Miscellaneous

It is not uncommon to watch a vehicle pull up in the parking lot of a service station or convenience store and watch the driver get out and walk inside, leaving the vehicle unlocked, idling and unattended. What better opportunity for a car thief or joyrider can a person provide? Most people will say "I just went inside for a minute." Just a minute is more than a thief requires to leave you stranded.

My question is what should a person do if they are the passenger in the front seat of a vehicle and the driver has a heart attack, becomes unconscious or for some reason loses control of the vehicle?

The web site describes this publication as "Rethinking Streets: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Complete Street Transformations, documents twenty-five case studies from around the country that helped facilitate more walking, biking, and transit use while enhancing commercial activity, with minimal to no negative impact on automobile access."

Every now and again I end up scratching my head and wondering why I didn't think of it that way. This is one of those times and it has to do with turn signals. Ask most drivers what they mean and the response will probably be that a turn signal is a request to change direction or move from lane to lane. That isn't necessarily so.

You've just received a traffic ticket and that fact hasn't shed any sunshine on your day. It's bad enough that this has happened, but from your point of view the officer was less than gracious when they issued it to you. I'll dispute the ticket and tell the court exactly what I think may cross your mind as you consider your situation. Surely the justice will see my point and give me a break!

This interesting looking vehicle was checked at the Parksville weigh scale. As evidenced by the tops of the rear tires almost scrubbing against the top of the wheel wells, it was considerably overweight.

A reader observes "I was crossing West Mall at UBC over a speed hump towards the bus stop. A car was driving on West Mall and did not stop. When I showed the driver the white arrows on the pavement, he said that these were speed hump marks, not a crosswalk. I recognize that I might have been wrong assuming it was a pedestrian crosswalk, but then I started thinking, who should have the right of way?"

Virtually all city and municipalities have laws regarding the use of Air Brake use in residential areas. However, as usual, there is very little enforcement being done.

Truck drivers either drive too fast or they've grown accustomed to use of Air Brakes with no regard for anyone but themselves. I hear and see this happening all the time in residentail arterial routes.

Question: I am currently disputing a speeding ticket I received in Kelowna on a new section of Hwy 33 which was not properly / adequately signed. I live on Vancouver Island and went up to Kelowna for my hearing. Due to there being to many cases that day, mine did not even get up to bat.

Every so often I get asked to write about something that makes me pause and think for a moment. This article is one of those as the reader asked "Could you clarify what the law is in BC regarding offensive words, statements, illustrations etc. on vehicles in use on public roads? For example, I recently saw a truck advising anyone interested that the driver masturbates. Maybe there are no limits these days?"