|
|
Join Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Email List
Join BC Premier Gordon Campbell's Email List
Kelowna Capital News
Kelowna Daily
Courier
Lake Country News
Penticton Herald
Penticton Western
News
Summerland Review
Vernon Daily Courier
Vernon Morning Star
Castanet.net
Seniors Choice
Seniors Net
eVent Entertainment
MostlyWater.org
Infotel Phone Directory
Telus Reverse # Lookup
Telus
Phonebook
North Westside Maps
North
Westside Quick Links
103.9 The Juice
B103 - Kelowna's
Best Country
Kiss FM 107.5
Power 104.7 FM Radio
Silk FM 101.5
Sun FM 99.9
Regional
Transit
Highway, Borders, and Ferries Webcams
Distance Calculator
Road Delays
W.R.
Bennet Bridge (Gov)
W.R. Bennet
Bridge (City)
Coquihalla Webcam
Kelowna
Airport Arrivals
Kelowna
Airport Departures
Canada Post
Postal Code Lookup
Looking for singles?
Meet
someone tonight!
REPORT EMAIL AND WEBSITE FORM
SPAM
and spam the spammers right back.
Sign the Online Petition helping Canadians (The
BC3) fight extradition to the United States
Mr. Emery’s next extradition hearing is scheduled for February, 2009
Legality of cannabis by country
Checked
by McAfee Site Advisor
FREE ONLINE ROAD RAGE SCHOOL
Comment Form
Click on your refresh button in the top menu, to be sure you see any updates.
This web page was last updated December 30, 2008
In just one sentence (immediately below) we hope this will help calm your road rage.
Think about if you were the road rage(er) and you made a mistake driving or you were slow one day, would you like it if some jerk took their road rage out on you?
Well if you are a road rage(er) and you wouldn't like a road rage(er) to do it to you, then don't do it to others! Nobody is perfect!
TIPS
If you see someone speeding down the road, it could be for a good reason. Pull over and don't block them if you are driving slow.
Maybe the speeders dog was run over and had to rush it to the vet, which is a true story of why one couple went speeding down Westside Road as fast as they felt it was safe to drive under the conditions.
We read of one lady trying to make it to the last B.C. ferry of the night (11:00 PM) to reach her fathers bedside before he took his last breath.
There could be a good reason for some people to speed, so don't get holier than thou and block speeders passage on purpose! Pull over if your driving slow! There could be a good reason they are speeding! Think about it as if it was you in that situation.
A confessed "road rage(er)" sent us this illustration on what causes her road
rage.... and no it is not OkanaganLakeBC.com. She wants to illustrate how
to make a correct turn in a multiple lane situation. The woman who sent us this
illustration designed this illustration herself and did a very good job at
that!! She lives outside of Vernon and drives to Vernon for work.
| Depending on your situation, you may be able to reduce your penalty point debt. You may be able to eliminate your driver penalty point premium if you voluntarily surrender your driver's licence to an ICBC Driver Licensing Office for one year during the billing period. |
| ICBC Insurance Discount protection
You can choose to repay
any at-fault claim. Then it won't affect
your position on the
Claim-Rated Scale and you will maintain your current
discount. |
|
Too many accidents Vernon Morning Star Letters - Published August 15, 2008 I had the terrible misfortune of taking 43rd Ave. to 20th St. to pick up my wife from a friend's house. What met me at the corner was yet another accident. I have to admit, even after the terrible accident involving a cab driver I was skeptical about the idea of a traffic light, but no longer. The citizens of this city pay our politicians' wages, as well as produce our budget for things like traffic improvements, so, why not listen to the people who pay your salary and put in traffic lights? Apparently there have been "studies" into what would be most suitable for that intersection, well, perhaps council can allow for some other studies: life without a father, or, grief management in the workplace, perhaps rehabilitation for the maimed and disabled? Am I being dramatic? You bet I am! No more dramatic then say, the reaction of learning your loved one was killed in a terrible accident. Let's get it together councilmen/women, don't make us regret voting you into office. Terry denBok |
|
Youth brings first lawsuit against the District of Westside By Jason Luciw - Kelowna Capital News - Published: June 11, 2008 Westside has been named in its first
lawsuit—a small claims action. |
|
Westside given highway status By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - Published: July 11, 2008 RCMP will continue to enforce traffic laws on Westside Road. The B.C. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that Westside Road is a legal highway, meaning that the police have the authority to issue traffic tickets. “It is a highway as defined under legislation,” said Gord Molendyk, spokesman for the RCMP. The court case related to an incident in 2006 in which the police had issued a $138 ticket to Okanagan Indian Band member Raymond Bonneau for speeding. Bonneau challenged the ticket and a judge at the time acquitted Bonneau, saying that the Crown had failed to prove the road was highway as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act. The government decided to appeal that decision, leading to the June 30 decision by Justice Powers. “The question is whether or not the road was used by the general public for the passage of vehicles,” states Powers. “It is clear on the evidence of Mr. Bonneau and Constable Orb that it was. Therefore, the (previous) judge’s conclusion that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this was a public highway did amount to an error of mixed fact and law.” Bonneau, who represented himself in court, had pointed to a permit system the band has in place primarily for commercial vehicles using the road. “There is no enforcement of this system, but it simply operates on an honour basis,” said Powers. Powers goes on to say that, “the road passes through the Okanagan Indian Reserve and there are no impediments to any individuals travelling on that road. “There are no individuals barred from using that road. The evidence is that motor vehicles access the road from non-reserve land.” The judge has ordered that the original fine stands. Bonneau is not pleased with the court ruling. “It’s not done yet. I have to find out if I can appeal the decision,” he told The Morning Star. Bonneau continues to insists that Westside Road is not public property. “We’ve not given the rights up to that road. The band has never opened up an invitation to that road,” he said. Bonneau also questions whether provincial laws can apply to lands under federal jurisdiction. Despite legal questions since 2006, Molendyk says the police have continued to be responsible for the road. “They have still been doing enforcement on the road but that would have been made difficult if the (court) decision had held,” he said. The Okanagan Indian Band could not be reached for comment. |
|
Ruling means RCMP will still enforce law on Westside Road Vernon Morning Star - Published: July 10, 2008
RCMP will continue to enforce traffic laws on Westside Road. |
|
SLOW DOWN July 4, 2008 - Vernon Morning Star - Letters Hi my name is Claudette, I live out on the westside of the lake just off Westside road. I am writing this letter to remind people just how dangerous the road can be!!! I came upon an accident scene on Tuesday May 10th it involved one person and a Harley Davidson motor bike. When I stopped at the scene I asked if they needed help? They asked for some water. I pulled off to the side got out and observed the man who was riding the bike, he was standing up walking around and badly injured. I asked if an ambulance was on the way and was told they had cancelled it because when the man came to, from being unconscious, he said he didn't want one. OK, he was in shock he just crashed his new 2008 bike and he has major head injuries. I just have to ask would you cancel the ambulance? A man at the scene asked where I lived so he could put his bike there, I told him just up the road and I am taking the man with me to get the fastest possible medical attention. You could visually see he needed it, my husband was with the fire dept. He has training as an FMR ( first medical responder). I got the man here and we got him some help immediately. The North Westside fire dept were here in minutes to asses the situation. The attendance saw what I saw that he needed to go to the hospital. They dispatched an ambulance to take the man to the hospital. I have recently found out that the injuries were serious he has liver damage, ruptured spleen, a punctured lung, 3 broken ribs, his cheek bone was crushed, do I need to say more? People travelling this road may it be by car or bike, need to be careful it is not a game it is dangerous there are many sharp corners and very steep cliffs. This message is for people who come to a scene and see someone has been hurt do call an ambulance and do not cancel it, even an the request of the injured! If you are going for a bike ride make sure you are wearing protective gear even if you think it won't happen, you should be thinking it might. The moral of this story is driving can be dangerous and people need to keep safe. Claudette Helland |
|
DRIVERS ANXIETY July 04, 2008 - Vernon Morning star - Letters With the news reporting the many recent tazoring incidents that have happened here in B.C. and throughout the rest of the CDN Provinces; I would like to share this present reacity. Have you heard of a new affliction lately cal P.P.T.A.D.? What in the world is that; you say? This affliction now effects more people than we at frist realized. Most good people who drive their SUV’s Pickups Trucks, and economy cars back and forth to work each day are now potentially at ricsk of contracting this new affliction. Only a few short years ago the driving public used to be a lot more relayed behind the wheel, but lately this is not the case anymore. Have you heard about an 82 year old gentleman that was tazored when stopped for a minor traffic infraction by a police office? How many innocent people have been tortured or killed by the use of these devilish devices? Probably too many; so the question remains as to what is P.P.T.A.D. is? It stands for “Potentail Paranoid Tazoring Anxiety Disorder”. I recently experienced this particular anxiety disorder when as a law abiding driver that was driving the legal speed limit went over the crest of the hill on one of our roadways locally and suddenly seen a police roadblock as I was headed into town. My initial instinct was to keep driving forward but for some unknown reason at the time I hit the brakes prematurely before I arrived at the roadblock. Moments later I noticed a police officer waving his hands franticly up ahead. By this time this anxiety disorder called P.P.T.A.D. had started to take its effect and under it’s influence for some unknown reason I made a quick u-turn to make my escape from what I thought were trigger happy gun totting tazoring individual police officers, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. I am sure that some of you can figure out the rest of the story but I’m certain that people in the future are going to use P.P.T.A.D. as a defencse mechanism in upcoming court cases. George Maier |
|
Bikers singled out June 20, 2008 - Vernon Morning Star - Letters With reference to your article of May 21. Of the 214 offences I found listed, a whole 24 were motorcycles. Yes a couple of the worst offences (driving 200 kilometres an hour) were motorcycles but the drunks were in cars, and their mention was a second thought My only question is has no one in the RCMP, B.C. government or ICBC read the Hurt report? It is the only scientific study of motorcycle accidents ever done in North America. It was done in 1979 at USC, where they looked at all factors in more than 3,600 accidents involving motorcycles. A link to a summary of the report follows. What the report states is that the average speed of a motorcycle crash is approximately 33 kilometres per hour and that two-thirds of the two-vehicle accidents involving motorcycles were the fault of the passenger car driver not yielding the right of way. http://www.ottawamotorcycle.ca/hurtrep.shtml When asked if the old data is still valid in an 1999 interview, Harry Hurt (author of the report and still involved at that time in motorcycle safety) responded yes http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/harry_hurt_interview.htm We, the motorcycle riding public, are being singled out as villians when the scientific proof states otherwise. Doug Stirling |
|
Onus is on the victim to prove a hit and run crime actually occurred June 01, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News - Opinion You return to your car with your groceries to find the side of your car dented in. It was likely an innocent accident: Someone just misjudged the distance when backing up. You are not thinking innocence, though. This is all you need in your already busy life—having to take your car to be assessed, then repaired, and then dealing with the offending driver’s insurance company to get reimbursed. It’s worse than that, though. Whoever did it knew they would be impossible to track down, and wanted to save having to make a claim against their insurance. He or she didn’t bother to wait around or leave a note. So much for recovering the cost of repair from the offending driver’s insurance company. If you’re lucky, you purchased collision insurance. If so, you will still be stuck with a deductible. If not, you face paying the whole shot. It’s bad enough if it happens in a parking lot and nobody gets hurt. Take that same scenario out on the road. Put a pedestrian or bicyclist in the place of the parked car. It happens all too frequently. What pedestrian or bicyclist has the presence of mind to notice the plate number of the offending vehicle as they are flying through the air? Often, there are no witnesses. Even if there are, the witnesses are likely more concerned about helping the injured bicyclist than jotting down a plate number. Hit and run causing injury takes on a higher level of evil. It’s one thing to run away from your responsibilities. It’s quite another to leave an injured victim lying on the side of the road without offering assistance or calling an ambulance. Do you detect a certain venom in my tone? I may not be hiding it well. If you’re interested where that venom might be coming from, I invite you to read last week’s column. As awful as it is to be injured by a negligent driver who doesn’t have the moral fibre to stick around and own up to his or her responsibilities, I have good news for hit and run victims. Whether it is just damage to your vehicle, or you have been injured, you may qualify for compensation through our insurance system. Don’t expect a representative of the insurance company to insist on a meeting with you so that you can be fully informed about what compensation you might be entitled to, the various steps that you have to take in order to qualify, or the critical time frames during which those various steps have to be taken. Your relationship with the insurance company in a hit and run claim is very similar to the relationship you have with the insurance company when they are representing a negligent driver. It is very much an adversarial one. As with any other crash claim, you will first have to prove that an unidentified offending driver caused your injuries. With a hit and run scenario involving a bicycle, this involves first proving that a vehicle was involved. If the bicyclist lost control after swerving to avoid a negligent vehicle driver, the involvement of a vehicle in the incident may be very difficult to prove. As such, it is even more important in hit and run scenarios to collect as much evidence as possible at the accident scene. A part of the law that hit and run victims are often in the dark about is the legal onus on them to take all reasonable steps to try to determine who the offending driver was. You cannot simply rely on the police or the insurance company to do that. How is that for unfair? As between the police, the insurance company, and you, why is it that the victim—the one with the least resources to track down the hit and run driver—who carries that legal onus? The failure to do such things as interview local businesses or homeowners, put up posters, or put an advertisement in the local newspaper to look for witnesses may eliminate your right to compensation if not done in a timely fashion or at all. There are other steps that must be taken as well, with strict time lines. If you have been the victim of a hit and run driver, I strongly recommend that you take advantage of the free initial consultation that most lawyers provide to car crash victims so that you can be fully informed about your rights and, most importantly, the particular steps that must be taken so as not to lose those rights. This column is intended to provide general information about injury claims. It is not a substitute for retaining a lawyer to provide legal advice specifically pertaining to your case. Paul Hergott is a lawyer with Hergott Law on the Westside. If there are particular issues you would like discussed in this column, please e-mail Paul directly at: paul at hlaw.ca. |
|
Arrests made in road rage homicide By Monique Tamminga - Langley Times - March 14, 2008 A 38-year-old Langley man and his passenger have been arrested and released without charges in connection with the hit-and-run death of a 21-year-old Abbotsford man on Thursday morning. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) held a press conference Friday in Langley, announcing that the suspect white Ford F250 has been seized and the driver, who isn't known to police, was interviewed well into Thursday evening before being released. The two men were arrested and the pickup seized several hours after the deadly road rage incident, said IHIT spokesperson Cpl. Dale Carr. The driver did not turn himself in. Langley RCMP said the deadly run-in started just after 2 a.m., as 21-year-old Silas O'Brien and two of his friends drove along 16 Avenue on their way to the airport for a dream vacation to Hawaii. All three had been at a prayer meeting just hours before, getting a chance to bid their parents farewell. While driving in the 25800 block of 16 Avenue, the three young men's Chevy Silverado truck came up behind a white Ford F250 pick up. Police believe the Silverado may have tried to pass the Ford. The driver of the Ford then forced the Chevy off the road and into a ditch. The three men got out to survey the damage. As the they stood at the side of the road, the Ford pickup turned and drove back, heading straight at them. Two of the friends jumped out of the way, but O'Brien was hit and killed in front of his two best friends. The Ford then sped off. "At this point we are very confident we have the right F250 and the right suspect," said Carr. The arrest took place at Fraser Highway and 232 Street, but Carr wouldn't say if it was at a residence. "Alcohol and drugs may form part of our investigation," he confirmed. As for whether the driver could face second degree murder charges, Carr wasn't willing to speculate. "Our challenge is proving intent," he said. "If the evidence supports a murder charge then that's what would go forward to Crown." Investigators continue to work hard to obtain charges. "The vehicle is undergoing a thorough forensic investigation at this point," Carr said. Meanwhile, O'Brien's parents are asking for privacy. "I have spoken to the O'Briens and I will relay a message from them," said Langley RCMP Supt. Janice Armstrong. "They really appreciate the outpouring of compassion and love from this community and the entire Lower Mainland. "It's given them strength in such a terrible time." Armstrong offered heartfelt condolences to the O'Brien family and to Silas' friends on behalf of the officers and the community. "We are in shock and disbelief. This is such a senseless and terrible tragedy. It's a cowardly crime," she said. |
|
Abby man killed in road rage incident
|
|
RCMP investigate case of road rage |
|
Internet stats make case April 23, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News To the editor: Re: What’s Wrong With A Little Weed While Cruisin’? April 13, Capital News, submitted by Kelowna Alcohol and Drug Services. Several studies have established that pot smoking and driving is a remarkably safe and pleasant way to get around. For those with computers go: http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1775.html. This article contains several links to studies that show just how safe drivers on cannabis are. Obviously, it makes a difference if the driver is a seasoned pot smoker or a newbie. If in doubt, take the bus. Far less responsible is the article to which I’m responding, or the bogus survey quoted. The 2006 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse report relied on a telephone survey (with what scientific validity?) but no field tests or research that contradicted the position they apparently are fixated on. If they had bothered to use a comprehensive and balanced approach, their conclusions would have been quite different. Bruce Codere, Fox Creek, Alta. |
Vernon Blog Spot on Westside Road being used as Vernon's bypass.
The last time we looked the poll suggested Westside Road as the corridor.
Get Involved, Demand a Bypass Now!
http://www.westernbypassnow.com/
Is speed killing us? Think about your answer and then read this.
According to a 1995 BCAA Angus Reid poll:
-
over one-half of members (57%) feel slow moving vehicles are more of a safety hazard than fast-moving ones,
-
posted speed limits don't mean much (54%)"
-
only a few staunch members (9%) think that any speed over the posted speed limit qualifies as speeding." [as the Motor Vehicle Act defines speeding'!]
If the form below does not work please,
Comment about road rage using this form below. Perhaps you have some suggestions to help calm a road rage(ers) nerves.
View resident's comments here.
Gossip for All
Make a Comment
Gossip for All
Read others Comments
Gossip
In Other Towns
Index
You will find local Okanagan BC businesses, services, classifieds, local arts and crafts, vacation waterfront rentals, plus much more located near and around Okanagan Lake BC. We will be adding to this site, so come back and check it often.
Index | Comments | Gossip | Back
©2008 okanaganlakebc.com
