How Do You Drive Safely on the Highway?
During a recent five-year stretch (2011-2015), an average of 1,953 people died and 10,673 people suffered serious injuries each year in car accidents on Canada’s roads, according to Transport Canada. These statistics underscore the importance of driving safely on the highways in British Columbia and everywhere else your travels take you. Here, we provide a […]
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Infographic: Don’t Let a Drunk Driving Incident Ruin Your Holidays
The holidays provide us all with a chance to be thankful for the things that we have and spend time with the ones that we love and cherish the most. Unfortunately, during this time of thankfulness and get togethers, we also see dramatic increases in binge drinking, DUIs and drunk driving accidents in Vancouver around the […]
Read ArticleSchool Zone Safety and the Delayed School Year
Even if you don’t have kids in school or a job in education, everyone with a vehicle is affected by the current BC school strike. Typically school zones have a maximum speed zone of 30 kph on school days between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. These restrictions are not in effect during summer holidays, winter […]
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Senior Driving: Renewing Your License With ICBC
Driving is a life skill that requires preparation, practice, and precision. After years on the road, those of us reaching our golden years may feel as though we’re seasoned experts behind the wheel. But even a lifetime of driving and zero ICBC points can’t prepare you for the toll that aging takes on us. As […]
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Who Has The Right-Of-Way – Pedestrians Or Cars?
In the Vancouver 24 News (April 17, 2013) last week, there was an awesome observation by Keri Potipcoe regarding the rights of pedestrians. As she states, technically a pedestrian does have the right of way, but is it common sense to just step off the curb in front of a car? Of course not. But […]
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Five Essential Things NOT To Do At The Scene Of A Car Accident
It is always good to be prepared for an accident. Having a checklist of action steps can help you know what is most important to do at a car-accident scene. But just as important, it is what you don’t do at the scene that can be most beneficial. As I posted last week, if anyone […]
Read ArticleLeft Curb Parallel Parking Made Easy
My sister always marvels at my ability to parallel park. But being a big city driver I have had a lot of practice. What I still find awkward is the reverse left curb parallel park. Driving manuals and online instructions usually state to take the format of right curb parallel parking and just reverse the […]
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Right Parallel Parking Made Easy
Recently, I came across a good short video on how to parallel park. It seems like reverse parallel parking is one of those dreaded driving skills that many people do not like to practice. Like anything, practice makes perfect. One of the key factors to successful parallel parking is to know your vehicle and to […]
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The Spare Tire
We don’t think about it often, but the spare tire is a critical safety feature in a car. Having a flat tire or a blowout can be a rattling experience. When a tire unexpectantly fails, you need to stay calm and get your car to the roadside safely. A blowout can mean only one thing: […]
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RCMP Launch Targeted Enforcement For Distracted Driving
BC RCMP traffic services will not be showing any love this month to distracted drivers. February is Distracted Driving Month in British Columbia. Preliminary motor vehicle statistics for 2012 indicate that 30% of fatalities and 37% of serious injuries involved distracted driving. Since January of 2010, police in British Columbia issued 105,972 violation tickets for […]
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More Pedestrians Get Killed In Vancouver Than All Other Road Users
The City of Vancouver launched a safety program called: People are Fragile. It is an excellent campaign to raise awareness of the all too common bad behaviours by drivers, cyclists and pedestrians that can have potentially fatal consequences. Even though there have been several safety campaigns launched by the city, police, Preventable.ca and Drop It […]
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Tire Maintenance For Your Driving Safety
Did you know that vehicle tires are a critical element to road safety? In order for tires to perform safely, they need regular maintenance. If not maintained, tires can suddenly fail and cause you to lose control of the vehicle. A number of years ago, I was driving down Highway 1 on my way to […]
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Always Use Your Parking Brake! By Shaun de Jager
Shaun de Jager is a trained race car driver, a road safety educator, and a valuable blogger on road safety issues. As a dedicated specialist, he works to make our roads safer through advanced driver training and education. With Shaun’s help, you can take classes such as: upgrading your driving skills, driver rehabilitation, shifting from […]
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Drivers Beware: Of Ghost And Goblins
There are countless news stories and blogs dedicated to Halloween safety for children who will be out trick or treating. But drivers beware, it is the little rascals that you need to be on the look out for. Halloween is a time to trick or treat, but it can also be a little road of […]
Read ArticleDo ICBC Driver Penalty Points Affect My ICBC Insurance Premium?
Last week we wrote about ICBC Driver Penalty points. But does getting penalty points and the payment premium affect my annual insurance premiums? The answer is yes and no. Confused yet? The actual points do not affect your insurance premiums as Driver Penalty Points and Driver Risk Premiums are separate from Autoplan insurance premiums, but […]
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Right To Bike Has Vancouver City Support
A couple of weeks ago, I opened the Vancouver Metro paper and to my delight the front-page story (after the front page ad), was “Fast Lane To Safe Cycling”. The story outlines the initiative by ICBC and the BC Cycling Coalition (BCCC) to implement a province-wide bike-training program. In addition, the Right to Bike was […]
Read ArticleHands-Free Devices: Legal, But Are They Safe?
In British Columbia, the law allows for the use of hands-free devices while driving a motor vehicle. But statistics show that this is a very unsafe activity. A person talking on a mobile phone, whether hands free or not, is 4 times more likely to crash. According to research, and explained by David Teater, the […]
Read ArticleA Split Second Can Last Forever
Alex, the husband of one of my best friends has a saying, “Your life is measured in seconds and inches (ok, should be centimeters, but doesn’t have the same impact). The first time I heard him say that I didn’t really take it to heart, but after participating in many presentations by Drop It And […]
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A Mother’s Grief: A Child Lost To A Drunk Driver Never Comes Home
November marked a month of remembrance and recognition to victims of drunk and distracted driving. The real life stories are heart breaking and if we all remember these stories whenever we take the wheel, there will be no more distracted or drunk driving. Drop It And Drive hosted a memorial event at Sullivan Heights High […]
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The Ubiquitous Lane Change
Next to the lowly signal light, which I wrote about last week, another road safety rule that so many people abuse is the correct way to change or enter a lane. The lines or road markings are there for a reason! They may be solid, broken, white or yellow. Each of those specific characteristics communicates […]
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