29 - Friday, December 1, 1989 - North Shore News make B.C. roads safer'' AT LAST, something is being done about poor driving habits. Alarmed by the increasing number of motor vehicle ac- cidents, police departments, insurance companies, tratfic and safety experts, driving schools, and automotive journalists are getting together te analyze the prob- lem. The Automobile Journal- ists Association of Canada is sponsoring the first ever na- tional conference on driver education, training and ex- amination, to be held in Turonto’s Skydome this coming February 14 to 24. Last Saturday, concerned B.C. motorists and safety experts appeared in a televised symposium on driv- ing safety in Vancouver. » December 1 to 7 has been designated National Safe Driving Week. This growing awareness of driving safety has been prompted by statistical evi- dence that most accidents are caused by driver error. According to the B.C. Motor Vehicle Branch, 80 per cent of automobile acci- deats are attributable to driver error. Only 16 per cent are caused by peor road conditions, and just three per cent by mechanical or ether vehicular failure, such as a blowout. I asked a few driving and safety experts 10 give me their opinions on the causes ef bad driving, and what can be done to improve survival skills on city streets. Neil Lockhart, manager of the North Shore Driving School feels that the prob- NORTH VANCOUVER 1990 MAZDA TRUCKS All new trucks apply FIREES :Stuemc smup rears FLEET BUYERS WELCOME AUT OM OT tVE § Driving lessons heip lem is one of attitude. ‘*Courtesy does not prevail in B.C. This is partly because of fack of planning. Many people leave fcr work at the same time every day, and don't make allowances for delays or acciclents. Then they get frustrated in their hurry to get to work, and cause accidents.”’ Andy Field, instructor at ProFormance Advanced Driving School in Port Co- quitlam agrees that attitude and education are the major problems. “B.C. does not have a mandatory driver education Program. You can learn from your uncle, your dad, whomever. On top of that there is no incentive to get better driving education. tCBC does not reward drivers for learning how to drive better.” Most experts agree that the cause of driver error is undue care and attention. “Here in B.C., many drivers seem to be in their own world,'’ says Field. “Their arm is on the door, they’re not holding the steer- ing wheel properly ... they’re almost oblivious to the worid outside.”’ “Part of the problem,” Field believes, ‘‘is that there are many new and inexperi- enced drivers on the coad. They have no idea what to do if they encounter a prob- lem, like a car stopping sud- denly in front of them, or. how to control a skid situa- tion.’’ But, Field adds, ‘*Young, new drivers have not had a chance to develop any bad habits yet, so they learn more quickly. When new 987- 4458 drivers take our advanced driving course, their at- titudes change. They sud- denly find they’re not as in- vincible as they thought they were.”” The most common driving errors, according to North Vancouver driving examiner Chuck Laidlaw, are over- shooting stop signs, going through red lights and fail- ing to shoulder check before changing lanes. Neil Lockhart points out that many people drive in the blind spoi of the car in the next lane, thus con- tributing to accidents caused by drivers changing lanes without shoulder checking. Another common error according to Lockhart is that ‘people fail to communicate their intentions to each other . such as not signalling to change lanes, or braking in time. If one of my students fails to signal, I say to them, ‘Does the person behind you know what you're going to do?’ That’s how they learn.” Lockhart believes that motorists going to work should plan alternate routes. NEWS photo Silke Waketioi3 **COURTESY DOES not prevail’ on B.C. roacs, says Neil Lockhart, manager of the North Shore Driving School. Changing people’s attitudes about driving i is ihe best way to improve road safety, he says. Lockhart. ‘‘Scrape all the ice and snow, cr fog off your windows before you drive. Good visibility is essential.’’ **In the wet or snow, slow See Adjust Page 30 bridge is blocked ...”’ During winter, most ex- perts agree that you should adjust your driving to the weather and lighting condi- tions. ‘See and be seen,’ says ‘“‘This is a problem on the North Shore if you are going downtown. There are not many alternate routes you, can take. But I know one fellow who heads for the SeaBus as soon as he sees the DON’T PAY LESS! That's right! 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