Driver Training

I've been reading Moving to Vision Zero: Road Safety Strategy Update and Showcase of Innovation in British Columbia and was struck by these words: "The Safe System Approach enables more ambitious progress by treating the road system as a product of numerous components." One of these components includes driving skills.

A message in the DriveSmartBC inbox observes that there is such an incredible shortage of common sense about the practicalities of driving, as well as so many people who seem unable to think clearly any more. You cannot get people to drive better just by saying "drive better".

Are you a new driver looking for formal training, an older driver facing an Enhanced Road Assessment or simply one of those rare people who wish to improve their driving skills? Here are a few tips on how to choose the driving school that is right for you.

This video is from the FortNine channel on YouTube. It explains that there are three ways to position your body in relation to  your motorcycle when you are making a turn: lean, counter-lean and neutral. The video explains why learning to counter-lean your motorcycle is the best choice for highway riding.

"You don't care about safety! All you guys want to do is suck money out of my pocket!" Here was a speeder that was very definite in his opinion and not afraid to state it. He was wrong, I did care about safety, but my traffic cop toolbox didn't contain many officially sanctioned options for dealing with it.

September 1, 2021 saw the implementation of a new website location and design for ICBC's driver training information. Of interest on the new site is information on teaching the new Class 1 driver Mandatory Entry Level Training known as MELT. There are already a number of driving schools that are offering MELT training and they can be found here.

British Columbia has over 620,000 km of resource roads that have been built to access natural resources by industry. They are also used by the general public to take part in recreational activities. They are not maintained to the same standard as public highways, if they are maintained at all. Four wheel drive or ATV type recreational vehicles may be required to use them.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has announced that Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) will be required of applicants for a class 1 driver's licence commencing on October 18. 2021. B.C.’s program will exceed the minimum requirements set by the National Safety Code Standard for entry-level training of Class 1 drivers and will take at least 140 hours to complete.

A new vehicle sold today is equipped with a backup camera to help insure that the driver has as complete a view to the rear as possible to insure safety while backing up. An IIHS study compared the crash rates of cars with and cars without backup cameras. Overall, cars with cameras were 17% less likely to be involved in a police-reported backup crash. Why was the reduction so small?

Hazard perception commentary is a very useful tool for teaching a new driver. It requires them to narrate their observations, interpretations and intentions about the traffic situation as they drive. This commentary is expected to take place before the fact and gives the instructor or examiner insight into what the driver is seeing (or not seeing) and how they intend to proceed.