The selfish driver

Driving should be about cooperation, not a contest. 

My point of view has been influenced by four decades of driving experience, 25 years of collision investigation, and daily observation of what goes on around me when I drive. 

Yes, I am one of ‘those drivers’. 

I use the right hand lane and do my best to follow the speed limit, which sometimes makes me feel like a rock in a stream. I have come to expect constant examples of sloppy, selfish driving, and am pleasantly surprised when I see someone extend courtesy. It should be the opposite.

Yes, I make mistakes when I drive. We all do, that's part of being human. What I object to is driving behaviour that says, "I'm important, you aren't. I'm in a hurry, get out of my way!" 

I also shake my head at drivers who don't signal, can't stay between the lines on the roadway, fail to practice safe space margins, won't wait their turn, or choose not to practice any of the other rules of the road. These are not mistakes, they are deliberate decisions.

But what kind of messages is the government sending out to change the attitude of drivers? Stay out of the left lane so that drivers who want to exceed the speed limit are not inconvenienced? No to automated speed enforcement such as photo radar, or time over distance? (Time over distance means that if you go between two points in less than the appropriate time, you get a ticket - I prefer time over distance myself, as it eliminates the ‘I momentarily exceeded the speed limit’ excuse.)

When was the last time that you saw flashing red and blue lights at the roadside to indicate that the road rules were being enforced? Yes, there are plenty of ad campaigns against various bad behaviours, but I think that they are largely ignored, or are thought to only apply to other drivers.

Better road design plays a part in the solution. However, we cannot expect the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to create the equivalent of a cattle chute that removes any opportunity to make a bad decision, and provides an impenetrable barrier to keep us from crashing into each other. We have to accept the responsibility to make choices that put other road users first, and to think a bit beyond our bumpers. Ultimately, if everyone does this, it will result in a safer driving environment that gets us all to where we are going safely and efficiently.

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The author is a retired constable with many years of traffic law enforcement experience. To comment or learn more, please visit drivesmartbc.ca

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.