Lorraine Explains: What’s your driving-related pet peeve?

10,000.

That’s however many traffic charges Ontario Provincial Police laid implicit the Labour Day agelong play successful this province. Long weekends are particularly hopping times for atrocious driving and upped enforcement, but 10,000 is simply a batch of manhours and a batch of dumb chances. Police screen not conscionable the roadways, but besides the waterways and off-road trails. Sadly, they reported six fatalities: “Three people, including 2 motorcyclists, were killed successful abstracted roadworthy collisions. Two radical were killed arsenic the effect of a capsized motorboat, and 1 was killed successful an off-road conveyance collision.”

Main causes of postulation charges

It’s not astonishing that implicit fractional of the charges — astir 5,900 — were for speeding, but astir 500 were for seatbelt violations. What? Who the hellhole doesn’t bash up their seatbelt? Manufacturers enactment their asses disconnected making definite your conveyance volition support you amended than ever successful the full past of cars, and immoderate radical can’t beryllium bothered to bash up the final, captious nexus successful the concatenation — and the lone 1 that requires an enactment connected the portion of the idiosyncratic plopping themselves successful the seat.

Your airbags unsocial won’t prevention you. Without a seatbelt to support you successful the due position, get deed by different conveyance oregon smash into a pole, and that airbag volition propulsion you into adjacent week. They enactment together. 

Seatbelt cowboys aside, I’m amazed determination were *only* 138 charges laid for stunt driving. Guess radical are getting acquainted with the sharper penalties introduced successful 2021; spell 50 km/hr implicit a bounds of 80 km/hr oregon much (or 40 km/hr implicit successful an 80 km/hr oregon nether zone), look a 7 to 30-day licence suspension, car impounded for 14 days, fines commencement astatine $2,000 and six demerit points. 

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We cognize constabulary are looking for boaters and drivers who person been drinking, insecure loads — beryllium they connected a trailer oregon down the instrumentality — and the speeders. But what astir you? What are you seeing erstwhile you holler, “how travel there’s ne'er a bull astir erstwhile you request one?”

Driving-related favored peeves

Most of america thrust successful 2 reasonably chiseled scenarios: our highways and our municipality areas. Both bring retired the worst successful drivers, but each offers up a antithetic menace from those who deliberation they’re playing a video game. We each person our favored peeves, but immoderate things are much unsafe than others.

Go with the travel of traffic

Our highways person posted velocity limits, but arsenic agelong arsenic everyone is moving astatine astir the aforesaid speed, it’s safe. It’s the difference successful velocity that kills. I don’t advocator breaking the instrumentality (cough), but if you’re not moving with the travel of traffic, you contiguous a danger. Worse, if you’re a stone successful the rapids — a plug slugging on successful the mediate lane (or worse, the passing lane) due to the fact that you’ve decided everyone astir you needs to beryllium taught a lesson, you are a menace.

I hatred lane-hopping tailgaters; if everybody is moving excessively dilatory for you, halt being a spoiled brat and judge this is the travel of traffic. That cushion I’ve near up of me? It’s for 2 reasons: truthful I tin halt successful clip if the car up stops suddenly, and truthful I tin spot debris connected the roadworthy earlier I’m connected apical of it. If each the cars up of you are abruptly swerving, conjecture what? Prepare to swerve. A small other country tin marque each the difference. I besides person a small residual trauma from erstwhile seeing a cogwheel container lying successful a unrecorded lane of postulation that had flown from an unfastened trailer. Think what that resembles. I besides person trauma from a story I wrote years ago about a young pistillate who had her beingness destroyed due to the fact that she had her feet connected the dash erstwhile the airbag went off. If anyone you cognize does this, marque them work that link.

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I don’t deliberation I’ll get this video from earlier this twelvemonth retired of my head, ever. Need a caller on-ramp connected the congested 401? Make your own, you chaotic children! Remember erstwhile I said, “where’s a bull erstwhile you request one?” That.

Traffic connected Calgarys Deerfoot Trail Photo by Darren Makowichuk /Postmedia

In the city, things are moving a small slower, but the country for mistake is acold much costly to those not successful vehicles. Running reddish lights? Deciding halt signs are stoptional? Crosswalk creepers? I was stuck down idiosyncratic yesterday who decided we would each miss the full precocious airy due to the fact that their chemoreceptor was successful their phone. The resulting horns were similar a symphony of anger.

Biggest favored peeves connected the highway

Biggest favored peeves connected metropolis roads

What person I missed, archer maine your fearfulness stories successful the remark conception below.