Improving Driving Safety

There has a lot been done, both in the vehicle manufacturing and road development, to ensure safe travel on our roads. Many new vehicles come with many additional safety features such as automatic emergency avoidance braking and lane departure warning to assist drivers in preventing collisions. On the roads we have special lanes and road markings such as guardrails, yellow road divider lines, white lane divider lines, stop lines, etc. To ensure bicycle and pedestrian safety there are bike lanes, crosswalks and sidewalks/paths. As the automobile has evolved the transportation infrastructure has also progressed to accommodate the increasing travelling complexity. 

Driving today is more complicated with all the additional rules and regulations that have accumulated over the years. There are many older drivers that are not familiar with the updated traffic procedures. We also have many newer drivers that also lack the knowledge to drive correctly because they did not have the proper training to drive in today’s congested roadways. Many drivers also pick up bad driving habits either learned from their peers or becoming lazy. Not following the rules makes it difficult to know for other drivers what you are planning to do.

A lot of traffic incidents could be avoided with proper driver education. Today’s process for obtaining a driver’s license is outdated and doesn’t ensure the appropriate training to correctly navigate roadways in a 2000+ lb. vehicle. We have seen many tragic accidents caused by driver error due to the lack of proper training to handle unexpected situations. Some of the provinces are looking into, or already have, implemented regulations ensuring that drivers of large commercial vehicles must have driver training before obtaining an operator license.

Regulations to obtaining a driver license vary between the provinces and territories for each regulates their own rules.  The Canadian Government has some limited driver guidelines to follow and most of the provinces have similar designations and rules to follow, however, they lack consistency. Even though drivers must complete a written exam and take a road test, it still doesn’t prove that a driver knows how to properly navigate emergency situations. Emergency responders train to be prepared to handle emergencies and people are trained to operate heavy machinery correctly and safely. Should we not also have proper driver training to ensure the safe and proper operation of a motor vehicle?

The Government of Canada needs to update and modernize the Federal Traffic Act to include that all drivers must have proper training in order to operate a motor vehicle. The training should also include recovery from emergency situations including skidding and collision avoidance. Driving would be much safer with properly trained drivers. Let your Member of Parliament know we need better-trained drivers on our roads to make them safer. Insist that all drivers must have extensive training before they are allowed to operate one.

Join The M.A.D. Movement and make a difference towards safer roads. While we wait for the Government to amend the rules, we all can do our part by reviewing and improving the way we drive and eradicate our bad habits. If you have problems with some of your maneuvers, improve them with training and practice. Get better at your parallel parking or merging. Review a few videos on the procedure and then go and practice it until you are confident. Make a point to ensure your seat belt is fastened, don’t get distracted by your phone, signal properly, turn from the correct lane, and do a proper stop at that stop sign, are but a few simple measures one can consider to improving driving safety.