As the population of North Vancouver increases as well as the density centralizes into the Lonsdale Avenue corridor, now seems like a good time to update the community on the laws of driving across Canada. Especially with the traffic congestion during rush hours periods of the day while residents commute to and from work using highway 1.
If you are new to Canada as an immigrant, or feeling rusty on the driving laws and regulations, you may want to consider reading the ICBC website, the Government of BC website or visiting our friends at North Shore Driving School to sharpen up on your understanding of the laws.
North Vancouver RCMP are always out in force ensuring you follow the law.
When you walk or drive up and down Lonsdale Avenue and the surrounding areas you always encounter some distasteful and frankly dangerous driving habits, so we are going to list some information for you below to help you with breaking these bad driving habits.
Using your turn signal is not a suggestion, any time you change lanes or merge, you must use your turn signal, if you turn this on a few seconds before changing lanes, you give the drivers around you time to know what you are doing and they will allow you space to do so safely.
A safe driving distance between yourself and vehicle in front of you is every 10km of velocity you are traveling, allow 1 car length of distance between yourself and the other vehicles. Therefore, if you are traveling 50km which is the speed limit on Lonsdale Avenue, stay 5 car lengths behind the car in front of you, not 1 car length. That is called “tail gating” and it is very dangerous.
Pedestrians always have the right of way, irregardless if the walking signal is turned on or not. You must yield to pedestrians. Some people are blind or def and as a result they might not be able to follow the walking signal properly, so use your compassion here and give people time to cross the road. Think about how you would act if your child or friend were in their position.
All of the Lonsdale corridor has driving cameras on the intersections, so if you drive dangerously and cause an accident you will be at fault and have to face the consequences. Therefore, drive with care and kindness as you are most definitely being recorded from various points.
If you are tired, angry, or frustrated you should not be driving. Driving is a privilege not a right. So make sure you are in the state of being mindful of your actions and having the mental capacity to drive within the framework of the laws of Canada. If you need to pull over and blow off steam, do that. There are tons of places in the area to go for nice walks and find calmness.
Driving with anything in your hands, whether that is a cell phone or a hamburger, is illegal and you will be fined for doing this. You should have both of your hands on the wheel to allow yourself the correct reaction time to drive safely. Doing your makeup in the mirror while driving is not acceptable either.
In closing if you treat others the way you want to be treated and drive within the legal framework of British Columbia, not only will you arrive safely to your destination, but you can be the change that is needed to inspire the community to drive compassionately. This time of year accidents with pedestrians is on a steep incline so keep that in mind when traveling.
The Lonsdale Avenue corridor has many electric vehicle charging stations.