Skills

The RCMP's advanced driver training course was without a doubt the most fun of any course many of the participants had taken in their service. We used an inactive runway at the Boundary Bay airport in Delta and a collection of well used Crown Victoria police interceptors to polish our driving skills. Contrary to what you might think, this was not a high speed driving situation as we never got going faster than about 65 km/h.

Twice in the last few days I have found oncoming drivers encroaching on my lane. There was no reason for it, such as an obstruction in their lane, that I could see. My conclusion is that they were either unable or too lazy to bother with staying completely between the lines.

In this and other common driving situations, almost is NOT good enough!

Roundabouts and traffic circles are not new to British Columbia, but if the complaints in my inbox are any indication, they are still totally mystifying to some drivers. Common issues include bulldozing into the circle without yielding, signalling when there is no need, not signalling when there is a need, and yes, going around them in the wrong direction.

Rick August of Smart Drive Test introduces us to the roundabout or traffic circle.

I've been reading Moving to Vision Zero: Road Safety Strategy Update and Showcase of Innovation in British Columbia and was struck by these words: "The Safe System Approach enables more ambitious progress by treating the road system as a product of numerous components.

This timely safety tip from TranBC explains what black ice is, how to recognize it and how to recover if you find yourself in trouble. I'm not sure why they single out highways in northern BC for mention as I've also seen black ice conditions frequently on Vancouver Island.

I've been watching a series of comments on an article I wrote titled Yielding on Left Turns. The discussion has involved a driving instructor, a former driving examiner, a professional commercial vehicle driver and myself.

This video is part of a series from the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales, Australia. It compares and contrasts front and rear wheel only braking and teaches that effective braking is a combination of both.

Welcome to fall! It's the time of year that I have trouble driving to work in the morning. The sun is low in the sky to the east at the time of my commute and there is one spot on the highway where it shines directly into my eyes making it very difficult to see. Worse still, this location has an intersection with a traffic light that can be completely obscured by the glare.

Although this instruction takes place in a right hand drive vehicle, the principles are exactly the same for left hand drive. Three methods or steering are shown: push-pull steering for general driving, hand over hand for slow speed maneuvering and fixed input for small changes in direction.