Rant time
8:17 am | No Comments » |
To the guy who went passed the school bus this morning in Martins Brook.
The lights were flashing red and two children were preparing to cross the street. And you didn’t even slowdown or acknowledge the fact that there was a bus there.
WAKE UP and drive.
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November 16, 2009
2 miles
8:18 pm | No Comments » |It’s been awhile since I have posted anything. I came across some interesting statistics this morning that I’d like to share with you.
“Every two miles, the average driver makes 400 observations, 40 decisions, and one mistake.
Once every 500 miles, one of these mistakes leads to a near-collision.
Once every 61000 miles, one of these mistakes leads to a crash.”
this came from
Wrong Turn: How the Fight to make America’s Highways Safer Went off the Rails.
by Malcolm Gladwell, 2001.
Also as a point of interest check out this site:
http://ccmta.ca/remember_souvenez-vous/home.php
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August 28, 2009
School Starts This Week
4:15 pm | 1 Comment » |Early September takes kids back to school. They are excited to see their friends and may not be watching for you. There will be a lot more youth activity on the streets especially before and after school.
Special attention at this time of year must be paid to school buses. Remember they are carrying human cargo. It is illegal to pass a school bus when the red lights are flashing, you must stop no closer than twenty meters from the bus whether approaching from the front, the rear or either side.
In the morning kids maybe standing beside the road waiting for the bus or running to catch it (I know I was always running late for school). In the afternoon when they get off the bus they are not watching for vehicles. They’re thinking ‘Nintendo’ or the teenagers are thinking FOOD!
Please be careful around school buses, they are carrying the future.
1 Comment »
August 11, 2009
The Art of Passing
6:37 pm | 6 Comments » |If you want to pass another vehicle on the road you should always ask yourself these three questions:
1st Is this pass necessary?
2nd Is this pass safe?
3rd is this pass legal?
The subsequent questions for necessary are. Will I gain enough to be worth the risk? Am I getting off the highway at the next exit? How far is my exit? Is there a stop coming right up? Etc…
A common complaint I hear from drivers is when someone passes them and then cuts across in front of them to make their exit. Or they make a dangerous pass and end up right in front them at a stop sign or set of lights. It makes you want to walk up knock on their window and ask “What the heck was all that back there?”
Then we look at safe. The rule is you should have 200 meters of clear vision with no traffic in it at the end of your passing maneuver. Remember passing in the fog is rarely ever safe. I wish I had a dollar for every time I was face to face with an oncoming car in my lane because they were passing in the fog, often creating very close calls.
And finally is it legal? Meaning: Is this a passing zone? Do I have a broken line? Can I complete the pass while still in the passing zone?
After determining the pass is necessary, safe and legal, the technique for passing goes like this. Do not encroach on the vehicle you intend to pass. If you are too close you lose your speed superiority as well as your visibility of the road ahead. When you can see clearly signal your intention to change lanes to the left. Check your mirrors and blind spot to the left. If it is safe, move smoothly into the passing lane. Then accelerate to pass (note: it is illegal to exceed the speed limit even when passing), leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle you are passing.
A quick ‘toot’ of the horn as you approach the rear of the vehicle is recommended as a notice to the other driver that you are entering their blind spot (done properly this should neither startle nor annoy the person being passed).
To insure proper spacing do not pull back into the travel lane until you see the whole vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror. Then signal right, check the right mirror and blind spot if it is safe move smoothly into the right lane.
In Nova Scotia remember the vehicle to the right has the right-of-way when you reach the solid white line at the end of the passing lane.
“Keep right except to pass”
6 Comments »
August 4, 2009
Wake up
5:52 am | No Comments » |I was sitting at light yesterday watching a pedestrian trying to cross the street. She had a walk light clearly lit. As she started across the street she had to stop THREE times to keep from being hit by cars turning at the intersection. She was not darting out without looking. The car turning left actually cut-off the vehicle turning right to try to hit her first. I don’t know this lady but she seemed nice enough from where I was sitting, so I don’t know why people were in such a hurry to kill her.
Remember pedestrians always have the right of way especially when the lights tell them they can walk.
While I’m at it I had a vehicle pass me again on the left as I was turning left, through an intersection. Come on folks WAKE UP and watch what is going on.
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July 21, 2009
Tourist Season
6:03 am | 1 Comment » |As you are fully aware if you have been on the roads lately, tourist season is in full swing. There are a lot of motor homes and out of province license plates. In Nova Scotia we rely heavily on tourism and I appreciate the tourist’s money coming in, but from a driving point of view what a pain in the neck.
If you have ever driven through Mahone Bay or Lunenburg in the summer you have realized that tourists are slow and unpredictable. They stop for no apparent reason they turn without signaling they even go the wrong way on one way streets. And we get impatient and frustrated because we are just trying to get through our daily grind.
Let’s look at it from their point of view. There they are driving an oversized vehicle they have little or no training for, it may even be a rental so they have never driven it before. They are in a strange town trying to read their GPS or map and their spouse (aka nagivator) is nattering away about the pretty boats and wonderful views and did you see that and you missed the road, are we there yet from the back and we should have stopped back there, are we lost and are you listening to me. All this time is spent to relax for two weeks before going back to work.
We need tourists so when they are getting in your way and doing seemingly stupid things give them a wave and smile because their relaxing vacation is far more stressful than your day at this point.
1 Comment »
May 15, 2009
The Only Thing Not Delivered by Truck
8:28 am | 2 Comments » |Trucks maybe big and slow and annoying but the reality is that this is the only thing they don’t deliver.
2 Comments »
April 29, 2009
It’s not your skin
7:30 am | 2 Comments » |May is motorcycle awareness month. With the nice weather we’ve been experiencing most of have probably noticed that the bikes are out in full force. As motorcyclist myself I’m very pleased to see the change in weather. Please be aware that if you’re in your car and I’m on my bike if we have a collision it is not a fair fight. When you are doing your safety scan be sure to look for motorcycles too. Please do not tailgate motorcycles as they can stop in a much shorter distance than a car.
For the bikers out there you share the responsibility for keeping yourselves safe too. If you have been riding at all you realize that cars will often pull out in front of you. Don’t take it personally they are not out to get you, it goes back to early childhood, when we were taught to cross the road our mothers told us to “watch for cars… look out for cars… don’t go if a car is coming” they didn’t teach us to watch for motorcycles. Also a motorcycle is a much smaller object and is far less visible than other road vehicles, most of the time the car driver honestly does not see you, so you must be prepared to take evasive manoeuvres. There is no sense in yelling screaming and giving obscene gestures, you will only make the driver angry at bikes; I might be the next bike by and end up taking their wrath.
While on the subjects of motorcycles I often see people out on their bikes properly dressed for riding, but on back they are carrying passengers who are wearing little more than shorts and T-shirts the only protective gear they have is a helmet, and that’s just because it’s the law. This just shows how little you really care for your friend. And if they over 16 years old I guess they can make their own decisions.
The one that really gets me is when I see someone out with a younger child on back of the bike who is wearing shorts and T-shirt. You as the adult know the risk the child just trusts you as a parent to look out for them. You might be a good rider but remember the other motorists might not see you. Your cute little daughter on back will suffer tremendously if you happen to go down on the pavement.
The hospital’s often have to use stainless steel wire brushes to get gravel out of road rash. Remember it’s not only your skin you are putting at risk when you take a passenger on your bike.
Watch out for all vehicles on the roads.
2 Comments »
April 16, 2009
You and your horn
4:33 pm | 3 Comments » |I have noticed that people often use their horn as a way of showing their displeasure with other motorist. I was told it is to be used to get some bodies attention to alert them of danger. For instance I’m passing you now please don’t change lanes suddenly. Or please don’t step out in front of me I will not be able to stop in time to prevent hitting you.
What I see all too often is people honking the horn to entice people to get moving. Here is another observation I’ve made about the horn blowers they usually are trying to get people to do something that is unsafe and usually illegal. This makes it look to me like the people who are most willing to speak up are least likely to know what they are talking about. Next time you find yourself about to honk at someone make sure you know what you’re talking about.
Why do people assume the driver training car is the one that is doing something wrong? Usually that is the one vehicle that will be doing it right. Occasionally students will do things their own way, but that is the exception not the rule. Be patient they are learning.
3 Comments »
April 3, 2009
Defensive Driving
11:02 am | No Comments » |Defensive driving is defined as: “Driving to avoid collisions despite the actions of others or the conditions around you.”
Driving to avoid “collisions” not just to avoid “blame”. Fault and blame have no place in the mind of the defensive driver. The idea is not to be involved in a crash at all, or better yet to prevent them from happening at all even if you are not involved.
The two main components of defensive driving are eye lead time and following distance. Eye lead time means how far ahead (and behind) you are aware of what is going on. Remember where ever you are looking now when you drive you can always look farther. The farther away you see situations developing the more time you have to make good decisions.
Following distance is how far behind the vehicle ahead you, you are. This is measured in time not distance. Conventional wisdom sees three seconds as generally safe following in good conditions. Remember to increase this distance when conditions deteriorate.
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