1~ Wet road conditions weather it be rain, frost or dew, reduces the traction massively, be aware in
season and road condition changes as corning and braking is seriously hampered.Even tempature
effects the ability for friction between the tire and road, cool or frozen roads effects tire traction.
2~Roads dry for long extended periods of time are very dangerous on first rain fall. Oil leaks from
thousands of cars passing by building up on the road surface, then on the first heavy down pour the oil
separates from the road surface mixing with the water to create a very slippery surface that seriously
effects traction.
3~Lift kits and large tires seriously effect the center of gravity and the ability to corner safely. The center of
gravity plays a important roll in keeping the shiny side up, lifting the vehicle raise that center of gravity
which makes the vehicle not able to handle the speeds that the manufacture specified, so care must be
taken to avoid serious accidents, especially if the vehicle is carrying a load as weight multiplies the problem
4~ Adding a heavy payload of either people or building materials into a vehicle also effects the center of
gravity and the ability to keep all four wheels on the ground while taking corner's at higher rates of speed.
Many accidents occur because young driver's over load the vehicle expecting it to handle and corner @
80km which they previously did with no occupants in the car. Braking is also greatly effected by the pay
load, especially if over loaded or in wet road conditions, altering the previous cars ability's of perfect
road conditions and no payload/passenger's you can see how fluctuations occur causing accidents.
5~Speed Kills! We were all young nieve driver's once, all of us learned the hard way you can not take a corner
at the same speed you drive down the straight away, the shift in center of gravity lifts the tires from the road
reducing traction. Problem is so many cars now adays have major horse power, coupled with the stuff on TV
and video games, the ability to resist the "need for speed" is like a kid in a candy store resisting candy.
6~ Use your built in radar system to avoid accidents. We all have a survival system that is constantly
scoping for threats. With out it Man would not have survived the wild beasts and harsh environment for
thousands of years. The problem is people have shut it off or don't use it, having a false sense of security
thinking we are safe in today's society. The harsh reality some times comes to late for some, imagine a radar
screen in your mind, your eyes, ears and nose are the scanner, you must be aware at all times while driving
of any threats, both obvious and probable, the more speed or dangerous the road condition the more alert you
should be. Your mind should be on the road at all times, at all angles even possibilities of problems, the faster
the speed, or more extreme the weather, the more danger and the more you need to be alert.
7~ four wheel ATV's are very very dangerous, respect their power, be extra careful.The weight of 3or 4 hundred
pound bike can and has crushed people. Every year in B.C alone there are at least 6 tragic deaths each year.
The power and size of these machines grows each year, they should come with roll bars and other safety
equipment as well as free training by dealers of the do's and do not's of 4X4ing be mandatory and law.
It tor a strip off my heart this winter when I heard of two boys were killed on a ATV, the snow was light,
unfortunately there was a previous snow fall that melted and turned to ice. the fresh snow on top looked
innocent, but as the boys were doubling going around a corner at moderate speed, slid off the road and were
killed. They are just statistics to government and minister of transportation, but to those boys families, they are
dearly missed.
8~ Cruise kills! Manufacturers don't discus when and when not to use cruise control but there are times when it is very dangerous, causing accidents that many don't realize. cruise works well on flat straight stretches to
conserve gas and give the driver a break, but when it comes to hills and corner's, especially at the same time, it is a recipe for disaster.
A friend brought this to my attention, informed me that the killer corner in chase almost got him, as a cruise
control over compensates on hills, often times the computer will try to play catch up and floor the gas. The
distance of the hill to the apex is short so just as you reach near the top and the corner apex as well(there are
two apexes, the hill apex and the corner apex on that killer corner) the cruise control floored the gas and
almost sent him into the barrier and definitely into the other lane, it was only because of no traffic coming at
that time that he was not in a serious accident.
It struck me like a lightening bolt, how many other people has this happened to, how many deaths and
serious accidents have been caused by cruise control? Not all vehicles react the same but many do react in
this way of over compensating at the wrong time, it is for this reason also that it uses more gas than driving
with out. If you are controlling the vehicle your approach to a large hill is different then what the cruise
control's is. It see's every thing as flat, and works good on flat as long as it is not to slippery out.
That is another factor that makes cruise control very dangerous, winter and wet conditions. People
should be taught not to use cruise in the winter and wet conditions. the constant speed affects the center of
gravity on corner's with the addition of less traction on corner's and going down hills the combination of all
three is death in a can. Cruise control does not recognize corner's , hills, or road conditions, in the future they
will, I'm sure, but now and in the past many lives have been claimed due to this ignorance.
Police and politicians like to blame people for the accidents and mistakes but rarely does any one think of the real cause. Perhaps if it was a legal liability manufactures would not be able to get away with it but nobody has given it a thought. manufactures are not the only ones at fault, the roads are very poorly designed and
maintained contributing to many accidents.
The ministry of Transportation is failing the citizens of Canada as the highways are designed and maintained
so poorly, there are literally hundreds of corner's, hills, intersections, and stretches of highway across this
country that claim life after life over the years. It is a Sin for lives to be lost to such simple ignorance.
