fet weather cri

signals

BOY, I sure enjoyed
that downpour last
Sunday. Not because
that heavy rain was the
stuff of life that makes
B.C, so beautiful and
green; rather because I
was out driving in it,
saw plenty of drivers
erring their faces off,
and had another topic
plopped into my lap.

When it is both dark and
wet, yellow and white lane-
dividing lines become difficult
to see at times, if not darn
near impossible.

© Marine Drive, asa prime
example, from Dundarave in
West Van to Third Street,
North Van, is at least four
lanes wide. In order to accon-
modate curbside parking stalls,
left turn pockets and such,
these parallel lanes are a verita-
ble Old Man River with their
lazily meandering zigs and
Zags.

” Drivers must stay berween
these lines maless they access,
signal and properly execute a
lane change or turn.

On this particular dark and
stormy night however, many
drivers were inadvertently

Straightening the curves and
barreling through the zigs and
zags in an as-the-crow-flies
fashion.

This simply will not do,
folks.

On this dreary Sunday I

took the opportunity to con-
firm what I’ve always known
— the lines on the road do
not really disappear, They're
certainly more difficult to see,
but not impossible. Good
thing our eyesight is tested
before we're given a driver's
licence. But why then were so
many drivers rolling along like
so many stampeding buffalo?

Most appeared to be set-
ting their sights on the next
traffic light and B-lining for it
while splitting the difference
between the avo or more
lanes, Others were taking the
simpler — make that the more
simple-minded: appresch: they
were following the car in front
of them, Unfortunately, the
driver in front of them was just
as fast which only compouid-
ed the meandenng hazard.

[ hear that the Natives of
old were known to stampede
burtale off cliffs for easy and
bountiful kills. We're pot cat:
Ue, folks,

Ifyou must play foilow the
leader, follaw a thus. Bus dr.
vers know Marine Drive like
the back of their hands and
could probably drive it in their
sleep. They know those zigs
and zags like nobody's busi-
ness

‘The exact opposite is prob-
ably true of taxis. While there
are certainly a bunch of really
astute cab drivers out there,
they are in the minority and
we've all noticed cabs mean-
dering from lane to lane on
even the brightest, clearest,
shiniest of days proudly epito-
mizing “road-hog” behavior.
Safe bet; Don’t follow taxis.

So what to do? Here's a
tip: Slow down.

As [ mentioned, the lines
have not dissolved in the rain,
they’ve merely become less
obvious. While the best and
safest drivers use sight lines
“aimed high,” or far down the

reliable tech-

made ruts in
the road.

sometimes the
worst thing vou
can do since

street, there is nothing wrong
with taking a quick glance
down and to your left (or
right, at least) to see if there's
4 painted line nearby.

Another less
nique is to fol-

low the tire:

However, this is

lane designs often change

while the ruts do not and you
may find yourself driving into
oncoming traffic in which case

you'll thank me for reminding,
you to slow down when in

So the best piece of advice
would be to heighten your

“ When it is dark and wet, yel-
low and white lane-dividing lines
become difficult to see at times,
if not darn near impossible. ”

awareness, Use all four of the
Morementioned techniques
whenever possible in order te
stay in your lane: Have vou

slowed down? Is there a trust-
warthy bus up ahead? Can you
see the lines if you look hard
enough? Do the ruts in the
road appear to be guiding you
appropriately?
Cross-reference
your findings
every few see:
onds, It's really
not so hard
once you get
into the groove
of things.

One more
piece of advice: Avoid driving
parallel to anybody. Even
though you are confident
about you road position, the

YOUR GM GOODWRENCH SERVICE PLUS DEALER NOW HA

driver beside you may not be.
Ease off the throttle a bit and
keep a safe, paced distance,

Or, if you're really confi-
dent, speed up a bit and keep
your left and/or right side
void of traffic whenever possi-
ble. (By the way, I prefer to
have any driver exuding
incompetence, ignorance or
stupidity ahead of me where I
can keep a close eye on
him/her rather than close
behind me where he/she's in a
position to rear-end me or clip
me. Or 1 like them so far <<,
behind me that they'll have zo
crash into a dozen other peo-
ple and hopefully stop before
they can hit me. (But that’s
just me.)

It’s a long, gloomy, shad-
owy road out there, folks, Be
safe.

THE CURE:

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE, AND THE RIGHT TIRES AT THE RIGHT PRICE. ~

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