Drivers are the problem on Malahat
Re: 鈥淢alahat detour alternatives no alternative at all: report鈥�; 鈥淪ixty-three drivers nabbed on Sunday for speeding on Malahat,鈥� Dec. 17.
These two headlines explain why the B.C. government made the right choice. The problem is speeding: one driver was clocked at 139 km/h in an 80 km/h zone and two drivers were impaired and their cars impounded.
No new multimillion dollar highway is going to fix stupid driving, only enforcement will do that.
Jim Pine
Saanich
Don鈥檛 look for speeders at this spot
Re: 鈥淪ixty-three drivers nabbed on Sunday for speeding on Malahat,鈥� Dec. 17.
Yes, the Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU) is at work again, likely in one of their favourite spots at the very short, last-chance passing lane southbound at Tunnel Hill on the Malahat.
This approximately 750 metre long passing lane section is straight and significantly downhill. From perusing the convoluted ICBC crash statistics website, as best as is possible, it was apparently the scene of zero crashes from 2013 to 2017. A little work with a calculator indicates that for a single vehicle to pass another single vehicle traveling at five km/h under the limit in this short stretch requires a speed well above the posted limit.
Typically there are a number of vehicles wanting to pass here and if one vehicle takes the entire length of the lane to pass there are some very unhappy drivers close behind when it comes time to merge. But this makes it an excellent location for generating easy money and provides great fodder for ominous IRSU press releases trumpeting their most recent exploits in capturing the 鈥渕ad-dog drivers of the Malahat.鈥�
If one cannot use it legally, perhaps this totally inadequate section of passing lane should be closed and these IRSU constables redeployed to situations where more dangerous driving infractions occur or numerous crashes are at issue. Intersections, tailgaters, lane hogs and dawdling mergers come to mind.
The activity of IRSU at this location is reminiscent of highwaymen of old, picking an opportune place to rob citizens鈥� purses and steal their horses.
A principle mandate of the IRSU is: 鈥淪trategic traffic enforcement in high collision areas in order to reduce the number of serious injury and fatal collisions on B.C. roads.鈥� That does not appear to be what is going on here.
Ray Morgan
Victoria
Too much speeding on聽Malahat
Re: 鈥淪ixty-three drivers nabbed on Sunday for speeding on Malahat,鈥� Dec. 17.
You can imagine that the 63 people who were speeding were right at the top of the list when complaining about the Malahat drive and how better measures need to be taken to stop accidents. Get a grip people.
It is a proven fact that speed kills and all 63 of you are clearly part of the problem. Let鈥檚 hope this is a wake up call to all of you and to many more.
Joan Firkins
Brentwood Bay
Use photo radar to quell Malahat speeding
As a driver of the Malahat for 30 years 鈥� I ask, why isn鈥檛 photo radar being seriously reconsidered as the inexpensive 24-hour speed-check presence it has proven to be? My understanding is: speed control equals fewer Malahat accidents.
David Gold
Cobble Hill
Going slower could prevent crashes
Google Maps suggests that from Leigh Road in Langford to Mill Bay is 28 kilometres. It suggests by car it will take 24 minutes. Average speed is 70 km/h. Slowing the average speed to 50 km/h would make it a 33-minute trip. Would slowing down the commute by nine minutes reduce crashes? Maybe. Would commuters swap nine minutes per trip to avoid lengthy closures? Possibly.
Bill Carere
Oak Bay
Get rid of Malahat鈥檚 passing lanes
When I started driving, most of the Malahat was single lane, with one or maybe two short passing lanes, and I believe the speed limit was 80 km/h. We didn鈥檛 have any problems with that. Very few accidents, and I don鈥檛 remember reading about driving fatalities either.
Then one election year, some politician decided we needed more passing lanes on the Malahat to appease the public and get more votes.
Along with the passing lanes came the birth of the Malahat speed problems, because you had to get past that truck up ahead before it changed back to a single lane. Right?
When you actually think about it, how stupid is/was the idea of passing lanes on the Malahat when you were heading into single lane traffic at Goldstream on the one end, and Mill Bay on the other. And what are we doing right now? Double laning in front of the Malahat Chalet. If this wasn鈥檛 politically motivated, I don鈥檛 know what it was.
Here is a simple Malahat fix.
1. Remove all the existing passing lanes and dividers from Goldstream to Mill Bay.
2. Allow for left-hand turning lanes and pullouts for heavy trucks where required.
3. Maximum speed 60 km/h.
Total distance from Goldstream to Mill Bay is just over 22 kilometres. At 60 km/h you should be over the Malahat in 25 minutes safe and sound.
John Gardner
Campbell River
A bolt of merriment at聽the legislature
Re: 鈥淏ook of ultimate B.C. lists prompts a list of its own,鈥� Dec. 8; 鈥淣o more sex, please, we鈥檙e legislators,鈥� letter, Dec. 12.
I enjoyed reading journalist Vic Parsons鈥� letter about MLA Agnes Kripps鈥� attempt to replace the word 鈥渟ex,鈥� as in sex education, with BOLT (Biology of Living Today) in 1970.
It brings to mind Allan Fotheringham鈥檚 back page article in Maclean鈥檚 on this topic. As did Parsons, Fotheringham relayed some of the comments shouted out after Kripps put forward her proposal, such as 鈥淚鈥檓 sitting bolt upright鈥� and 鈥渢hat takes care of the bolts, but what about the nuts?鈥�
As much merriment spread throughout the House, Fotheringham reported that Kripps turned to the Speaker thusly: 鈥淢r. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, would you please bang that thing of yours on the table and restore order.鈥� All decorum was lost as the House dissolved into laughter.
Barbara Humphreys
Victoria
B.C. Ferries is doing聽a聽good job
It is high-time that the superb professionalism and quality of service (not to mention punctuality) of B.C. Ferries should be publicly recognized. A fuel surcharge is eliminated, our gracious government has returned free rides for seniors Monday through Thursday and all the staff are impeccably trained as well as serving as emergency personnel.
We even had early-morning and late-night discounts this summer. How refreshing to see the glory days of our service return. Happy holidays to everybody who works for B.C. Ferries.
Nicholas Collins
Victoria
Reflect on values before buying online
Shopping has never been easier. These days, it seems online shopping has become, for most people, a default option. I can understand the convenience, and certainly have done my fair share of online shopping, particularly when living in remote areas without easy access to a variety of stores. When faced with the option of going downtown during the heyday of holiday shopping or sitting at home and ordering what I need with the click of a button, it seems a no-brainer.
However, the more I have been hearing about the treatment of workers at Amazon warehouses, it becomes harder and harder to justify my own materialistic compulsions against the well-being of hundreds of employees.
A recent article published by the Atlantic revealed that 鈥渞uthless quotas鈥� during the holiday season at Amazon warehouses are putting workers at risk for injury, without proper compensation. According to the article, the rate of serious injuries in Amazon facilities was more than double the national average for the warehousing industry.
I don鈥檛 mean to guilt anyone for shopping online; we have been presented in our society with an option for easier, cheaper, and faster shopping and most of us have welcomed it happily, myself included. I also believe that change to this system needs to come from Amazon management itself. I only intend to start a discussion around our society鈥檚 values, and perhaps a bit of reflection before clicking the 鈥渃heckout鈥� button. Do we really need this item, and at what underlying cost?
Marlie van Roy
Victoria
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