My sister, after 6 years of living in Calgary, Alberta has come to a close and now she is packed up and driving home to Toronto, Ontario.
First off, I am not a fan of my sister driving alone home, even with two dogs in the back seat. I was really hoping that she would have asked my Mom to come with her, but my sister has her own mind, and well that's it.
So needless to say we are tracking her progress and praying that she comes home safe with no horror stories. I am sure that she is prepared for the trip and has done all she can to avoid the auto related disasters, but still the family worries.
There is a huge difference between how I would make the trip as a man in a commercial truck. I would have taken 3 days to drive the 3,500 kilometers. She is taking 7 days and going through the USA and making stops along the way as she and the dogs seem fit. But she doesn't really drive that far and that long like I have gotten used to, and well that's good.
Pray for safety, pray for endurance, and pray for wisdom as she drives.
Showing posts with label gas prices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gas prices. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Observations while driving in Toronto & The GTA.
After driving this streets and highways in and around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) which is Niagara, London, Barrie, Kingston region of Southern Ontario I have some news on what I have seen these past ten years.
1. Passing on 400 series of highways is always done on the RIGHT hand lane. The left hand lane is reserved for those who are self described "I am too important to share the road or am too busy to think about how my driving skills are lacking."
2. There is zero difference between a person using a cellphone and a drunk while driving. These drivers don't signal, don't keep their speed or lane, don't see other drivers, and do cause accidents. Using a cell phone even hands free is not safe. Turn the cell off. Also you can't txt while stopped at a red light its still a ticket. The only time you can be texting while in the car is either while parked off the road, or while a passenger.
3. Drivers enjoy the thrill and challenge of going from the far left lane into the off ramp at the last possible second while causes everybody behind them to slam on the brakes and cause a possible crash.
4. Fender benders block lanes. If you bump into another car then just pull over into the curb lane and then swap insurance etc. Stop blocking the live lane and causing a more dangerous situation. In some states its illegal to block a live lane if the cars involved can be driven off the road.
5. Trucks and other heavy equipment is NOT the cause of how slow the traffic is going. Truckers want to go as fast as possible in a safest possible way. We are professionals and though we all have our bad days, we are out here in traffic more than you are.
6.Speed limiters on Truck only causes more slow moving traffic and blocked lanes. Our provincial governments. Decided to limit trucks to 105kph. None of those politicians were or have ever driven a truck before. The end result is that trucks in an effort to pass other slower moving trucks are blocking our roads and making all traffic move slower. This might be a good result as speed kills.
7. Driver testing: All G class drivers once they have passed their final test are not tested again till they are 80. This needs to change. Did you know that all professional drivers Class A-F are tested every 5 years? These driver need to pass written and practical tests to keep their licence. We should start to pressure the government to force G class drivers to at least take a written test every 5 years. How often have you come to a set of lights and been confused about the signals? Do you really know what that sign means? Do you know how to safely navigate a "round a bout"?
There is so much a driver needs to learn and keep learning about the roads they are driving. Driving is VERY dangerous. Its a contact sport where we try not to hit each other, but when we do we can kill each other.
Driving is not for the faint of heart, the overly cautious or overly confident. Every day I am reminded how dangerous my job is.
1. Passing on 400 series of highways is always done on the RIGHT hand lane. The left hand lane is reserved for those who are self described "I am too important to share the road or am too busy to think about how my driving skills are lacking."
2. There is zero difference between a person using a cellphone and a drunk while driving. These drivers don't signal, don't keep their speed or lane, don't see other drivers, and do cause accidents. Using a cell phone even hands free is not safe. Turn the cell off. Also you can't txt while stopped at a red light its still a ticket. The only time you can be texting while in the car is either while parked off the road, or while a passenger.
3. Drivers enjoy the thrill and challenge of going from the far left lane into the off ramp at the last possible second while causes everybody behind them to slam on the brakes and cause a possible crash.
4. Fender benders block lanes. If you bump into another car then just pull over into the curb lane and then swap insurance etc. Stop blocking the live lane and causing a more dangerous situation. In some states its illegal to block a live lane if the cars involved can be driven off the road.
5. Trucks and other heavy equipment is NOT the cause of how slow the traffic is going. Truckers want to go as fast as possible in a safest possible way. We are professionals and though we all have our bad days, we are out here in traffic more than you are.
6.Speed limiters on Truck only causes more slow moving traffic and blocked lanes. Our provincial governments. Decided to limit trucks to 105kph. None of those politicians were or have ever driven a truck before. The end result is that trucks in an effort to pass other slower moving trucks are blocking our roads and making all traffic move slower. This might be a good result as speed kills.
7. Driver testing: All G class drivers once they have passed their final test are not tested again till they are 80. This needs to change. Did you know that all professional drivers Class A-F are tested every 5 years? These driver need to pass written and practical tests to keep their licence. We should start to pressure the government to force G class drivers to at least take a written test every 5 years. How often have you come to a set of lights and been confused about the signals? Do you really know what that sign means? Do you know how to safely navigate a "round a bout"?
There is so much a driver needs to learn and keep learning about the roads they are driving. Driving is VERY dangerous. Its a contact sport where we try not to hit each other, but when we do we can kill each other.
Driving is not for the faint of heart, the overly cautious or overly confident. Every day I am reminded how dangerous my job is.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
When gas jumps should you freak out?
The quick answer is NO. Yes this past week the price went up 6 cents over night and then another 2 cents the following day. Why did so many people freak out? 98% of life is how you react to when happens. I was happy that I had bought gas on the weekend and so didn't need to pay any fuel till the Friday night and at the same price as I paid on the Sunday when I bough a full tank of it.
I guess that if you had to pay that $139.6 a liter you would be mad that you hadn't fueled up sooner. But there lays the problem. I personally fill up my car to the top each time I get gas. I don't like going to the gas station every other day. I do drive about 600 kilometers a week. My car can reach about 550 kilometers per tank and a tank holds about 40 liters of fuel. So its not amazing on fuel, but much better than my larger station wagon.
But the better question is why are their unregulated speculators allowed to play with the price of gas? Why are gas companies being allowed to play a part in that speculation? Why are gas prices even traded on the stock market? We don't buy milk, water, wine, beer or even Apple juice like that. Why are we buying gas based on the price in the stock market?
My trucking company doesn't pay the going daily rate for diesel fuel. They pay a rate based upon the amount they consume as decided on. So then the price for fuel stays the same for the length of the contract. Lets say a year. So for 365 days the price stays the same. Then after the year is up, they find a new rate for the fuel. Why can't the private consumer do the same? Why can we sign a contract with a station say Esso to buy their gas for the year based on how much fuel we consume in a year for a static rate?
I would love to have a diesel powered car and then take advantage of their rate! Mmmm not a lot of options: Smart, VW, or some truck.
Better yet! Remove the unregulated speculators from playing with the price of fuel. Remove the guessing of where prices will be and allow the people buying the gas to decided what they are willing to pay. If station "x" is selling at $140.0 and station "y" wants to sell @ $100.00 then station "y" will get my business.
I guess that if you had to pay that $139.6 a liter you would be mad that you hadn't fueled up sooner. But there lays the problem. I personally fill up my car to the top each time I get gas. I don't like going to the gas station every other day. I do drive about 600 kilometers a week. My car can reach about 550 kilometers per tank and a tank holds about 40 liters of fuel. So its not amazing on fuel, but much better than my larger station wagon.
But the better question is why are their unregulated speculators allowed to play with the price of gas? Why are gas companies being allowed to play a part in that speculation? Why are gas prices even traded on the stock market? We don't buy milk, water, wine, beer or even Apple juice like that. Why are we buying gas based on the price in the stock market?
My trucking company doesn't pay the going daily rate for diesel fuel. They pay a rate based upon the amount they consume as decided on. So then the price for fuel stays the same for the length of the contract. Lets say a year. So for 365 days the price stays the same. Then after the year is up, they find a new rate for the fuel. Why can't the private consumer do the same? Why can we sign a contract with a station say Esso to buy their gas for the year based on how much fuel we consume in a year for a static rate?
I would love to have a diesel powered car and then take advantage of their rate! Mmmm not a lot of options: Smart, VW, or some truck.
Better yet! Remove the unregulated speculators from playing with the price of fuel. Remove the guessing of where prices will be and allow the people buying the gas to decided what they are willing to pay. If station "x" is selling at $140.0 and station "y" wants to sell @ $100.00 then station "y" will get my business.
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