Re-test all motorists on driving basics
We recently drove the Malahat and as per usual found most people driving above the purely arbitrary speed limit — but that just illustrated that most people day in and day out are perfectly capable of driving the road without problems.
So instead of continually lowering the bar, with more police hiding behind billboards, why not for once try raising it?
I suggest that we implement mandatory driver re-testing — and it doesn’t even have to be a full road test to start. A simple written would suffice — the difference between yield and merge come to mind, or my personal favourite — what a yellow light means. A failure would trigger a mandatory driver training program.
I can guarantee a large portion of these nervous nellies calling for reduced speed limits or greater enforcement would be part of the failure crowd and are actually a greater danger. The trickle-down effect on general road safety would go far beyond the Malahat.
Kevin May
Comox
Megathrusts and ‘escaping’ via Malahat
In the past week, there have been two letters regarding no alternate Malahat route in the event of a major earthquake. Their argument is that we will be “cut off,” with no ferries, planes or infrastructure to allow for escape.
Escape what? Where do you think you’d be going? Why? How?
Do the writers have any idea of the impact and destruction of a major quake?
On both ends of the Malahat, there are hospitals, emergency personnel, and resources if one is lucky enough to survive and if those resources are operational, which is not likely until a few weeks have passed.
Emergency Management B.C. has been very clear that we should be prepared to be on our own for three to seven days.
We are listening, but are we hearing?
Doreen Barratt
Sooke
Malahat alternative could save our lives
Re: “Great risks if we don’t have a Malahat option,” letter, Dec. 29.
The letter was correct in suggesting we really should create a safe and fairly convenient alternate route to the Malahat.
It is a good thing that there are serious concerns among a lot of people about our watershed and park lands, but it does seem that the health and safety of the growing community of Greater Victoria and of the communities northwest of the Malahat are more important, given that as Kevin Bishop writes, we unfortunately have the likelihood of a major earthquake hanging over our region.
Otherwise we will be camping in the parks and scooping drinking water from the lakes and rivers. We are upgrading schools and new construction techniques to deal with this, we need to prepare the next step.
Engineering consultants should be charged to explore the routing seriously and put to the B.C. government the pros and cons of the various choices. It doesn’t have to be a route tempting us to use it for everyday connection to or from Duncan and Nanaimo — one that is reliable for moving supplies and people in an emergency is all that is required.
It is foolish and limited-thinking to ignore what could happen to the Malahat highway in a serious earthquake — access to advanced hospitals and medical care, shipment of food and shelter materials, movement of citizens to temporary housing will be affected.
Air travel would be limited, ship traffic to moor or dock in Victoria harbour may be next to impossible. Even a series of serious storms, peculiar to a climate change situation, may damage that single highway.
Get started on this now.
Janet Doyle
Victoria
A quiet holiday shows that we have class
I’m a newcomer to Vancouver Island.
I was a British War Bride.
I am so very proud of our Islanders, who have shown so much class and respect for Prince Harry and Meghan.
These young royals needed a quiet holiday and privacy and our Islanders have given them exactly that.
Congratulations to the people here and especially those in Victoria.
I am now proud to count myself as one of you.
Gwen Zradicka
Qualicum Beach
Speeders subsidize your property taxes
Many people are not aware that all traffic fine revenue in B.C. is returned by the province to municipalities.
Those of you who object to using point-to-point speed cameras on the Malahat are really saying that you are prepared to pay more in property taxes each year so that speeders don’t have to, and shouldn’t have to, subsidize your property taxes.
Use of speed cameras should transcend politics. It is a matter of road safety and especially important on the Malahat where a simple crash can close the only road into town for hours.
Speed camera use has a 30-year proven track record around the globe and was proposed to reduce crashes and road closures, not to generate revenue.
It is high time the province acted on the proposal now in front of them to give point-to-point speed cameras a serious trial on the Malahat.
Chris Foord
Oak Bay
Things that we want, things we really need
Christmas is over, the new year begins; more challenges to face. From many we hear the lament, “the cost of living”; Yes it is high and rising. Perhaps the real problem is the cost of the way of living.
The practice of priority, is surely one major key. Then comes self discipline, and common sense.
Those of us “oldies” who survived a variety of unwanted, unplanned privations, will understand and remember. We had no “credit.”
Today, many of these people rely on small pensions, with no “benefits” support.
Bluntly, could a collective cause of today’s saddening situation be tied to “too much, too easily, for too long, compounded by the malignant effects of too easily available consumer credit”?
Stephen Lamb
(one of the “oldies”)
|Victoria
Where is Eby when we have questions?
Over the past two months I have written the same letter five times to Attorney General David Eby asking why I, with a claim-free, infraction-free record, and driving limited kilometres, seldom at night, am paying almost $100 more for my ICBC premiums.
I was of the impression that those with infractions and accidents would pay more and we less. On each occasion I received a generic “thank you for taking the time to write and we will respond shortly” letter.
Their idea of responding shortly is obviously not the same as mine and neither is thanking me for taking the time to write.
I will be sending the same letter to the AG next week and am looking forward to his generic reply because I am certain I am not important enough for him to respond to.
William Jesse
Victoria
Don’t like health system? Go elsewhere
Re: “Allowing private health care won’t reduce wait times,” opinion, Dec. 29.
This is an excellent piece that uncovers the fallacy of Dr. Brian Day’s assertions that private care is a desirable option.
Having said that, I would suggest that Day, and those physicians who agree with him, move their practices to those jurisdictions/countries where these ideas are acceptable and practiced.
We simply don’t need this disruption to our valued health-care system.
John Stevenson
Victoria
One goes private, the rest of us benefit
Re: “Allowing private health care won’t reduce wait times,” comment, Dec. 29.
The article tries to make a case against private health care by using simple inarticulate arguments, such as, Canada’s medicare system defines who we are as Canadians.
This is not a factual statement, and it will do nothing to reduce waiting lists. Just do this simple math.
Let’s say five patients are waiting for hip surgery, and one goes to a private clinic. Then there are only four left on the waiting list, and there is no cost to the government system.
This is what a private system is all about, to complement the public system, at no cost to the government.
Roger Cyr
Victoria
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