Why? Driving observation

blofgren wrote:
It is the same here in the greater Vancouver area my friend. The only reasonable answer is STUPIDITY! :B

x 1000!! OMG, I hear fingernails screeching on a blackboard... :M

That stuff drives me flippin' crazy and it's pretty much the same everywhere you go. It'd be like playing hockey or football and your team is playing by the rule book and the other team threw the book away. I've asked cops from time to time over the years and I always get the exact same party line answer - "we just don't have the resources" or "it's the same all over." In the Province of BC, the level of enforcement can vary substantially depending where it is and if it's the federal RCMP or local municipal cops from next to zero enforcement to too much. When it's too much, the focus is usually just on speeding tho. We need a provincial police force and enforcement based on a uniform per capita basis and not politics. Also, instead of fines (if they ever actually do fine anyone) going to the provincial general treasury acct., fines should go to cities and municipalities so they can put the money directly into enforcement. The courts need to bring in harsher penalties too.

If you ask me, a major reason this stuff happens is the lack of enforcement by cops. I almost never see cops doing traffic enforcement here anymore. You get your DL and then you can forget about the motor vehicle regulations and drive how you want. What kind of message does that send to drivers when the rules never ever get enforced? Around here (rural area outside Vancouver) I see drivers all the time on cell phones, passing on double yellow, running 4-way stop signs, speeding in school zones, changing lanes in an intersection, etc., etc. and of course speeding. Almost nobody drives anywhere near the posted speed limits so why even bother putting signs up? Many drive at 25-30 mph above the speed limit and too often, higher than that and at a speed where there's supposed to be severe penalties but they get away with it. The only thing motor vehicle laws are good for is when you are in an accident and they look for some rule that you violated to be able to attribute some or all of the blame to you or the other party(ies).

I almost died 18 years ago by a driver on a cell phone speeding 20 mph over the speed limit in a residential zone when he rear-ended me while I was stopped and waiting to turn. The only reason I'm still here is because I always keep my wheels straight until I'm ready to turn. Drivers that do things like this should be given stiff penalties, community service time, maybe some jail time but all this driver had to do is pay higher insurance rates for a few years. Taking licences away isn't a solution either because they'll still drive. I have zero respect for drivers that flaunt the rules and who could care less.

End of rant... (Sorry for being wordy.)