Motorcycles

QUESTION: I have been driving home on Rupert Street in Vancouver lately and there are some lane markings I am not clear about. Between 12th ave and about Kingsway there is a narrow right hand lane that has a bicycle and a white diamond, there is no other signage. Are motorcycles allowed to use this lane because they regularly do.

This provincial government news item was released in March, 2010. It advised that the province of BC saw 286 motorcycle-related deaths on our highways between 2000 and 2007. As a result, the BC Coroner's Service convened a Death Review Panel to examine the increasing frequency of serious collisions. The panel made recommendations to prevent loss of life in similar circumstances.

Road signs are something that we see every time we drive. Inside cities, there are often many signs that compete for our attention and it is important to know what they mean and how to recognize them at a glance. Not being able to do this caused a motorcycle rider some concern.

I've been looking forward to eating a meal on our back deck and enjoying the warm sunshine outdoors for a while now. Last evening was the first comfortable opportunity so my wife and I took advantage of it. The breeze was rustling the branches, the birds were chirping, the frogs were peeping and the motorcycles were whining and rumbling.

This video is from the FortNine channel on YouTube. It explains that there are three ways to position your body in relation to  your motorcycle when you are making a turn: lean, counter-lean and neutral. The video explains why learning to counter-lean your motorcycle is the best choice for highway riding.

Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You! This is probably the biggest concern among motorcycle riders everywhere and with good reason. Last year in B.C., 1,600 motorcyclists were injured in 2,600 crashes. In addition, on average, 34 riders die in crashes each year on our roads. This is what a snapshot looks like today.

Obtaining a motorcycle endorsement (class 6) on your drivers’ licence is essentially the same as getting any other licence, but it is a bit more complicated than getting an endorsement to drive a car (class 5) in part because operating a motorcycle is more complicated than operating a car, and the consequences of making a mistake are usually higher.

Terrence Wojtkiw was issued a violation ticket for three Motor Vehicle Act offences while riding a TAG 500 electric scooter equipped with pedals. At the time, the pedals had been installed so that they were side by side instead of opposed to each other, in addition to being positioned behind the usual part of the seat used by the driver. They were essentially useless for propelling the machine.

There sometimes seem to be two types of people when it comes to the sounds emitted by vehicle exhaust systems: those who hate it and those who try to balance calling attention to themselves yet not provoke a response from traffic law enforcement.

One of the most common motorcycle crashes occurs when another road user moves into the path of the oncoming rider. These collisions are often called Look But Fail to See (LBFTS) or Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You (SMIDSY). Recent research suggests that the failure to yield could also be resulting from a memory deficit or Saw But Forgot errors.