Over the years, there have been several letters to the editor discussing driving habits in Prince George. The latest talked about the noise levels from either after-market mufflers or compression release engine breaks (commonly called Jake brakes) but these are just part of a long list of complaints.
Many letters have been concerned with the inability of people to simply obey the speed limits.
With school quickly approaching, school zone speed limits will once again be in effect. Little children will be trying to cross busy streets. Crossing guards will be looking after major thoroughfares but side streets will still have children walking to schools and playing on the way home. It is time to take care.
But it is not just in school zones where speeding is a problem. There is the Hart Raceway. Something about the stretch of road leading to or away from the bridge up the hill induces people to travel as fast as possible. The speed limit goes out the window.
The same thing is true in the hill leading out of the BCR site and Peden Hill can often be a raceway. It must be something about hills and the desperate need to get to the top because it is rare to see someone holding to the speed limit on University Way or going over the Yellowhead Bridge. Maybe we have a primeval drive to conquer hills as fast as possible. Or maybe it is a desire to not be last up the hill. Of course, then there is the downhill stretch!
In any case, driving fast is pretty much a standard in town. To some extent, we all do it. However, some people go a lot faster than the speed limit. Is 10 km/h over the limit fast? Probably not, but how about 20 km/h or
30 km/h? Where do we draw the line?
Speeding is a problem but the real danger in Prince George is intersections. Recent changes have been made at Highway 16 and Vance Road. There is a new set of lights intended to control cars turning. It is no longer simply an "advanced green" but a separate part of the signal cycle.
Sitting in the line up to drive straight through this intersection the other day, I watched a driver misinterpret the green light for the turning lane.
Oblivious to other traffic, they drove straight through the red light. They didn't even have the excuse of not being able to stop in time as they were already stopped at the intersection when the light turned.
They were lucky. They drove off down the highway without causing an accident but not paying attention at intersections seems to be a major problem.
Whether it is a cell phone conversation, searching for Pokemon, or arguing with a passenger, intersections seem to cause all sorts of problems on our streets.
On the same day, I watched another vehicle blow through a red light tucked behind a loaded logging truck. Maybe they could argue that they were too close to the truck to see the light, but the light was already yellow when the logging truck entered the intersection and everyone else was slowing down for the light. The vehicle had to change lanes to draft in behind the logging truck.
It could be the driver was late for work. It could be they were heading out of town to an emergency. It could any number of reasons. But what was definitely apparent was they weren't following the rules of the road.
I am sure there are many, many other stories. From people being cut off in traffic to pedestrians almost getting clipped by wayward drivers, our roads appear to be increasingly less safe. And yes, I know that I contribute to the problem because I don't slow down when traffic is moving too fast.
I just keep up with everyone else which, of course, is what they are doing.
In the end, the safety of our roads and, for that matter, our community is entirely within our hands. Driving safe and in a responsible fashion is something we all can do.
Especially in school zones!
--Todd Whitcombe
