DriveSmartBC

Life is interesting. I spent my traffic enforcement career making sure that "other" forms of transportation did not share our highways. Cars and trucks, motorcycles and bicycles, fine. Segways, skateboards, go karts, bicycles with gas motors, not here in B.C. thank you. Now the B.C. government has made changes to the Motor Vehicle Act to allow some of these "other" vehicles and is soliciting municipalities to conduct pilot projects on their use.

Question: I was asked to comment on an interesting "exchange of views" on Facebook regarding a no left turn sign posted by the Delta School District at Richardson Elementary School. It began as a discussion about whether a driver had to obey the sign or not and then deteriorated into less than respectful exchanges.

I read an article recently about conspicuity for police officers working on the highway. It suggested that the reflective vests and jackets that we use to stand out and be identified by drivers at night were not very effective.

Melissa Burroughs, an RCMP officer, was driving a marked police car westbound on First Avenue in the curb lane at Young Road in Chilliwack, B.C. She observed a truck pulling an uninsured trailer and attempted to pursue it by making a left turn onto Young. Jennifer Chiasson was driving eastbound on First Avenue and collided with the police vehicle in the intersection.

Chances are good that when you think about car insurance your first thought is about how much it is going to cost you rather than how well it is going to protect you if something goes wrong. You might even be tempted to shade the truth about who will be driving your vehicle or how they will be using it to reduce those costs. Be very careful how you make decisions about insurance as making poor choices can put you at huge financial risk post crash.

Brad Gorski is a 30 year-old resident Vancouver, B.C. who enjoys taking in the city and spending time with his family and friends. He experienced the dangers of distracted driving first hand by driving and texting, failing to stop for a red light. He was hit by a heavy truck and tells his story in this TEDx video.

On August 21, 2018 Philip Partridge was observed by police looking downward while driving. After being stopped, it was noted that he had a cellphone wedged between the folds of the passenger seat with the screen facing him. The screen was not lit when the officer looked inside Mr. Partidge's vehicle.

Here's another complaint from the DriveSmartBC Inbox: "Please speak to the situation that I call the "Invisible White Lines" on our highways as soon as we get some rain and whilst driving in the dark. Night visibility in winter is terrible.

Christina Block was driving eastbound on Yarrow Central Road near No. 3 Road in Yarrow. She and her family were returning from the movies. Kevin Schmitt was driving westbound and veered into the Block's lane, causing a sideswipe collision. Ms. Block pulled over and stopped but Mr. Schmitt did not.

Here's a document from the US Federal Highway Authority that looks at the safety benefit of pedestrian countdown signals. The study results showed that after the implementation of these signals, pedestrian crashes decreased by 9 percent, total crashes decreased by 8 percent and rear-end crashes decreased by 12 percent.