Now I don’t mean to pick on drivers. I’m a car driver. I’m also a cyclist and most frequently, a pedestrian. But I often think, is the Ontario car driver’s licence too easy to acquire? I wonder how people get their licences when so many appear to lack the basic understanding of signs, lights and pavement markings. A pet peeve of mine is the encroachment of cars into pedestrian cross walks. The intersection of the Pretoria Bridge and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway is notorious for this. I could take the photo, shown here, almost every time I walk past this intersection. In the photo you can clearly see I have the green light and plenty of time. Yet, this van kept creeping and creeping with the end result of forcing me to either walk behind him or to walk out into traffic. The road was clear and the stop line clearly marked. Is it ignorance of the rules or a complete disregard for the rights of pedestrians?
i think driver's often think of themselves and needing to get somewhere and don't think through their actions forcing the pedestrian/cyclist into a dangerous situation. i see this occurring all over downtown.
ReplyDeletemy other pet peeve is a car making a right hand turn on a red and not paying attention to the pedestrian using the cross walk correctly but coming from the right hand side.
I believe disregard. The road test in not easy. 3 of my kids went through it and none of them passed the first time. The examiners are strict. Rightfully so I must say.
ReplyDelete@Trisha, the right on the red turn is a peeve of many. Probably the single worst thing drivers do other than run stop signs and red lights. Maybe we should go back to the days of no right on the red. It works fine elsewhere.
ReplyDelete@Rob, I sort of agree. I think people lapse in to bad behaviour. Maybe there are too many distractions in the cars today.
Too easy and too difficult at the same time.
ReplyDeleteToo difficult in that it's very difficult to get practice if you don't live with a family member or friend who's willing to let you use their car.
Too easy in that, contrary to Rob D's experience, the examiners aren't all that strict. I literally (sic) had my examiner tell me "you're a bad driver, but I'm going to give you your license anyway" on my first driving test, and on the second test (for the full license) apparently my driving had improved; the examiner (a different one) said "I'll give you your license, but that doesn't mean you're a good driver."
As a cyclist (who drives maybe a couple of times per year) I don't care if I'm a bad driver, but there are others who do drive regularly who are known to be bad drivers who are getting their licenses. And once you get your license, there is no further testing required to maintain it until you're 80, no matter what new rules might come about in the meantime.
It's also very difficult to lose your license, though I don't have any personal experience with that.
- RG>
Chris, as you know, a co-worker of mine was killed last week when a dump truck turning right struck him, so this is a touchy subject for me. I believe that many drivers (and cyclists and pedestrians, too, for that matter) simply don't respect anyone else's right-of-way. People seem to be so focused on their lives and their destinations that no one else matters. You seem them running red lights and using the bike lane to pass cars stopped at a red light all the time. Cyclists speed through stop signs and pedestrians cross on red lights even if there are cars waiting to turn right. It's almost as if bending the rules has become acceptable in our society. I would love for Roland's death to be the catalyst to change the current attitude but doubt that it will.
ReplyDeleteWhat about distractions for pedestrians & cyclists who are "plugged in" or texting on their ipods, iphones, blackberries, whatevers - while in motion at intersections or even in the middle of the road? Had to honk at one today - NOT at an intersection, but literally walking in the middle of Sherbourne St. with his dog, with another car coming from the other direction. The dog got it, but the guy seemed totally in outer space. Not the first time I've seen THIS kind of thing!
ReplyDelete@RealGrouchy, I agree. You can get a licence at 18 say, and then have 62 years of driving before a re-test. I have heard similar stories to yours as well...examiners letting people pass. I think things were tougher when the examiners worked for the Ministry of Transport. They are privatized now. Now sure if there is a correlation.
ReplyDelete@ChrisL, the scary thing is, all the distractions you noted are things drivers also do. I had a guy come in to my lane on the 417 the other day. He was texting!!! I honked at him and he flipped me the bird! Sure pedestrians and cyclists are as guilty but being a cyclist, driver and pedestrian, I think drivers are worse.
@Gillian, as noted by Trisha above, the right turn on the red is probably the biggest danger pedestrians and cyclists face. This happens everytime I go for a run. I would say almost without exception. I think society, in general, has turned towards a "me first" way of thinking and everyone seems to feel entitled to doing what they want with little consideration for others.
There may also be a correlation between larger vehicles and more disrespectful and aggressive driving. When someone does something really unspeakable in traffic it's usually someone in a van or SUV or some other very large piece of metal on wheels. I suppose one feels safe, untouchable, wrapped in that much machine, and it makes one insensitive to how exposed people walking or running or biking are. Perhaps if people drove smaller cars, where they would be as liable to get seriously hurt as the people they hit, the behaviour might change. /Marie
ReplyDeleteChris, I think you nailed it with your last comment about people feeling entitled...that's exactly what I was trying to say!
ReplyDelete@Gillian, thanks.
ReplyDelete@Marie, I agree with this. I do see so much aggressive driving from people in big pick-up trucks. I guess it's hard to feel like a tough guy when you are driving a Smart Car.
I also think that the North American system of allowing licences for automatics only increases the pool of potentially not very talented drivers. It is an acknowledged fact that it is more difficult to learn to drive with a stick shift - it requires being able to simultaneously pay attention to shifting gears and negotiating traffic. In most European countries you have to pass your licence driving a car with a manual transmission after which you are of course free to choose to drive an automatic. In practice this means that fewer people pass their driver's tests there. /Marie
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