For my final article of 2024 I turned social media and asked people there what they thought were important road safety issues to review. Within a very short time I had five suggestions to write about.
Signal Your Intention
@MRTMCMLIII suggested the “Orange Options” on each corner of a vehicle that few know how to use. Everyone must signal their intentions before they complete a manoeuvre.
This peeve is so common that Rick Mercer did a rant about using turn signals:
Our Motor Vehicle Act mentions signalling in at least five sections:
- 151 - A driver must not drive from one lane to another without signalling their intention
- 169 - You must signal before moving a vehicle that is stopped, standing or parked
- 170 - If another driver might be affected by your turn, you must signal far enough in advance to warn traffic
- 171 - How to signal a turn
- 172 - How to signal if your vehicle is left hand drive
Despite section 170, I would suggest that a careful driver always signals each time they turn or change lanes, even if they think that they are the only vehicle on the road. In the worst case, you will telegraph a pending mistake to others before you make it!
Why Are Rear Signal Lights Red Instead of Yellow?
@kevinsgonriding wonders why car manufacturers are allowed to make [rear] signal lights red. The simple answer is because our federal rules permit it. Apparently this is only the case in the US and Canada though. It's a good point to make as it appears that yellow signal lamps on the rear reduce crashes.
Sharing the Roads with Heavy Commercial Vehicles
@OrcaBC101 Says that another reminder about sharing roads with big commercial vehicles wouldn't hurt. Like don't cut in front of them or you might find their grill in your back seat, or worse!
There is a lot of information on the No Zone, places around a heavy commercial vehicle where you are essentially invisible to the driver. This video is a good example:
Couple this with the fact that a fully loaded heavy commercial vehicle with properly functioning brakes could have twice the stopping distance of your car and you can imagine how foolish it is to get in front of one and then brake suddenly.
Pedestrian Rights of Way
@shoppingblonde remarked about remembering to slow down, people walking have the right away.
Yes, above all a driver has the duty to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on a highway. Pedestrians don't always have the right of way though. They must not leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is not practical for the driver to yield the right of way
The Best Road Safety Suggestion of All!
@andydunstan probably had the best road safety suggestion of all: Start the New Year like driving matters, that the rules of the road are there for a reason, that traffic signals should be obeyed, lane discipline adhered to and the focus is on doing what is right not what is right for you.
I can't add to that!
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I haven't even looked at the video yet, but it seems that the key word through all of this is SHARING.
I'm sure that its definition is the same for everyone. Cooperative and coordinated use of a resource is my version. Byproducts of that version are courtesy, understanding, and patience.
Nuff said.
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I was a passenger in a car in the left lane driving carefully with commercial vehicle driving outside lane when they decided they wanted to be in left lane & proceeded to move over while we were still there so I assumed either he didn’t see us or he didn’t care & was forcing us to slow down so he could get in ahead so I mentioned to my friend that perhaps we should slow as he may not see us, which my fried did slow.
I think commercial vehicle drivers need extra lessons on how to avoid killing people. We were lucky we slowed...lucky I noticed as my friend was watching the road ahead & may not have seen the signal because he wasn’t far enough ahead for my friend to see.
Just my point of view....extra lessons in safety for commercial vehicle drivers.
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There may also be a need for car drivers to be educated about driving around heavy trucks. Take a moment to watch this short YouTube video:
I often see small vehicle drivers fail to stay out of the no zones and giving no consideration to leaving themselves an out.
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@kevinsgonriding wonders why car manufacturers are allowed to make [rear] signal lights red. The simple answer is because our federal rules permit it. Apparently this is only the case in the US and Canada though. It's a good point to make as it appears that yellow signal lamps on the rear reduce crashes.
I can never understand why Canadian Federal law seems to just mimic whatever standards the Americans set for themselves (with the exception of DRL's being mandatory here).
European standards are much more stringent. They not only require yellow turn signals, but demand that additional ones be placed on the sides of the front fenders where adjacent drivers - and pedestrians - can see them. (Their rules also mandate that vehicles be equipped with a high intensity red light on the rear, for use in foggy conditions so as you'll be more easily seen by drivers coming up behind.)
Incredibly, and stupidly, we see manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche shipping vehicles over here that have actually had their rear yellow signal lenses replaced with red ones, and those front fender signals aren't even there although the vehicles are wired for them! And these are companies that pride themselves on their supposed attention to safety. Yeah, right.
Then there are those ubiquitous white vans. Both Dodge and Mercedes, thankfully, employ proper yellow turn signals at the rear. But not the new Ford Transit, it's as poorly designed as the Econoline that it replaces in this respect. What are they thinking?
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sharing