I’ve been watching a number of conversations in the newspaper and social media lately, mostly with regard to B.C.’s slow-down, move-over law, but including changes to other traffic laws as well.
The general theme has been that the government has been doing a poor job of telling the public what the new laws are and how we are supposed to follow them.
Perhaps I am sensitive to road safety topics and pay more than the average attention to them but I must disagree with this.
There was significant publicity of the slow-down, move-over law both prior to and when it was enacted. I saw it on TV, in the newspaper and heard about it on the radio.
I continue to pass large signs beside the highway that tell me what to do. I’ve seen articles on television and in print publications recently.
What may be closer to the truth is that we are bombarded by too much information every day. To cope with it, we ignore or do not apply full focus to all of the messages that are being given to us.
As long as no damage is done to us or by us because of this, it isn’t a significant problem.
However, if common sense doesn’t kick in soon enough and we receive a ticket or hurt someone it’s probably not the government’s fault here.
We may wish to be careful how we complain on this subject.
Possible alternatives could include mandatory testing before licence renewal with shorter licence renewal periods to make sure that we are up to date.
As with any other important skill, we have a stake in keeping ourselves up to date in order to remain proficient. It’s not just a job for our government.
For more information on this topic, visit www.drivesmartbc.ca. Questions or comments are welcome by e-mail to comments@drivesmartbc.ca. Tim Schewe is a retired RCMP constable with many years of traffic law enforcement experience. His column appears Thursdays.
