by Rick Gration I believe it is about time Powell River RCMP start reinforcing some basic driving laws.
I am a cancer survivor with physical disabilities, and I rely on my power wheelchair for transportation. In December 2006 I had lifesaving surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from my brain, leaving me with permanent nerve damage on my left side. I depend on the chair to get to work two days a week from my home to Walmart.
The two worst infractions I have seen all too regularly are on Barnet Street, although I am sure this is not the only location in town where drivers are careless, or more likely just couldn’t care less.
At the corner of Joyce Avenue and Barnet, while crossing Barnet, drivers on a red light fail to stop, let alone slow down, to turn up Barnet. On numerous occasions I have nearly been hit by drivers not yielding to me on the crosswalk.
Further up Barnet at the crosswalk beside Starbucks, and right across from the RCMP station, careless driving has led to many near misses. When a vehicle has stopped to allow pedestrians to cross the road, all too often I see other vehicles approach from behind and swerve around the stopped vehicle in order to carry on up the street. I believe it is against the law for anyone to pass in the right hand lane at a crosswalk.
In the past I have reported drivers to the police. The police ask, “What do you want us to do about it?” Unless I can describe the driver, the police are unable to do anything as the driver could claim they were not the one driving the vehicle at the time. Instead, I would like the police to send a letter to the registered vehicle owner to let them know that somebody drove their vehicle in a traffic infraction and that they should ensure anybody driving their vehicle be responsible. It would also help if, when other such infractions are made with the vehicle, the registered owner could be fined.
I believe the RCMP need to set up patrols at locations like this all over town from time to time. Revolving locations could be patrolled for an hour at a time and would go a long way in helping drivers realize their ignorance to the laws. This would not be a huge manpower thing. I believe the police would be surprised to witness other infractions like driving while eating burgers, brushing or combing hair and, just as dangerous, talking on cellphones.
If the police do take the initiative to do something on this issue they will also need to do one other thing. That is to set up a police car somewhere a bit out of sight to catch drivers making their usual bad decisions.
During the average month, on my way to and from work, I see at least two or three close calls, and after surviving cancer for this long, I don’t want an ignorant driver to be the reason for my death.
Rick Gration depends on a wheelchair for transportation. He has lived in Powell River for almost 30 years.
