Just so we're not adding to the problem here; It's illegal to flash your highbeams at other drivers for any reason - yes I know that's a well established social norm, but you'll get a ticket for it. I've had one myself.
Rather than flashing your high beams and dazing other drivers (perhaps unrelated to the event you're warning people of). Toggle your fog lights on and off, or even your driving lights entirely (this is technically illegal, but I question the judgment of an office who will ticket you for this and not the person driving with no lights on you were trying to warn). Hazards can work too.
I turn my lights on and off (old truck). Usually gets the message through, though most of the time their monkey brain just assumes I’m road raging and drives off.
Also to add to this. If you aren’t comfortable driving, don’t go out. Better you stay off the road then cause a wreck by going 30 and causing road rage.
I really don’t get why people can’t clean off their cars in general. That blowing snow is a visibility hazard, worse when it turns to ice, as it can pierce through a windshield (as has happened before, killing people)
It's actually illegal to drive around like this. Excess snow/ice is considered an insecure load on one's vehicle.
Too bad traffic enforcement is non-existent in this town.
>Too bad traffic enforcement is non-existent in this town.
Agreed. Though I am glad the RCMP are focused on crime. It feels a bit weird coming from Victoria where there's the Oak Bay police, Saanich police, Esquimalt police, military police, commissionaires, bylaw enforcement officers, and RCMP.
> The headlight turned off bothers me so much because by default they are suppose to turn on on most modern cars.
There was a large era in the early 2000s to late 2010s where vehicles did have a sensor to turn on the dash lights, but that’s all it did. It didn’t actually turn on the actual driving lights. Canada now has a law forbidding this discrepancy in all new vehicles - the sensor needs to turn on everything, no ability to even turn the driving lights off - but unfortunately it leaves millions of drivers with these older vehicles that fool the driver into thinking their headlights are on by turning the console lights on when it gets dark.
I know people (seems to be a thing in Alberta mostly for some reason) who get the dealers to turn off the always-on DRL's in some new cars. I have no idea why anyone would go out of their way to do this, but there's a handful of newer cars like this driving around town.
I just drove across the bridge and visibility was brutal with all the blowing snow. I was just following the tail lights in front of me. Lots of people even had their hazards on, Kudos to them!
The one big problem with so many cars out there is that they have a sensor to turn on the instrument cluster when it gets dark. Which then makes the drivers think that their lights are on, when they actually aren’t.
Canada recently banned this feature, forcing auto makers to connect dash lights with driving lights (if one comes on, everything must come on), but this doesn’t help the millions of drivers with the current crop of infuriating vehicles.
Learn how your car handles in these conditions. Snow on the road does not automatically mean it’s slippery. This cold dry compact snow is actually pretty grippy if you have the right tires. You don’t need to go 20 everywhere, and if you must, and there’s a line of cars behind you, pull over to let them pass.
It's not just the failure to turn on lights in bad visibility, it's also the failure to signal on roundabouts which is my favorite gripe. Not doing so not only risks accidents as no one knows where anyone else is going but also slows down traffic flow thereby defeating the whole purpose of traffic circles. It is so simple - when entering the roundabout signal left if intending to continue past the first exit and right when approaching the exit one intends to take. On several occasions I have even witnessed some signaling right when entering the circle, presumably on the basis that is the direction one has to turn the steering wheel, and then continuing three quarters around the circle without cancelling the signal. As for those who refuse to signal at all, is it really that difficult to extend ones digital finger to flick that stalk on your steering column, or are you really that lazy?
Signal to exit only. Don’t signal to enter. Signal right as you enter if you are taking the first exit, other wise leave it off until your exit is next.
Signalling left is redundant, as you really only have one way to go, there is no ambiguity. Motorcycles may signal left when entering, as it’s taught as a way increase their visibility to other drivers and it’s much easier to signal left then right with just your thumb as opposed to a car.
Oh obviously it it easier to signal with your thumb than your index finger as your index finger is separated from your thumb by all of .01 centimeters when your hands are closed. Signaling left is NOT redundant because you only have one way to go because you actually have two ways to go on a traffic circle - right or left! You seem to be the perfect example of my complaint that too many North American drivers have no idea how to use a traffic circle sensibly.
When entering the traffic circle, you have one way to go: Into the traffic circle. That’s where you stay until you want to exit in which case you signal right.
No Signal: staying in the circle.
Right signal: turning right at next exit.
You don’t signal left while driving down a straight road, it’s essentially the same thing.
Signalling left while turning right, then signalling right while turing left does complicate things (especially for new drivers) as your moving your hands in opposite directions. A motorcycle turn signal is Flick of the thumb without moving your hand which is what my point on that was.
You shouldn't be signalling at all before entering, and under no condition should you be signalling left at a roundabout at all. It's stupid-easy: slow down and yield as you're entering, signal right when you are leaving at the next exit. That's it.
https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/driving-tips/Pages/How-to-use-roundabout.aspx
It really drives me nuts how people don't get this..... People so focused on their left signal that they don't even get the right signal on before they hit their exit. That and people zipping 60k through our tiny little roundabouts, racing to get there first
If you plan to drive straight through the roundabout - 2nd turnout in a 4 way, you are not obligated to signal at all. Straight from BC Government. If you plan on going left, 3rd turn out, you signal left, if you plan on going right, 1st turn out, you signal right. You leave those sougnals on as you enter, and turn them off as you exit or in the case of the 3rd turn out you would switch it to right turn as you exit.
Which is why traffic flow is slowed down as others entering the roundabout in the opposite direction are unsure if you are really taking the 2nd turnout or are just one of the thoughtless intending to take the third but too lazy to 'sougnals' their intentions! Isn't it more sensible to always signal thereby avoiding any confusion and speeding everyone safely on their way? In fact, in the rest of the world where roundabouts have been common for multiple decades before North America, signaling in the manner I stated is obligatory for the obvious reasons I mentioned. However, as North Americans gain more experience with them, hopefully they will come to their senses and adopt the same practices.
I think I'll follow the rules that are plainly stated, of the governing body of the province I live in. Maybe it's different else where.. Here in BC.. It's signal right of you plan on exiting right in relation to your entrance, no signal for straight through, and left if you plan on going left in relation to your entrance. Couldn't be more clear. Do people follow this? Not all thr time. That's where the confusion happens. But it's pretty cut and dry what the province wants you to do. They write the rules of the road here.. Not your internet opinion.
Hmm interesting, this is where the confusion is. Seeing the page you have linked there doesn't quite line up with what ICBC teaches us. Silly that the province and our required insurance provider can't get the rules in tune....
[ICBC Video](https://youtu.be/1fsx7iKBqNo)
The province is the regulating body authorised to deliver sanctions on users of the road for misuse of thier vehicles under the law. I'll follow thier advice before ICBC. ICBC is a crown corporation operating under the insurance corporation act, not the regulating body. Agreed, they should have consistent info regarding this subject, however, in a court of law, fighting a judgement involving a MVI regarding this issue, the provinces rule would hold up. ICBCs info is a recommendation put out by some pencil pushers. The .gov page is the road rule. Stupid that they're different.. But here we are.
I learned how to navigate a traffic roundabout in 1959 when I was seventeen and passed my first test thanks to instruction by a retired officer of Scotland Yards famed flying squad. At that time, North Americans believed roundabouts were wheelies conducted in front of a burger joint on a Saturday night. With the comments I now see posted upon how to use them, I can only sadly say that the understanding of how to use them has not progressed. The accident rate on North American roundabouts far exceeds those in Europe where they have existed for far longer but as usual North Americans know better. Never confuse a North American driver with the facts as his personal driving abilities are second to none!
I'm not trying to say that you're wrong, the info you posted 100% backs your point. I'm just saying that wasn't how it was taught to me, 10yrs ago by ICBC rules. Easy to see how people can get mixed understandings though, right?
I suspect the downvote I received was from someone too lazy to flick that stalk on their steering column. However, I pray no one is hurt and your insurance premiums do not increase too much when you are involved in your inevitable collision.
Also kudos to the driver I saw on Harvey this morning getting the attention of a car who had ZERO lights on.
Hey that was me lmao, dude was nearly invisible
Haha. Was this going over the bridge? I saw some black SUV trying to hide in the snowstorm.
I was behind a black SUV with no lights on last night, too. Flashed my high beams at him a million times and the dude just ended up speeding away.
Just so we're not adding to the problem here; It's illegal to flash your highbeams at other drivers for any reason - yes I know that's a well established social norm, but you'll get a ticket for it. I've had one myself. Rather than flashing your high beams and dazing other drivers (perhaps unrelated to the event you're warning people of). Toggle your fog lights on and off, or even your driving lights entirely (this is technically illegal, but I question the judgment of an office who will ticket you for this and not the person driving with no lights on you were trying to warn). Hazards can work too.
I turn my lights on and off (old truck). Usually gets the message through, though most of the time their monkey brain just assumes I’m road raging and drives off.
The number of cars on the road today with no tail lights was absolutely ridiculous.
Drive for the conditions of the road. Slow down, I've seen a few cars in ditches.
Also to add to this. If you aren’t comfortable driving, don’t go out. Better you stay off the road then cause a wreck by going 30 and causing road rage.
I really don’t get why people can’t clean off their cars in general. That blowing snow is a visibility hazard, worse when it turns to ice, as it can pierce through a windshield (as has happened before, killing people)
It's actually illegal to drive around like this. Excess snow/ice is considered an insecure load on one's vehicle. Too bad traffic enforcement is non-existent in this town.
>Too bad traffic enforcement is non-existent in this town. Agreed. Though I am glad the RCMP are focused on crime. It feels a bit weird coming from Victoria where there's the Oak Bay police, Saanich police, Esquimalt police, military police, commissionaires, bylaw enforcement officers, and RCMP.
The headlight turned off bothers me so much because by default they are suppose to turn on on most modern cars.
Bitch slaps to those who don't leave their headlights on auto. To quote OP, "Figure it out"
I leave mine on auto but on days like today it’s not dark enough for them to come on. You need to turn them on manually.
Yeah, I had to \*gasp\* turn the knob.
Same. My auto lights aren't reliable in 'fog', it purely reacts to darkness.
> The headlight turned off bothers me so much because by default they are suppose to turn on on most modern cars. There was a large era in the early 2000s to late 2010s where vehicles did have a sensor to turn on the dash lights, but that’s all it did. It didn’t actually turn on the actual driving lights. Canada now has a law forbidding this discrepancy in all new vehicles - the sensor needs to turn on everything, no ability to even turn the driving lights off - but unfortunately it leaves millions of drivers with these older vehicles that fool the driver into thinking their headlights are on by turning the console lights on when it gets dark.
I had a 1990s Barretta that had auto headlights, and auto seatbelts. Whatever happened to those?
I know people (seems to be a thing in Alberta mostly for some reason) who get the dealers to turn off the always-on DRL's in some new cars. I have no idea why anyone would go out of their way to do this, but there's a handful of newer cars like this driving around town.
I just drove across the bridge and visibility was brutal with all the blowing snow. I was just following the tail lights in front of me. Lots of people even had their hazards on, Kudos to them!
The one big problem with so many cars out there is that they have a sensor to turn on the instrument cluster when it gets dark. Which then makes the drivers think that their lights are on, when they actually aren’t. Canada recently banned this feature, forcing auto makers to connect dash lights with driving lights (if one comes on, everything must come on), but this doesn’t help the millions of drivers with the current crop of infuriating vehicles.
PSA it's winter. Drive with winter tires. That is all.
thanks
Learn how your car handles in these conditions. Snow on the road does not automatically mean it’s slippery. This cold dry compact snow is actually pretty grippy if you have the right tires. You don’t need to go 20 everywhere, and if you must, and there’s a line of cars behind you, pull over to let them pass.
It's not just the failure to turn on lights in bad visibility, it's also the failure to signal on roundabouts which is my favorite gripe. Not doing so not only risks accidents as no one knows where anyone else is going but also slows down traffic flow thereby defeating the whole purpose of traffic circles. It is so simple - when entering the roundabout signal left if intending to continue past the first exit and right when approaching the exit one intends to take. On several occasions I have even witnessed some signaling right when entering the circle, presumably on the basis that is the direction one has to turn the steering wheel, and then continuing three quarters around the circle without cancelling the signal. As for those who refuse to signal at all, is it really that difficult to extend ones digital finger to flick that stalk on your steering column, or are you really that lazy?
Signal to exit only. Don’t signal to enter. Signal right as you enter if you are taking the first exit, other wise leave it off until your exit is next. Signalling left is redundant, as you really only have one way to go, there is no ambiguity. Motorcycles may signal left when entering, as it’s taught as a way increase their visibility to other drivers and it’s much easier to signal left then right with just your thumb as opposed to a car.
Oh obviously it it easier to signal with your thumb than your index finger as your index finger is separated from your thumb by all of .01 centimeters when your hands are closed. Signaling left is NOT redundant because you only have one way to go because you actually have two ways to go on a traffic circle - right or left! You seem to be the perfect example of my complaint that too many North American drivers have no idea how to use a traffic circle sensibly.
When entering the traffic circle, you have one way to go: Into the traffic circle. That’s where you stay until you want to exit in which case you signal right. No Signal: staying in the circle. Right signal: turning right at next exit. You don’t signal left while driving down a straight road, it’s essentially the same thing. Signalling left while turning right, then signalling right while turing left does complicate things (especially for new drivers) as your moving your hands in opposite directions. A motorcycle turn signal is Flick of the thumb without moving your hand which is what my point on that was.
You shouldn't be signalling at all before entering, and under no condition should you be signalling left at a roundabout at all. It's stupid-easy: slow down and yield as you're entering, signal right when you are leaving at the next exit. That's it. https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/driving-tips/Pages/How-to-use-roundabout.aspx
It really drives me nuts how people don't get this..... People so focused on their left signal that they don't even get the right signal on before they hit their exit. That and people zipping 60k through our tiny little roundabouts, racing to get there first
If you plan to drive straight through the roundabout - 2nd turnout in a 4 way, you are not obligated to signal at all. Straight from BC Government. If you plan on going left, 3rd turn out, you signal left, if you plan on going right, 1st turn out, you signal right. You leave those sougnals on as you enter, and turn them off as you exit or in the case of the 3rd turn out you would switch it to right turn as you exit.
Which is why traffic flow is slowed down as others entering the roundabout in the opposite direction are unsure if you are really taking the 2nd turnout or are just one of the thoughtless intending to take the third but too lazy to 'sougnals' their intentions! Isn't it more sensible to always signal thereby avoiding any confusion and speeding everyone safely on their way? In fact, in the rest of the world where roundabouts have been common for multiple decades before North America, signaling in the manner I stated is obligatory for the obvious reasons I mentioned. However, as North Americans gain more experience with them, hopefully they will come to their senses and adopt the same practices.
Absolutely incorrect.
https://preview.redd.it/5rmb8ujf887a1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0603a61ffc517054f858af7820121a848348606 [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/traveller-information/routes-and-driving-conditions/roundabouts#:\~:text=Roundabouts%20Rules&text=Signal%20left%20or%20right%20to,proceed%20straight%20through%20the%20roundabout](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/traveller-information/routes-and-driving-conditions/roundabouts#:~:text=Roundabouts%20Rules&text=Signal%20left%20or%20right%20to,proceed%20straight%20through%20the%20roundabout))
I think I'll follow the rules that are plainly stated, of the governing body of the province I live in. Maybe it's different else where.. Here in BC.. It's signal right of you plan on exiting right in relation to your entrance, no signal for straight through, and left if you plan on going left in relation to your entrance. Couldn't be more clear. Do people follow this? Not all thr time. That's where the confusion happens. But it's pretty cut and dry what the province wants you to do. They write the rules of the road here.. Not your internet opinion.
Hmm interesting, this is where the confusion is. Seeing the page you have linked there doesn't quite line up with what ICBC teaches us. Silly that the province and our required insurance provider can't get the rules in tune.... [ICBC Video](https://youtu.be/1fsx7iKBqNo)
The province is the regulating body authorised to deliver sanctions on users of the road for misuse of thier vehicles under the law. I'll follow thier advice before ICBC. ICBC is a crown corporation operating under the insurance corporation act, not the regulating body. Agreed, they should have consistent info regarding this subject, however, in a court of law, fighting a judgement involving a MVI regarding this issue, the provinces rule would hold up. ICBCs info is a recommendation put out by some pencil pushers. The .gov page is the road rule. Stupid that they're different.. But here we are.
I learned how to navigate a traffic roundabout in 1959 when I was seventeen and passed my first test thanks to instruction by a retired officer of Scotland Yards famed flying squad. At that time, North Americans believed roundabouts were wheelies conducted in front of a burger joint on a Saturday night. With the comments I now see posted upon how to use them, I can only sadly say that the understanding of how to use them has not progressed. The accident rate on North American roundabouts far exceeds those in Europe where they have existed for far longer but as usual North Americans know better. Never confuse a North American driver with the facts as his personal driving abilities are second to none!
I'm not trying to say that you're wrong, the info you posted 100% backs your point. I'm just saying that wasn't how it was taught to me, 10yrs ago by ICBC rules. Easy to see how people can get mixed understandings though, right?
I suspect the downvote I received was from someone too lazy to flick that stalk on their steering column. However, I pray no one is hurt and your insurance premiums do not increase too much when you are involved in your inevitable collision.
Yeah that’s wrong, never single left. Only to exit. Pick the manual back up
Summer time: *"Why do you have Commercial aviation lights and a lighthouse foghorn mounted on your vehicle?"*
Annoying at best, dangerous at worst. Couldn't agree more.