Government

What happened the last time that you decided to deal with a road safety problem? Were you successful in your quest? Were your views taken "for information purposes?" Did you get sucked into the whirlpool of "that's not my job" or worse still, ignored completely?

Saanich has announced the public release of the district's Road Safety Action Plan. The plan is focused on delivering effective actions over a 10-year period that will improve the livability and safety of the community.

In the past a private road in British Columbia could become a public road simply because the province has spent some money to maintain it under section 42 of the Transportation Act. This can result in roads that cross private property to become public rights of way without the property owner's knowledge or consent.

Effective on June 3, 2024 a new division called Electric Wheelchairs and Mobility Scooters has been added to the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. Division 38A defines the terms "electric wheelchairs" and "mobility scooters," designates them as personal mobility devices and creates an offence for operating them dangerously.

I commute on Highway 19 daily. The road has been maintained by filling the cracks with tar rather than repaving it. In the wet weather what I'm seeing is the ruts (worn into the driven part) in the right lane are holding up to 20 mm of standing water sometimes for hundreds of meters at a time.

We all have what we perceive as a traffic problem in our neighbourhoods. Here's a Facebook discussion of a recent one near where I live: Nanoose Bay Beefs & Bouquets. As you can see, there is disappointment in the response of authorities and a few different proposed solutions.

Effective June 3, 2024 drivers passing pedestrians, cyclists or other prescribed persons will be subject to new rules in the Motor Vehicle Act. The rules are designed to provide better protection for vulnerable road users by establishing minimum separation distances from passing vehicles.

The provincial government has announced that effective on April 5, 2024 the use of levels 3, 4 and 5 for a self driving vehicle will be prohibited. This means that self-driving vehicles cannot be driven on public roads nor can highly automated self-driving features be used, unless allowed through a pilot project or by future regulations.

The provincial government has announced it's intent to implement a significant penalty increase for commercial vehicles involved in infrastructure collisions. A fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to 18 months could be faced by drivers of overheight loads that collide with an overpass.

I’ve always understood penalty points to be a kind of score keeping method to assign a level of risk to the breach of a traffic rule. The more dangerous the violation, the more penalty points that would be assigned to a driving conviction. Rack up too many points in a set period of time and you would have to pay ICBC premiums and risk a driving prohibition from RoadSafetyBC.