end up being an example myself.
The performance that came after the stall once my attention was focused on him was remarkable, and I'm going to do just that.
After the restart, he moved the front of his vehicle to the far side of the crosswalk to await the next green light. This is bad form for two reasons: it can put his vehicle past the inductive pickup controlling the signal and it makes life difficult for pedestrians if any are present.
In this case I drove over the loop and there were no pedestrians. Problem solved.
A long tractor-trailer combination was in the intersection waiting patiently to turn left ahead of us. The driver was unable to proceed until the signal turned green for us. He began his turn and Mr. Boxster just could not wait. He looped out to the right and drove around the back of the trailer to make his left turn rather than wait.
Believe it or not, he could have been written a ticket for green light at intersection for this behaviour.
My final observation of this driver was his dust as he rapidly disappeared from view while I trailed along behind having waited for the truck to turn and followed the posted speed limit.
The only challenge to this performance was a driver who decided to stop for a hitch hiker. The stop was a sudden one, made at 45 degrees across an acceleration lane about half way along it's length. Fortunately no one was following this driver too closely. Now the acceleration lane was blocked while everyone loaded luggage and passenger.
This should not have happened for more than one reason. This section of highway is a freeway (schedule 1 highway) and stopping to pick up hitch hikers is illegal. It is also forbidden to be a pedestrian here unless you are attending to a broken down vehicle.
Are you surprised that our vehicle insurance rates are as high as they are?
Comments
Not surprised one bit
My question is how many police officers would have ticketed for these infractions? From my observations over several years is few if any. So I am back at my old complaint the only thing one gets a ticket for is speeding, failure to wear a seat and over the last few years use of a cell phone. Have to problem if distracted driving is for texting otherwise it is the same old same old.
If we want to reduce accidents it is time that all regulations of the motor vehicle act be enforced. And a recent pet peeve is "Keep Right except to Pass". Would police officers which should be setting an example move over to the right lane rather than cruising down the highway in the left. I know why they are driving in the left lane but it comes down to the same thing. Laws are meant for all of us and unless that police vehicle has activated its emergency equipment it should obey the rules of the road.
Cops, and so on ...
You're probably right about that; for more complete information on what they're actually prioritizing (which, given the number of infractions going on, they have to do) you should look elsewhere on this site.
That observation surprises me, quite honestly.
Not that you don't see cops breaking the rules sometimes; just the other week I watched a Burnaby RCMP officer make a horrible left turn from Willingdon into Lougheed (no signal, drifted into the right lane as he straightened up, then - with no traffic flow around to justify it - drove along at least 10 km/h over the limit) but ... not once since the new rules came in have I seen a cop camping out in the left lane on the highway.
And I'm out there all the time, driving is what I do with my day, pretty much.
What You Don't Know About Red Light Cameras
Your description of Mr. Boxster and the driver who stopped to pick up a hitchhiker is fairly typical on the roads and highways of Metro Vancouver.
I live in Surrey and limit my driving in Metro Vancouver due to the aggressive and/or dangerous driving habits of a growing number of drivers.
These drivers are embolden because there is little enforcement, likely because the local RCMP are focused on trying to control the gang shootings.
In today’s Province newspaper, columnist Mike Smyth revealed that intersection cameras operate for only 6 hours in a 24 hour day. Ridiculous!