OPP to Target Bad Weather Driving

[ddusseld]

No offense taken..

I was being sarcastic about banning walking and cell phone use. It is just annoying to me to have to dodge out of the way of people walking down the street or in the mall because they are so absorbed their cell phone that they are not watching where they are going. I really, really dislike cell phones...

I would hope that if I was a police officer or tow truck driver etc that I could maintain my perspective. I can certainly see how perceptions could be changed. But I also expect professionals to act based on fact not just perception. This is where somebody like Fantino is just so wrong. He is not acting to make things safer. He is acting with nothing but a political agenda in mind. I've said it since he was the Toronto police chief. He is only interested in advancing his own career with an eventual career in politics.

Ah...so there it is! ddusseld, I asked previously under what conditions would you (not you specifically) impose draconian measures to advance your agenda? "Given the power I'd ban them from people walking down the street" Getting a little Fantino on us? HaHa I agree with you about media driven scare mongering re: driving - ergo, your perception is supposed to be that it's a "zoo" out there. But it's not really. If you spent the next 6 month as ride along with police, towtruck, ambulance etc. your perception would change as to the state of the traffic situation. The reality hasn't changed but your perception has. So where does the truth lie? Just a reminder that I'm shooting off here because it's an open forum and all that...no offense meant to anybody...

[ddusseld]

Happy new year. I hope yours did not involve staying up with a puking 7 month old most of the night....

I can see this. I started out driving stick so I never really think much about it. Might be nice to see people taught during their drivers education.

[QUOT2Seca750;511953]happy new year man

my thinking behind making folks have to pass driving a stick is quite simple....it's harder to drive a car with a manual tranny....and IMO you are truly driving a car with a stick......while driving with an auto-box, you're really just aiming the damn thing......IMO drivers have a different respect for the car when they're making everything go and stop

people suggest tougher driving standards....well, if you're capable enough to pass the test while driving a stick.....then you have just demonstrated that you're more capable than those who can't

maybe making it mandatory is a little harsh....but it would be nice to see a serious incentive to learn how.......think about the drivers/cars in Europe...auto boxs are extremely rare

I'll tell ya...I see tons of student drivers in my neighbourhood driving little import auto-box sedans with the instructors.....and man...it's scary.....they can't seem to negotiate their surroundings worth a crap......if you put them in a car with a manual tranny.....I'd bet they wouldn't even get the thing moving[/QUOTE]

[82Seca750]

A while ago, I joked with someone at work (after a rant about cagers) that everyone whould be forced to ride a motorcycle for 2 years before driving a car. Would teach future cagers about awareness, focus, and respecting other road users. Oh well ....

I'm with ya.....the only bike I have at the moment is a vintage 1969 Z50 mini that I'm gonna restore......but I also have a 1990 Morgan +8.....it's a 2000 lb British roadster with a V8......no radio....no cupholders.....and you can touch the pavement while sitting in the driver's seat

it's a wee little buggy.....and it goes like stink.....but you have to be very aware of your surroundings.....far too many 4500lb sport ute drivers out there that can see everything....except the little roadster they're about to turn into a speed bump

[inreb]

Happy new year. I hope yours did not involve staying up with a puking 17 year old most of the night....

[TBSS_guy]

I must have passed ~ 60 cars in the ditch on the 401 between Montreal and Toronto during the storm Tuesday night, can you imagine how much revenue the province can make on this one??!? Maybe we can lower taxes and give Fantino a raise simply by screwing over poor innocent souls who are already paying for unexpected towing and/or vehicle repairs. SWEET!!! Let's get right on that.... Brilliant idea...

Let's not talk about how the road wasn't plowed, you couldn't see the road at all, let along lane and shoulder markings, there were white-outs, erradic cross winds, drivers with little or no skills, people probably driving on summer tires sliding all over the road to contend with, etc...

Sounds to me like the OPP just want to scare everyone off the road whenever it's snowing.

Why can't the OPP and MTO come up with some way that you can guage which lane you're in when the road markings are covered instead of finding new ways to randomly tax the public?

How about not setting ridiculously low snow clearing budgets and letting the plowing companies do things properly.

How about installing more reflective markers at the side of the road so people can guage their lane positioning... We have some but they're spaced out and hard to see in low visibility conditions.

How about creating a winter driving education program that gives insurance discounts for drivers who pass.

...oh wait, that means they'd have to SPEND money on public safety & education instead of collecting cash from victims of mother nature (including the small fraction of people of whom *might* actually have been driving too fast for the conditions).

Don't we already have laws the police can use for people driving too fast for the conditions anyway? ...even before the "street-racing" law fiasco?

[l33t Rider]

Why can't the OPP and MTO come up with some way that you can guage which lane you're in when the road markings are covered instead of finding new ways to randomly tax the public?

On that note, you ever notice how the white lane markers tend to disappear on a rainy night? Whatever lane markers are visible, they tend to blend into the light reflections off a wet road.

I have noticed that the orange neon lane markers that were on the 427 south to QEW were incredibly visible (though I have yet to see them again in snowy conditions), but hey, you'd figure orange lane markers would contrast the white snow better than white lane markers would?

[spankayf]

I noticed in todays paper a police cruiser went off the road and hit a poll .... I hope this reckless driver is charged

[Gnu]

happy new year man

my thinking behind making folks have to pass driving a stick is quite simple....it's harder to drive a car with a manual tranny....and IMO you are truly driving a car with a stick......while driving with an auto-box, you're really just aiming the damn thing......IMO drivers have a different respect for the car when they're making everything go and stop

people suggest tougher driving standards....well, if you're capable enough to pass the test while driving a stick.....then you have just demonstrated that you're more capable than those who can't

maybe making it mandatory is a little harsh....but it would be nice to see a serious incentive to learn how.......think about the drivers/cars in Europe...auto boxs are extremely rare

I'll tell ya...I see tons of student drivers in my neighbourhood driving little import auto-box sedans with the instructors.....and man...it's scary.....they can't seem to negotiate their surroundings worth a crap......if you put them in a car with a manual tranny.....I'd bet they wouldn't even get the thing moving

Then you'd be OK for the motorcycle license test to be done on a bike with a suicide shift, hand signals and a kick start? That would prove you are capable...

[suprPHREAK]

.... he said an infraction would be treated much like tailgating or an illegal lane change....

In other words, it will be completely ignored?

[spankayf]

In other words, it will be completely ignored?

Ohhh .... I'm sure he was rushing to a call

[82Seca750]

Then you'd be OK for the motorcycle license test to be done on a bike with a suicide shift, hand signals and a kick start? That would prove you are capable...

well....I consider motorcycle riders more capable than car drivers period.....front brake, bake brake, clutch, shifting gears......and having to keep the thing vertical all the time......far more involved than sit down....throw in drive....take sip off coffee.....grab cellphone....and aim

pretty confident that the manual car tranmission is not foreign to any riders out there either.....heck.....I was riding an XR75 at 9 years old.....and a YZ125 by 11......I knew then how you work a manual car tranny

very seldom do I see a rider on the road that appears to be useless or completely inexperienced.....quite the contrary

[ddusseld]

I see the average motorcyclist as about as skilled as the average driver. Average....

well....I consider motorcycle riders more capable than car drivers period.....front brake, bake brake, clutch, shifting gears......and having to keep the thing vertical all the time......far more involved than sit down....throw in drive....take sip off coffee.....grab cellphone....and aim

pretty confident that the manual car tranmission is not foreign to any riders out there either.....heck.....I was riding an XR75 at 9 years old.....and a YZ125 by 11......I knew then how you work a manual car tranny

very seldom do I see a rider on the road that appears to be useless or completely inexperienced.....quite the contrary

[Rob MacLennan]

I see the average motorcyclist as about as skilled as the average driver. Average....

Motorcyclists tend to give other motorcyclists far too much credit.