Oceanside Community Safety is a group of volunteers that want to make
a difference. Their Traffic Watch program is an expansion of Speedwatch
that now includes Cell Watch and Intersection Watch. Intersection Watch
volunteers observe drivers at an intersection
to check compliance with traffic laws and remind drivers of their
obligations. The data collected is shared with the RCMP, ICBC and the
public.
Their first public report describes the observation of six intersections
and 1,923 vehicles in both urban and rural settings. 321 drivers
executed either a rolling stop or no stop at all. I strongly suspect
that they are being very generous in their evaluation
of a proper stop.
The dictionary calls stopping a cessation of movement or operation.
Using this as a yardstick, one high school psychology class in Oliver
watched intersections in that town during lunch hour. They found that
drivers who met this criteria could be counted on
both hands as the vast majority did not.
Rather than report no stop and rolling stop, which are effectively the
same thing, it might be more appropriate to report no stop and stopping
in an improper position.
One of the modules that I use in my Elder College course Road Safety for
Seniors is titled “Are You Smarter Than a New Driver?” It’s a
collection of multiple choice questions similar to what a new driver
would be required to answer in order to obtain their
learner driver’s licence.
One question shows a car facing a stop sign stopped at an angle across
the marked crosswalk and asks why this driver has made the wrong
decision.
The most popular incorrect response is because the driver did not stop
at the stop sign. Even though they have been driving for a very long
time some students are surprised to find out that the position of the
stop sign has nothing to do with where you must
stop.
The sign only tells you what you must do.
Where to stop is determined by what you find at the intersection. If
there is a stop line, you must stop before you cross it. If there is
only a marked crosswalk, you must top before crossing the edge. When
there are no markings, you must stop before you encroach
on the path of cross traffic.
When drivers do stop, they tend to stop where they can see cross traffic
rather than where they are supposed to. This does make it easier for
them to continue, but can have serious consequences for cyclists and
pedestrians if the driver is only paying attention
to vehicular traffic.
It also presents a difficulty for defensive drivers approaching the
intersection with the careless driver on their right. Will the driver
stop or not? Do I continue or should I take evasive action?
A stop in the proper place makes this decision easier for cross traffic of all sorts.
Story URL:
https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/intersections/intersection-watch
—
Constable Tim Schewe (Retired)
DriveSmartBC: Where better than average drivers satisfy their curiosity.