As the daylight grows shorter I thought it time to air some of the grievances that Island drivers keep telling me about. Wintertime is one of the most dangerous periods to be on the road and readers are seeing plenty of issues out there.
Graham is concerned about the lack of signal use. He makes an important point that there’s a difference between signalling a turn, or a lane change, and signalling in advance your intention to do so. The law requires that you always signal a lane change regardless of traffic volume or weather conditions. But it’s an offence to inadequately signal a turn. The classic faux pas occurs when you pull in behind someone at a red light who decides to signal a left turn only after the light turns green. The result is a pile up behind the late signaller — easily avoided if there was a proactive signal. As Graham notes, flicking the signal on at the same time you’re turning the steering wheel doesn’t cut it.
William wrote about the dangers of people who insist on driving with their dogs in their laps. He quoted a news item from Montreal where a pet owner was struck and killed after he chased his dog onto a busy highway when it escaped from the vehicle. If someone told you that you now had to drive with one arm tied behind your back and have your vision reduced by 25 or 30 per cent, you probably wouldn’t get behind the wheel. Yet by driving around with your best friend on your lap, you’re doing exactly that — not to mention that if that airbag goes off in a crash Fido will most certainly be killed along with inflicting worse injuries upon yourself.
Melvin points out the broken or defective vehicle lights are a particular problem at this time of year. A few years ago I changed lanes near the Malahat summit and was nearly wiped out but a Dodge Ram pickup barrelling north in the fast lane without any of its lights turned on at all. Having only one brake light working means that the driver behind you has 50% less chance of seeing you stopping. ICBC will show no mercy if a defect on your vehicle causes a crash. A signal or brake light replacement is peanuts.
On a similar note, David wrote about a downside of automatic headlights. Even though your daytime headlights are always on, as the law requires in Canada, it doesn’t mean that your tail lights are also working automatically. This can be a particular problem when dusk arrives so early now. Be sure you can be seen and turn on all your vehicle lights through the darkness of winter.
David S. is concerned about the ongoing trend of owners building out larger and higher pickup trucks. Adorned with massive bumpers and other stylish, but often illegal accoutrements, these “bro-dozers” as I’ve written in the past are a genuine threat to others on the road. A mismatch between the bumper heights of one of these behemoths and a small import car can, and often has, led to catastrophic injuries and death in crashes. Headlights, for example, must be not less than 56 cm high and not more than 1.37 metres high. An alteration of a vehicle’s height beyond 10 cm requires a government safety inspection in order to be considered roadworthy.
Renata asked about the definition of “unmarked” crosswalks. That’s one of the harder definitions out there. Under section 119 of our Motor Vehicle Act, a crosswalk is two things — a portion of the roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs or by lines or other markings on the surface. That’s a regular painted crosswalk we see everywhere. But a crosswalk is also a place at an intersection where the lateral (unmarked) lines of a sidewalk curb meets the lines of the curb on the other side of the road — in other words a straight line across the road from one curb corner to the other — no markings required. While it’s legal to use an unmarked crosswalk, I don’t recommend it. Drivers simply aren’t used to the concept.
Glove Box: I made an error in pointing out a maintenance cost in last week’s column. I wrote that the replacement for an interior air filter normally runs around $400 to $500. That was way out of whack. In compiling my research on repair averages, I read from the wrong column. Cabin air filters actually run anywhere for $10 to $100. Repairs reaching that $400 to $500 range usually involve a full A/C diagnostic and possibly parts replacement like compressors or fans. Thanks to Bob for writing in and “clearing the air” on that one.
