Video

This is a video from the Montana Highway Patrol. While it's focus is on winter driving, you could remove the word "winter" from the title and still have a video that is on topic. The video was taken from the camera in a patrol car at the scene of a minor collision on an interstate highway. Watch as it quickly goes from a minor incident to a series of major collisions.

It's easy to be lazy and just clean the windows of your vehicle in snowy weather. Leaving a little light snow to blow off isn't a big deal. However, when the snow is left there and turns into ice, the result of having a chunk of it blow off at speed can be serious. In this video a large chunk shatters the windshield of the vehicle following behind. Imagine what it might have done to an unlucky pedestrian.

Bulky winter clothing could put your child at risk by reducing or defeating the protection provided by a child restraint. The video below shows how a crash test dummy in a bulky winter coat slides between the straps of a child restraint in a simulated 50 km/h frontal collision. The coat prevents the straps from tightening properly against the child's body. Remember, if you pinch the straps between your fingers you must not be able to fold any of the strap. If you can, it is still too loose.

From the video's description on the TED web site:

Statistically, the least reliable part of the car is ... the driver. Chris Urmson heads up Google's driverless car program, one of several efforts to remove humans from the driver's seat. He talks about where his program is right now, and shares fascinating footage that shows how the car sees the road and makes autonomous decisions about what to do next.

This short video by the Tire Industry Association explains what your tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) does and why it is important to know when any of your tires are underinflated. Aside from the safety benefits, the TPMS system can  decrease irregular tire wear, improve your vehicle’s handling, reduce braking distance and better your fuel economy.

It appears that the Abbotsford Police Department is following the lead of other agencies such as TACVictoria with a no-punches-pulled video reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians and not drive while distracted. It could equally well be used to remind pedestrians to watch for vehicles when they use a marked crosswalk.

One of the more frequently asked questions that I receive from visitors to this site concerns reporting bad driving behaviour to the police and having the offending driver held accountable. Until recently, I would point the person to the article Q&A - Making a Driving Report to the Police and encourage them to take an active role in the complaint so that something effective would be done.

This video is provided by the City of Guelph, Ontario and shows drivers how to drive at an intersection where a bike box is present.

The YouTube description of this video says that "Simulated crash tests show the importance of proper child restraint installation. Most parents don't realize they need to use the top tethers for forward-facing child restraints. Attaching the top tether keeps the restraint from pitching too far forward in a crash putting children at risk of head or neck injuries. Tethers are key to getting the most protection from a child restraint."

This video of a multiple vehicle collision was contributed by the driver in the middle. He was stopped waiting to turn left with his wheels turned to the left in anticipation. The driver of pickup following behind apparently fails to notice the left turn driver slow and stop in front of him, resulting in the first collision.