I receive a steady stream of e-mails about how the police are not responding to people's complaints about traffic violators. Usually there is nothing that I can do but sympathize with them and advise them to persist in their quest for a solution. Today, I have something more to offer: a link to a survey by our government on reforming the Police Act.
The survey does not take long to complete, about 15 minutes for me even after considering my responses.
The Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly is currently accepting input from individuals about their experiences and perspectives regarding policing and related systemic issues as well as from individuals who have experience working in policing, public safety, healthcare and social services. 
Individuals can provide their input by filling out a survey by Friday, September 3 at 5:00 p.m.
Here's your chance to express your opinion. Hopefully the Committee will use the information provided to our advantage.
To all concerned
Being a frequent cyclist and almost the same distance, a driver, I see a tonne of unsafe behaviour. Some of it directed at me the cyclist, and some of it, I swear is directed at any other vehicle on the rode.
When the near accidents occur, whether I am insulated in my 1.5tonne truck, or squeezed, narrowly missed by a mirror, a flapping piece of Cedar bark whizzing by on a logging truck or startled by a gang of senseless angry sounding motorcycles, one thing is always supposed to be recognizable. And that is the registration plate of whatever offending vehicle the hapless, intentionally dangerous, distracted, childish or maliscious malcontent that passes by.
 It is incredidbly difficult, when a near death experience has amped up the adrenaline to a place of instantaneous direct vocal feedback to the event, to ascertain where and what colour the registration plate may be or to read the small, irrespective of wheteher the plate is dirty, oily or both, letters and numbers, concealed by a trailer, a load, in the case of macho bikers on noise makers, flapping frills around the panniers, or other gear.
 The BC registration plates which have the background coloured, surely a bent idea of some brilliant designer to strike a scene behind the alph-numeric registration, and surely did not think it through well.
 The camouflaging does not do any favours of those that try to decipher a plate speeding away. Motorcycle plates are sometimes mounted on end, are small and there is only 1and none on the front. A person has to be following quite close to garner the letters and numbers. For the cyclist, the difficulty is sprinting fast enough to catch sight of the plate. For a driver, it would be an offense to catch up to the speeder.
So when the report goes to the local dispatch, a crucial piece of info may be missing. If so, the unsafe driver doesn't get the attention he/she deserves or the special conversation with the police, or magistrate.
Cameras help, but not every cyclist can afford one that shoots aft and forward; a lot of cars and trucks don't have them either.
 So what is to be done?
Standardized plate location should be enforced. In European countries, an unhinged, sloppily displayed plate gets a lot of attention.Â
When is it ever a good idea to have camo regi plates?
 Be safe out there people.
Best,
 Jay  Â
When the BC Parks series of plates came out I actually complained to ICBC about them.
My view is the same as yours, plates should be simple and highly readable so that people can report offenders and police can find them. There should only be a single design for our province, not a collection that causes confusion.
Their response was that the plate prototypes were reviewed and found to be sufficiently visible for their purpose.
They must have better distance eyesight than I do. :-)
So the same Parks that are bereft of necessary provincial funding, get plates dedicated to a feel good about our Parks, that are so neglected. Having spent so much time in the Kokanee Glacier Park, then to see the funding slashes and the whole context of Parks, from trails to hierarchical management at the district level being gutted, gave great pause for cynicism.
 Sufficiently visible? Huh, satisfactory is able to be construed either way too
 The same whole damned stinkiness of private contractors doing the job is played out with the ratty state of our highways and secondary roads. The latter, oft forgotten until the neighbourhood that depends on them, raise a stink. Then the Y why R really B bother office sometimes decides to do something.
Our highways were better maintained way back when the Department of Highways(dept. of holidays), were often derided for people leaning on shovels. Side roads were mainatined, potholes were patched, Graders and other winter plowing equipment were in abundance.
Regi plates on Motorcycles are really too small.
Red against white is a pretty good idea; add one to the front and they would get an award for best plates.
So the same Parks that are bereft of necessary provincial funding, get plates dedicated to a feel good about our Parks, that are so neglected.
A question for our site host. Did the creation of these license plates result in a donation to the Parks?
The same question might be asked about those Winter Olympics 2010 plates - did people pay extra money for these (as they do for personalized plates), and if so where did these funds go?
Heck, I guess I have to ask this, also. Do they still get prisoners in jail to produce these things? Seems like a reasonable idea to me, if they have nothing better to do with their time ...Â
Purchasing BC Parks licence plates helps support the parks according to ICBC.
No idea who makes them but I think I'm pretty safe in saying that they have no connection with the prison system and probably never have for BC.
Thanks!