Editor:
I have lived in the Greater Vancouver area for about 20 years and I have some bad driving habits.
I don’t fit in here.
One is the fact that I use my signal lights. I use them for turns, for lane changes, merging onto and exiting the highways, and I am usually in the correct lane 100 metres before the turn. I even use signals in parking lots while waiting for a parking spot.
Another is speeding. I will go 10 km/h over the posted speed limit, but even this makes me the slowest vehicle on the highway. I just can’t bring myself to waste that much fuel. Something else I have problems with is tailgating. Why is it done? A game or a threat?
I do the zipper effect alternating with merging traffic and expect the same in return. Does this exist?
Next is red lights. I stop for red lights and wait for the light to turn green. Has the law changed? Are we allowed to drive through the red light if no one is coming? I even stop at stop signs and for pedestrians at crosswalks. Why do people blow their horn at me for this?
U-turns/no U-turns. They happen everywhere, highways, intersections, any road where there is two-way traffic. From minis to semis, many do this then they give me the finger for blowing my horn while I just saved their life. Or were they trying to kill someone or commit suicide? They do it in front of police cars while the police officers turn a blind eye to such.
Why do vehicles speed up in marked construction zones and ignore the flag person? Also, passing on the right shoulder at a high rate of speed is an unexpected fright.
Are there new driving laws? I need to take a refresher course or find someone to train me to not care about other drivers or pedestrians so that I feel like I fit in with Vancouver drivers. This is serious!
Marienus de Jong, Surrey