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Why are there so many bad drivers in vancouver?

16K views 201 replies 55 participants last post by  the bartender 
#1 ·
Isn't it mind boggling how some drivers get there license? Most don't shoulder check, some think they own the road, some just simply can't drive! Riding is so dangerous around crowded/traffic areas its not even funny anymore... RANT done! :)
 
#12 ·
I'm Chinese, and I support this theory. Except to add: it's primarily the mainlanders.

In China, especially with the direction the government is in to make people drive cars instead of riding bikes, people are of the mindset that bike riders are inferior poor people. Because.. well it's true in China. If you can't afford a car, you buy a motorcycle. Hence the disrespect since the car is a status symbol.

However, Chinese people don't get that it's the opposite here in the the Americas. A lot of people have a car first, and only when they have enough money, go buy a motorcycle as a toy.
 
#4 ·
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/thewest/light+runners+Richmond+percent/6309764/story.html

The number of Richmond drivers getting caught running red lights at dangerous intersections has reached epidemic levels.

Figures released by ICBC on request of the News revealed a shocking 1,394 local motorists were issued tickets for running red lights last year — a massive spike of more than 600 per cent from 2010.

It’s understood that much of the incredible rise can be credited to the installation of more “intersection safety cameras” at accident hot spots around the city.

However, the five extra cameras were only put in place in November last year, indicating that the majority of the infractions happened only in the last six or seven weeks of the year.

The startling figures barely raised an eyebrow with Cpl. Kevin Lin, from Richmond RCMP’s road safety unit, who sees crazy driving on the city’s roads every day. “No, I’m not at all (surprised),” said Lin. “I knew that, because of the locations the cameras were placed, that it would probably produce numbers like this. “At the newer (locations) we are there regularly for collisions and those intersections are known for their problems.”

In 2009 and 2010, Richmond had just four intersection cameras, with a total of 242 and 230 tickets issued respectively to drivers running red lights. Last year, the number of cameras jumped to nine after the launch of a province-wide safety program initiated by the B.C. government, police and ICBC.

There were a total of 30,803 red light tickets issued across B.C. last year, a leap of around 50 per cent from the previous year, compared to Richmond’s 600 per cent increase. Aggressive driving is the main reason for the meteoric rise, according to Lin.

“People simply do not want to wait for the lights,” he said. “It really hasn’t come as that big of a surprise, as intersection crashes are a huge issue in Richmond. “We try very hard to focus our efforts on those intersections all the time.”

If the police catch you, it’s a $167 fine plus points on your license. If the camera catches you, it’s the same fine, but you usually escape points because it’s the registered owner who gets the slap, as opposed to the actual driver.

Lin said the best advice he can give to law-abiding drivers is to be “extra cautious” and be aware that there are people who are going to take chances and not always stop when they should.

But of the impatient culprits? “They will get caught at some point. They will either get caught by the cameras or by us; but they will get caught,” he added. Illegal u-turns at major intersections in Richmond are another big problem for Lin’s department. “A huge misconception in Richmond is the no u-turn at a controlled intersection, especially on No. 3 Road,” he said. “There are a few courtesy signs telling people that, but when they’re stopped by us, they complain that there wasn’t a sign. But there are no u-turns at a controlled intersection anywhere in B.C.”

The figures released by ICBC also showed that the numbers of fines issued in Richmond for distracted driving — namely, being on the phone — multiplied by more than 70 per cent last year to 1,493. And the number of tickets issued for emailing or texting while driving in the city jumped to 70 from 41 in 2010.

Intersection safety cameras in Richmond are at: Cambie and No. 5 roads; No. 3 and Blundell roads; Gilbert and Blundell roads; No. 3 Road at Westminster Highway; No. 5 Rd at Westminster Highway; Garden City Road at Westminster Highway; Alderbridge Way at Shell Road; Garden City and Cambie roads and Garden City Road at Alderbridge Way.
 
#5 ·
The sooner the take the steering wheel away from the meatlumps and hand it over to the computers, the better.
 
#17 ·
Or the 1 idiot who makes a jam doing so. Instead of taking half the time to make 3 right turns.
Kingsway between joyce and safeway makes me want to nail baby jesus to the cross.
 
#20 ·
No where in North America have i see flashing green lights for pedestrians. The flashing green lights in Quebec is priority to turn left.

Toronto has CLEAR views of pedestrian crossings with lights and bells.

Seriously, having to turn left on a yellow light is ridiculous, and illegal in other cities.
 
#36 ·
Chinese are horrible driver because they are selfish and blind at the same time....here is how i catagorize bad drivers.

1. Scared Asian Woman - This is your typical asian lady in small car..they drive 10km under speed limit on the fast lane. They will only look straight...never shoulder check or check rear mirror. They are so afraid if she look anywhere other then the front she will crash into something. Usually seen in Corolla, Civic, Tercel, or any small cars..sometimes they are in small suv and small van.

2. FOB Asian - Both Female and Male...usually middle age Asian who drives like he is still in Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing..where turn signal is not required..and nose into your lane when lane changing is normal. They drive like absolute assholes...usually in Mercedes, BMW, or any car worth more than your annual salary. They justify their duechbargory by claiming you are the bad driver.

3.Rich Asian Kid - Both Male and Female...they drive like how they play GT5, Forza 4..or Initial D video game (no shoulder check..no signal..runs red)...usually seen in sports car or sport sedan worth more than your annual salary. Sporting a N or L sign ...however they think they drive very well because they are in better car than you...and everyone else are just a pylon or in-game AI.

4.Senile old Asian/East Indian/White - Seriously...if you wear a fucking diaper ..you shouldn't be behind wheel...

5.Asshole White guy - They drive aggressive and care very little about everyone else...running reds..cutting you off...speed off in straight line. Usually seen in big raised up trucks/suv or if they are under age of 30..in even more riced out second hand (3rd hand) japanese compact car.

6.Dumb Bitch on cellphone - Whoever and whatever they are talking to and about is a whole lot more important than safety. Usually seen in ..well ANYTHING...

Bottom line is..i think 1 out of 3 drivers on the road are dangerous..
 
#54 ·
and don't get me started on stupid chinese and their HIGH BEAM at night...


just absolutly F-ing stupid...
Well, it's not just asians (i see south asians, and old people) who drive with their high beams on @ night. But it seriously has gotten worse. I have a solution for that...

If you can't see at night without the use of high beams... get the f*** off the road.



AND FUCK THE WHOLE WRITTEN TEST IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGE SHIT !!...seriously if you can't speak or read English..that means you can't follow any instructions. Would they be able to understand an ample LED work sign that say " Construction - loose gravel please proceed with caution" ? To the Chinese they would proably think it says "SPEED UP AND KILL MOTORCYCLIST INFRONT"
In the US this would not happen. Adapt, or die. They should only offer the test in English or French. the only two languages that are official in Canada.

Hell, i had contemplated installing a dash-cam to just record the crazy shit I see every...single...day and create a youtube channel dedicated to "the bads of the lower mainland"

But seriously, you guys are preaching to the choir on this topic. But here is my list of drivers that annoy me:

1. People who race up the straights on highways and then, as soon as they are a corner, slow down to 20 below the speed limit
1. a. When people do this in the fast lane.
2. When people drive 20 - 30 below the speed limit. In the lane. In (or out of) rush hour.
3. High Beams. Nuff said.
4. People in general who drive higher end cars, who cannot drive (instead of spending all the money on pretty cars, take some (real) driving lessons
5. People who cannot follow basic rules of the road: Turning into the correct lane, staying in your lane, etc.
6. People with no patience. You're seriously going to risk killing yourself / a family / other people in general to try and save yourself 3 seconds to 2 minutes?
 
#40 · (Edited)
Mr. Ping, you clack me up! :D

Vancouver doesn't have the monopoly on really bad drivers. Around here, the old folks who grew up driving the tractor to town "own" the road, drive with blinders on, ignore stop signs, drive agonizingly slowly, etc.
 
#41 ·
Back to the red light article on page 1... I think red light cameras are genius. Anything to make people think twice about dangerous intersection maneuvers is great. People who whine that they are just a cash-cow are stupid. They're a static device, and there are SIGNS telling people ahead of the intersection that there is a camera ahead. To those people I say, smarten up morons!

You gotta figure, intersections are where you're most likely to get blindly smoked by idiocy... I find myself wishing every light had a camera.
 
#42 ·
Red Light camera is a just money grab...the real solution to end this whole issue is harder licencing ..and seriously..enough with the secrect "we don't want to offend people " anti-racism bullshit....time for ICBC to release the data of accident rate of fresh immigrants vs real Canadians...
 
#45 ·
Red Light camera is a just money grab...the real solution to end this whole issue is harder licencing ...
I fully agree that harder licensing (or, more specifically, mandatory APPROVED driver training/courses prior to obtaining a license) would be a major help. Still, I don't mind people paying for entering intersections on red, cash grab or not.

The L and N system is massively flawed in that it doesn't require any real experience and training... the whole system just assumes that people will somehow magically get better at driving if obtaining a full license is artificially made to take longer. 'lo and behold, you still end up with drivers who can't safely navigate their way out of a paper bag...
 
#44 ·
Hey, I'm #5, the asshole white guy. But you are wrong! I do care about other people, as long as they get the F*&K outta my way ;)
 
#46 ·
Approved training...harder licensing ..none will stop Chinese from buying their license. It's the TESTING process that needs to be change. Instead of a person telling you to turn left/ right or lane change. It should be a destination based test...that way they can judge how the testee will react in REAL life situation. For instant ..drive from Burnaby ICBC testing center to Richmond ICBC center...they can use a gps..but the instructor should just be observing.

Ofcourse madatory class would be good to improve skill...but the problem with these CHINESE ..is NOT SKILL..is how selfish they are when they are on the road.
 
#57 ·
Exactly. I am sure that Chinese drivers are quite capable of driving just as well as anyone else. What differentiates them (the "bad" Chinese drivers) is their uncaring, arrogant and selfish behaviour on the road. I have lived and worked in Richmond since 1978, so this observation comes from experience.
 
#47 ·
AND FUCK THE WHOLE WRITTEN TEST IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGE SHIT !!...seriously if you can't speak or read English..that means you can't follow any instructions. Would they be able to understand an ample LED work sign that say " Construction - loose gravel please proceed with caution" ? To the Chinese they would proably think it says "SPEED UP AND KILL MOTORCYCLIST INFRONT"
 
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