I like to talk about road safety with people I meet because it often ends up producing a good topic for these articles. Yesterday I stopped to speak with the road maintenance contractor operating the mower clearing the shoulder of the roads in my neighbourhood. He was quick to offer three observations, heed the signs, keep your distance and wait behind when there is oncoming traffic.
Suppose a driver is following a vehicle closely (about 1 second distance), and the front vehicle is travelling below the municipal speed limit, suppose at ~40~35km/h, all happening on a quiet 10:30pm on an August' Sunday, with the road being dry and well lit, and not a single other moving vehicle in a 300 meters radius, when the driver of the lead vehicle suddenly comes to a full sudden stop in the middle of the road, causing the
Tonight's six o'clock news contained a story about how police had issued over 5,500 tickets for using electronic devices while driving offences across the province in February 2013. More than 100 more were ticketed for driving without due care and attention. It means to me that lots of drivers aren't obeying the law and more than 100 were caught doing something dangerous because of it.
Intersections can be dangerous places both because it is a place of high crash risk, but also because it can be a place with a significant risk for being ticketed. Traffic police have become creative when working at intersections as related in the article Beware the Flower Clown and Other Roadside Characters. Last week's character held a Happy Valentine's Day sign and was watching for drivers texting at the red light.
I was recently in a critical accident involving horses and traffic. Myself and a friend were riding our horses up Holden Corso Road in Nanaimo, BC when a driver in a blue pick up truck came up towards us travelling at least 20 kms/hour over the speed limit.
Mirror, signal left, brake and stop before the marked stop line. Look left, look right and the vehicle that was following me stops on my right, half on and half off the roadway, making his right turn. Of course, I can't see cross traffic to my right properly, so he gets to go before I do. I'll bet that he was completely oblivious to both his bad manners and the traffic rule he failed to heed.
After many horrific motor vehicle crashes in our province comes a call for highway improvements. For the most part, the call should be for driver improvements instead. Traveling past the site of one such recent incident in my neighbourhood it struck me that inappropriate speed, failing to maintain space margins, lack of lane discipline and poor communication needs to be improved before the highway does.
Heading out to collect some firewood for the winter this weekend? Fall was always a good time to watch for pickup trucks with pyramids of firewood in the back on our highways. When checked they were often illegal, and unsafe, in three ways: unsecured load, overweight and a danger to vehicle occupants if the pickup was involved in a collision.
We've all seen it and I'll bet that we all talk about them, drivers who race us to the next red light. Here they come, weaving through traffic, going over the speed limit and pass by us just in time to stop for the same red light that we do. These drivers put us all at risk to gain nothing and demonstrate their inability to plan ahead.
Highway 33, from above Big White turn off to Beaverdale is getting very dangerous. Travelling either way, cars are waiting too long to pass, and end up returning to their lane on double solid lines, just prior to a corner, and often on the curve of the corner. Anyone coming the other way would have no chance of avoiding a head on collision.
Suppose a driver is following a vehicle closely (about 1 second distance), and the front vehicle is travelling below the municipal speed limit, suppose at ~40~35km/h, all happening on a quiet 10:30pm on an August' Sunday, with the road being dry and well lit, and not a single other moving vehicle in a 300 meters radius, when the driver of the lead vehicle suddenly comes to a full sudden stop in the middle of the road, causing the
Intersections can be dangerous places both because it is a place of high crash risk, but also because it can be a place with a significant risk for being ticketed. Traffic police have become creative when working at intersections as related in the article 
I was recently in a critical accident involving horses and traffic. Myself and a friend were riding our horses up Holden Corso Road in Nanaimo, BC when a driver in a blue pick up truck came up towards us travelling at least 20 kms/hour over the speed limit.
Heading out to collect some firewood for the winter this weekend? Fall was always a good time to watch for pickup trucks with pyramids of firewood in the back on our highways. When checked they were often illegal, and unsafe, in three ways: unsecured load, overweight and a danger to vehicle occupants if the pickup was involved in a collision.
We've all seen it and I'll bet that we all talk about them, drivers who race us to the next red light. Here they come, weaving through traffic, going over the speed limit and pass by us just in time to stop for the same red light that we do. These drivers put us all at risk to gain nothing and demonstrate their inability to plan ahead.