By Tim Schewe
I’m lucky to be part of Vancouver Island University’s Elder College program. It’s one of 18 similar programs found throughout British Columbia and is aimed at participants who are aged 50 or older.
One participant was curious if she would run into trouble by not stopping for a stop sign posted at a railway crossing. There’s only one answer to her question, regardless of the amount of train traffic that crossing sees, you have to stop and proceed when safe.
It seems that as soon as you are able to establish a comfortable following distance another driver changes lanes and fills it in. Many of those drivers also leave very little distance between their back bumper and your front one when they do this. The wisest course is to drop back and re-establish your safety margin.
I’ve learned that many drivers have never taken the time to read the owner’s manual for their vehicle. This is critically important in relation to occupant restraints (airbags, seatbelts and child seats). Being out of position or improperly restrained could be fatal!
Tim Schewe is a retired constable with many years of traffic law enforcement. To comment or learn more, please visit DriveSmartBC.ca