jim-san

"How is this relevant to RX-7s?", you might be asking yourself? Well, it carries on a bit of the discussion of another thread concerning U-turns. As someone in that other thread said, "Man, a lot of you guys really want a nanny state where everything is legislated by rules.". (Sorry, Eric. )

It seems to me that the state is putting these rules into legislation because there are too many people out there who just don't have any common sense. So Ontario has to make it absolutely clear to these people what they can, and cannot, do.

Also, as a fellow RX-7 driver/owner, I would hope that other RX-7 owners/drivers respect the rules of the road and do not bring the image of the RX-7 driver/owner into disrepute. (As so many BMW owners have done for BMW. )

So here are the changes that you may find interesting.

40. (1) Subsections 140 (1) and (2) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Pedestrian crossover

Duties of driver

(1) When a pedestrian is crossing on the roadway with-in a pedestrian crossover, the driver of a vehicle approaching the crossover,

(a) shall stop before entering the crossover;

(b) shall not overtake another vehicle already stopped at the crossover; and

(c) shall not proceed into the crossover until the pedestrian is no longer on the roadway.


Well, that's what I was taught in driver training, especially part (c).

(3) When a vehicle is approaching a pedestrian cross-over and is within 30 metres of it, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not allow the front extremity of his or her vehicle to pass beyond the front extremity of the other vehicle.

Don't scare the crap out of the pedestrian by zooming past other cars slowing for the crosswalk, in other words.

Duty of pedestrian

(4) No pedestrian shall leave the curb or other place of safety at a pedestrian crossover and walk, run or move into the path of a vehicle that is so close that it is impracticable for the driver of the vehicle to comply with sub-section (1).

Those pedestrians who break this rule are future recipients of the Darwin award. Well, duh! Don't step out in front of vehicles unless they can stop.

46. Clause 154 (1) (a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) a vehicle shall not be driven from one lane to an-other lane or to the shoulder or from the shoulder to a lane unless the driver first ascertains that it can be done safely;

Ya think? But you would be surprised how many people try this every day. Keeps the two truck operators in business.

48. Subsections 159 (2), (3) and (5) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Slow down on approaching stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck

(2) Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light or red and blue light or a tow truck with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of amber light that is stopped on a highway, the driver of a vehicle travelling on the same side of the highway shall slow down and proceed with caution, having due regard for traffic on and the conditions of the highway and the weather, to ensure that the driver does not collide with the emergency vehicle or tow truck or endanger any person outside of the emergency vehicle or tow truck.

Just common sense to give the tow truck some space. Now it's the law (or will be, once Bill 31 is passed.)

53. (1) Subsection 178 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Clinging to vehicles, bicycle passengers, etc.

Bicycle riders, etc., clinging to vehicles

(1) A person riding, riding on or operating a motor assisted bicycle, bicycle, coaster, toboggan, sled, skate-board, toy vehicle or any other type of conveyance or wearing roller skates, in-line skates or skis shall not attach it, them, himself or herself to a vehicle or street car on a highway.

Yep, it's a bad idea to cruise down the DVP or the 401 with your buddy hanging on to the rear bumper while wearing in-line skates. And towing your kid in his/her Play-Skool cart with your SUV? Definitely a no-no.

23Racer

Well, I totally agree with all of these rules, but I do believe they are covered already in other places in the Highway Traffic Act. The one that I would really like to see enforced, but I expect it never will, is pedestrians who just walk across crosswalks even if the don't walk sign is flashing. They do it all the time in downtown Toronto and basically stops right turns at busy intersections.

Yes I hate nanny states bringing everything down to lowest common denominator, but I'm sorry to say that in this world of everyone being forced to take official drivers education and driving lessons, the quality of driving skill and awareness has gone down tremendously. I want to pull over a couple of cars every day and ask the self determined "Entitled" drivers why they just did what they did. There is no spatial awareness, no situational awareness, no physical awareness in most drivers today and they just want laws to protect them and determine who is at fault. How about not putting yourself into that position from the start?

Now get off my lawn.....

Eric

thewird

iTrader: (8)

And slow vehicles sitting in the left lane for no reason gets ignored once again...

thewird

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Ya..but you can pass them slow cars on the right and can Toss your coffee Right ONTO the windshield when you overtake him and scoot the Left lane.

(..OH Come on!..you know you always Wanted to do that!!!)

...you still ON my Lawn????

rx7racerca

iTrader: (1)

Slow cars in the left lane got ignored, because it's already in the traffic act (I'm assuming Ontario, like most jurisdictions in North America, has similar laws to Alberta on this count). In Alberta, it's covered under two rules - "keep right except to pass," and "slower traffic keep right," meaning the left lane should be used for passing, and when faster moving traffic overtakes, you need to move right - no mention is made of "move right only if you feel like it", or "move right, unless you feel you are going the right speed and need to obstruct other motorists, regardless of whether they are travelling at, above, or below the limit."

Now that doesn't explain why cops ignore enforcing the rules. That's covered under the "it's most profitable to chase the low-hanging fruit" rule of traffic enforcement, which leads to, in Alberta for example, 85-90 percent of tickets each year being issued for speeding (much of that automated, and most of the rest for red light cameras), despite the fact the government's own stats, compiled by the police, say speed is a primary cause of only 6 percent of traffic fatalities. Oh, and Alberta cops and sheriffs issue a LOT of tickets - the government collects nearly $1 billion in fines yearly, which works out to $263 for every man, woman, and child in the province.

jim-san

I couldn't agree with you more, Eric. I can't understand why people don't take more pride in their driving skills. Is it laziness? Stupidity? I just have no idea.

Watch the number of people turning left at an intersection who are unable/too lazy to make the turn property turn into the far left lane, but instead just swerve over into the far right lane. And put on a turn signal before making the turn? Heaven forbid! It just takes too much effort.

Yes, I am indeed a member of the OFC (Old Fart's Club).

gio64

iTrader: (1)

Where am I supposed to have the coffee to be tossed on their windshield if I'm driving my FD??

Jokes aside, yes, I too, always wanted to do that. I drove to Buffalo in the snow last weekend and had to bear with 3/4 ******** of this sort who, not being happy enough to sit on the leftmost lane doing 70/80, they were putting their wheels all over the edges of the lanes, kicking up snow and whatever else was packed in there, including a ping-pong-sized rock that bounced off the windshield of my MS3...

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Since we are mentioning the Old Fart Club..

This NEW **** is gonna make a new breed of bad drivers.
Self Parking cars..cars that Brake when something is ahead of you.Rear Cams mounted on the freakin dashboard so you don't have to actually turn your head and look out the rear.
The car thinks for you,and that is what sort of takes away the whole experience of REAL Driving.

Why back in the day..

Well you get it..right?,..

I like to be in control of my "destiny" and I don't need any Contraptions showing me HOW to operate my Machine!..
I'd like to think that every time I drive I sort of get out of the car with a sense that I "learned something"...Saw something different,ya know..not walking away bored and feeling that the drive was just repetitious.
Hell I even took the Cruise control out!

rx7racerca

iTrader: (1)

The backup cameras are legislated for all vehicles by 2018, iirc. Part of that comes down to:

a) An aging, less agile population (though it will do nothing for Ma and Pa Kettle in their '92 LeSabre...), and
b) how big many vehicles are, and how big the blind spots are on a lot of vehicles. Huge C-pillars (and A-pillars, for that matter), and high, high back ends and sides, with gun-slit windows... even if you do turn around, you can't see anything less than 2m tall that's at least 6m back in a lot of cases.

Last summer, I had someone back into the front of my FC at a light in a fairly late model GMC 2500HD pickup - quite aside from the fact that one shouldn't be backing up at an intersection (the light changed, he was in the crosswalk, and rather than stay put or jet through, he reversed), there's the fact my whole, bright red car was invisible behind the width and height of the back of that pickup. And you have a lot of those types of vehicles being driven by 5'2" soccer moms, who can barely see over the wheel or out the side windows, let alone out back.

RXeckless

iTrader: (11)

I'm a Old Fart, and I take this personal!
I'm doing a hell of a lot more driving since I semi-retired and trying to make a few extra bucks. The stuff I see in the GTA is just making me nuts, but with all the amendments to the Highway Traffic Act if they are not enforced they mean diddly-squat.