We should be warned.

I had an idea when driving back from my wife's Aunts cottage....

We need to create a system where by if the person driving in front of you is doing a speed which is less or more than the posted speed limit it would flash up on the rear window.

We could have these messages:
+ 30 kph "I have a death wish and am going to take somebody out"
+ 20 kph "I am late and need to get there..."
+10 kph "I know this road, and know you are behind me."
0 kph "I know what I am doing, but need some space to drive safely."
-10 kph "I am just wondering around and not really thinking about what I am doing."
-20 kph "I am scared of driving and you should really be at home or riding in a cab."
-30 kph "I am either drunk, texting, yelling into my phone, or too scared. Please call the police"
-40 kph "Please push me off the road and call the Police"

I was thinking about this as driving along a road where the tire tracks were on bare asphlate and the person ahead of me was doing -30 around the corners and then speeding up to -20 on the straight parts and I was becoming annoyed with them and knew I would be safe at +10 driving. So the person cost me an extra 30min on my drive, and about $5.00 in fuel. Though I was safe and got home.

I did pass by about 4 wrecks in the ditch. But there were all single car accidents.

I really can't see you!

I guess with the nights becoming longer and there is more darkness in our work days, I have been noticing or rather not seeing people on/in/by the road as I drive around Toronto and Area. People wearing the tradition BLACK clothing walking where cars even with their headlights on can't see you...

Why Oh Why are you hiding and trying to kill yourself?

People don't seem to understand that dressing in BLACK or dark colours makes you very hard to see at night and in the glare of wet roads?

Can you see the bike?
This is the view from my Truck's window. The biker was riding beside me and pulled up to the car in front of me. There is nothing reflective on his bike. I could barely see him.

Cars and trucks have LIGHTS so that they can been seen.... Bikes are required to have the same during night riding... by law he should get a ticket.

The worst is I could have bumped into him and killed him.... I could not see him until it was too late.

The gov.uk.com site had a great idea.... riders must wear reflective clothing while on the road.

People walking should also ALWAYS wear something reflective when outside.... I really do want to see you.

Yet this evening as I was driving around, I saw about 2 people wearing reflective vests.... so there is hope.

Going back to school!

As a part of my 10 year plan. I have decided to take the final step in my driving career and get my A class licence(Tractor Trailer). So back to school I go. Well I am just taking the budget class and having my employer train me on his equipment. Guess I will be staying with him for another few years for the "free" training. But what the heck it also means that I will have at least one year of tractor driving behind me when I start looking for my next job.

Missing a part of me.

Seems that in today's world our cell phones are becoming more than just an attachment on our bodies. They are really becoming a part of you. At least that's how I feel right now. My cell phone was stolen recently... its not been found, and though I disconnected that phone from my account. I am still missing it. Well actually the information on it. Who ever has the phone has so much of my life on it. They have access to my friends, family, customers, and their important information. I am lucky that I didn't keep credit card, bank account info, SIN #and the like; but still.

Worse still I have a bad memory. Always have and sadly will. My Cell kept my organized and focused on what is going to happen and what already has happened.

So for now, I have to go back to a paper calender.... arg!

Things not to stop for when driving?

After last weeks "Save The Geese" accident along the WB Queen's Way in Mississauga which sent a horrible chain reaction which destroyed 4 transport trucks and their cargo, sent 4 people to the hospital and all the other damage. I have complied a list of things which cars and trucks should never stop or even move out of the way for:

Geese or any other animal which is smaller than your car/truck.( this includes cats, dogs, raccoon, birds of any size). They are surprisingly aware of their environmental and will move. If not, then you are putting people's lives @ risk. People are more important.

Things that you SHOULD avoid hitting:
People
other Cars, Bikes and Motorcycles
Road signage
Deer
Moose

booster seats

So that new Ontario law tells us that for a person to go from a booster to a normal seat in a car the person must meet the following;

80lb and 4 feet 11 inches.

Now my daughter has a goal in mind.

My questions is. Does this rule apply to only children or adults as well? I would think that there would be advantages for anybody who is not almost 5 feet tall to be a booster seat. There are some adults who could make great use of a booster as they are too short for the cars which are built for the typical Anglo driver here in Canada and the USA for that matter. How many times have you been driving and seen a headless driver? Also doesn't an air bag work best if the person is over 100lb? Its why children are not allowed in the front seat of a car until they reach that weight.

So I think that the rule should apply to any person and not just a child.

Every 5 yrs

So what if you were required by the province to take a written and/or physical driving test to renew your driver's Licence? Lets not talk about $ for the test just yet. Lets talk about the possible good & bad which such a requirement would mean for us.

Highway Traffic Act changes from time to time. New signage is installed and updated. New vechicals and classes of vechicals change and are retired. We have a changing and aging population who have not had their ability to drive tested since they were licensed. Most people agree that there are a growing number of bad drivers out there. Where is the quality control of drivers? Did you know that you can get your G class test in some 17 different languages?

What about insurance rates? Would they go down, if more driver's were not allowed to be behind the wheel because they failed the test? Would the rates of those who did fail increase because they failed? Would the test help to remove uneducated drivers from the roads, to help ease congestion and help promote transit?

Currently those who hold a A, B, C, D, E, F class of licence are required to pass a written test every 5 years; as well we have to pass medical testing and have other requirements  just to hold our jobs? Yes we do. We are professionals and really don't mind keeping up to date with all the changes.

I and other professional drivers just want to help reduce congestion by remove dangerous drivers who we believe would not be able to pass a written and physical driving test. Thus they would be forced to retrain and improve their skills to get back on the road. This would make our roads safer, and easier with all the reduced traffic. Less traffic would see a HUGE savings by reducing fuel cost, grant us more parking spaces when shoping, and make the highway system more productive and less expansive.

What do you think?