SENSE BC

Everyone remember this crash featuring the Lamborghini pictures with many juicy stories and chatter reinforcing the speed kills stereotype? Turns out the perpetrator was driving an SUV. "A 29-year-old Gibsons man has been charged with four counts of dangerous driving in connection with a September multi-vehicle crash on the Sea to Sky Highway that sent six people to hospital including two children. Whistler RCMP say Christopher Irwin was driving a Land Rover northbound on Hig...hway 99 at Daisy Lake, seven kilometres south of Whistler, when he struck a northbound Lamborghini. The collision sent the Italian sports car into an oncoming lane where it collided head-on with a southbound Toyota Corolla." https://vancouversun.com//gibsons-man-faces-four-charges-f See more

A judge in Manitoba, Canada, does not want average motorists to have a helping hand if they decide to challenge a speed camera ticket. In a ruling Monday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Shane I. Perlmutter agreed with a lower court that barred Christian Sweryda from representing, at no charge, friends who received photo radar tickets. Sweryda, a law student, has helped people beat tickets, so Keith MacCharles sought out his assistance in 2018 after two citations were issued ...against his vehicle. On the back of the ticket was a form allowing anyone to take up the accused's case. In Manitoba traffic court, it is common to find non-lawyers using this form to argue before the bench. A judge in Manitoba, Canada, does not want average motorists to have a helping hand if they decide to challenge a speed camera ticket. In a ruling Monday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Shane I. Perlmutter agreed with a lower court that barred Christian Sweryda from representing, at no charge, friends who received photo radar tickets. Sweryda, a law student, has helped people beat tickets, so Keith MacCharles sought out his assistance in 2018 after two citations were issued against his vehicle. On the back of the ticket was a form allowing anyone to take up the accused's case. In Manitoba traffic court, it is common to find non-lawyers using this form to argue before the bench.

"Six years ago, I already hated the idea. Voluntarily giving up so much private information in exchange for so little made no sense to me. It’s very much in line with the thinking if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. That is probably the most sinister slippery slope of all, and one getting progressively worse. A government bill that would allow insurance companies to opt-out of getting your permission toopt-in is alarming. When it was first introduc...ed, insurance companies like Allstate were fierce in their defence the information collected would only be used to reward good drivers with reduced rates, and never to punish bad ones. Hogwash. In an industry that is chasing every penny, do you really think the bucks used to reward some won’t be paid out on the backs of others? There is no imaginary pot of bonus money waiting to be pulled from. Look at that opening quote again: you will be considered a bad driver (and assigned higher rates) unless you allow the squeal box or app in your car. That’s not voluntary, that’s voluntold. Dr. Ann Caoukian is one of the world’s leading privacy experts. She agrees something that was once a carrot is now a stick. People don’t understand what they’re signing up for. They don’t read the legalese, but the implications of this kind of technology can come back to haunt you. They are so hesitant to opt-out because they want to save money, which I understand, she says, noting the initial rollout of usage-based metrics was one thing, but if your insurance company opts to do what this proposed legislation will allow them to do make it not something you choose, but something your company insists on your only option will be changing companies. But what if they all do it? " I know we’re headed this way eventually. I still don’t like it. And if we’re just frogs in a pot, we should still pay attention to how hot the water is getting.

ALBERTA ADOPTS NO-FAULT INSURANCE FOR VEHICLE DAMAGE AND OTHER CHANGES DESIGNED TO REDUCE COSTS

Orwell’s snitch society; a bill to share parking fines.

Who thinks this will win GM new customers? "General Motors will start selling car insurance again, this time using data its cars collects from customers' driving habits to determine their rates. Drivers who obey speed limits and show other good road behaviors will receive lower rates, the company said Wednesday."

This is where we are headed.

In other news...

"In August, Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes said he had enlisted 10 other capital region municipalities to take part, noting reduced speeds will reduce deaths and injuries, and help fight climate change by making side roads safer and encouraging more people to get out of their cars and walk or cycle. Saanich Coun. Ned Taylor said he had wanted the speed limit dropped to 30 km/h, since it’s safer, but the rest of council preferred to stick with 40 km/h, the option preferred by regi...onal partners that we’re working with. Taylor said he’s pleased that council is moving forward on the issue. This is an important issue and overall we’re making progress, and this is a good first step. Brownoff said dropping the default speed limit to 30 km/h would make it tougher to get participation from other municipalities. Our goal was to see how many municipalities we could get in the tent. Corey Burger of the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition said there is considerable evidence from other cities that a 30 km/h speed limit is the best option to reduce crashes, and also to increase the comfort of people who are walking or hiking."

"One internationally recognized attribute of our hometown is its excellent transportation infrastructure. Not long ago Calgary was voted among the best places in the world to drive. Of course, no local motorist would ever agree until asked to try navigating in a better city. (As for Paris, London and Rome? Taxi!) Anyhow, maybe that’s what’s got some councillors’ dander up. Perhaps they’d rather Calgary be known for art galleries rivalling Florence or bike lanes putting Amsterdam to shame? Roads? Please, how uncouth."

New salvo about to be fired in the war on the driver: Mobility Pricing.

What would the poll say if they surveyed motorists regarding police cruisers?

Which cars rack up the most speeding tickets?

(Go to hyperlink URL to view video) DriveSmart BC is administered by retired RCMP traffic Cst. Tim Schewe. Once a week he posts a great blog about all things driving and traffic safety; and there's a twitter feed also. We don't always agree with his ideas which are those which are perfectly understandable as seen through the lens of a career traffic cop, but he's passionate and informative. This week he posted a video about using the 85th percentile for the setting of speed l...imits. These days the Vision Zero urbanistas are in full on discredit mode for the 85th percentile. Their rationale is that all roads, particularly urban roads, are for ALL road users and speed limits should be set at "safe speeds" or survival speeds. Not only should systems be put into place to reduce the probability of crashes (which we do not disagree with), but survival speeds are necessary to ensure the goal of Zero deaths are realized. We believe that drivers do not and never will choose travel speeds based on an arbitrary sign and that the idea of zero road deaths, while laudable, is impossible from an economic and practical standpoint. What's interesting about this post, is the reaction from his readers. https://www.drivesmartbc.ca//review-85th-percentile-speed- See more

"Vigilantes in La Barre, France, on Saturday used a novel method to destroy the speed camera that had been issuing automated tickets on the RD673. They used a drill to cut a large hole in the lens of the camera, poured gasoline inside and ignited the blaze so that the device burned from the inside out. Around Tuesday, vigilantes in Feignies used gray spraypaint to blind the speed camera on Avenue Jean-Jaures before likewise blinding the camera in La Longueville. On August 24,... vigilantes smashed and spraypainted the newly installed pole-mounted speed camera on the RD104 in Vinezac. Around the same time the turret camera on the RN31 in Ambleny was decapitated and left on the side of the road. In Murupara, New Zealand, on Saturday, a speed camera utility vehicle failed to prevent itself from being hit by a Ford Ranger on Daniel Street. Police chased the pickup truck's driver but failed to find him. A photo radar van in Timaru was destroyed on August 19 after it failed to prevent an accident. The vehicle was parked on State Highway 1 when it was involved in a rear-end collision."

There is Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes at it again, pushing one of his favourite pet projects which is to make the rest of the province a retirement community just like his. "reduced speeds will help fight climate change by making side roads safer and encouraging more people to get out of their cars and walk or cycle". Wait, is that really that we can fight climate change by making the roads safer, or is it all about "encouraging" people to abandon their cars? But hold on, the ...leader of the scooter capital of Canada, Oak Bay, says "widespread regional support for the idea suggests that many people are driving 35 km/h to 40 km/h on most residential streets anyway." Make no mistake about what this is really all about for these bumbling ideologues. This is social engineering which if acted upon, is costly, unnecessary, and not justified by any objective data showing a problem needing a solution. This is the kind of law which is guaranteed to snare safe and reasonable drivers just to "encourage" people to get our of their cars.

"While there are numerous fines one can get on the road, there are few traffic tickets that come as a surprise to many people. For example, most people know that texting and driving will land them with a penalty for distracted driving; however, not everyone realizes that distracted driving covers a much broader range of penalties than simply checking your phone."

Australia consistently leads the way in methods of shaking down motorists. If you ever want to feel good about your lot in life, simply cast a gaze Down Under for a good dose of motoring misery.

When Big Brother is too much for Big Brother.

Thanks Todd Stone and BC Liberals. One of the many good things you did for drivers and traffic safety in BC.

Link to petition in the article, "Nickel, who approached Dziadyk and other councillors about sending the letter, also launched a petition asking for residents who no longer see value in photo radar to sign."

Two Edmonton city councillors think there should there be less photo radar trucks on the road and more officers out ticketing speeders. Sarolta Saskiw has more on their request to the province to phase photo radar enforcement.

At his trial, Bernier pleaded not guilty. Though he did not contest the facts, he argued that the existing legislation violated his presumption of innocence and that as a result, he should be acquitted. The trial judge said that he was bound by a previous court ruling, where the court found that Section 229(2) of the Highway Traffic Act did not breach the Charter, the decision says. However, Beard found that Bernier did present a significant issue that should be examined, as thousands of photo radar tickets are issued every year.

"A heads-up to Vancouver drivers: school and playground zones within the city will now have a speed limit of 30 km/h all day, every day, including weekends. Currently, speed-limit reductions are in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days. This is one of the measures approved by council on Tuesday to improve safety on local streets."

"The safe mobility strategy comes four years after then-Coun. Linda Buchanan, now the city’s mayor, won unanimous support for a motion calling on the city to become a Vision Zero municipality, a movement that seeks to reduce traffic deaths and injuries to zero by making safety the priority in designing transportation networks. In 2019, Oslo became the first major city to achieve that goal."

But if such measures are so futile, why do advocates keep on pushing for speed reductions? Well, at least a little of this stems from a plain old hatred of the automobile. Blame traffic fatalities. Blame once-lax pollution standards. But, for a growing portion of the First World, the car has come to be a symbol of everything that is wrong with modernity.