Blinding Lights Deadly Night Driving
Regarding the photo above, they make the claim, but leave the flashers on all the time. They do not pull over and hog the road at around 44 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.
I have to plead ignorance here, maybe I do not watch (commercials TV or Radio) enough, in doing some research on why some sand trucks (belly plow snow removal trucks) have flashers so bright its almost a suicide mission trying to pass them. In digging for answers I come across a story from the BC Government website titled “A Winter Reminder: Don’t Pass Snow Plows with Flashing Lights” As I said I plead ignorance, however in asking over a dozen people all drivers none of them ever heard of this new rule, its now 5 years ago this story was published and nobody I know has heard of it. Oh I must live around a lot of under informed people OR the goverment was negligent in passing this information on, not only to the driving public, but obviously also misinformed is the drivers of these trucks.
I should add, the lights in the picture above are the way they used to be, and that was visible and reasonable, what they have on now is insanely unreasonable, as now its like staring at a moving fireball with an intensity that for all reasonable purposes can be called blinding.
I had to make a trip to be at a medical appointment, so I had no choice but to leave home in the dark, to give myself more time driving in winter conditions I added an extra hour for the trip, outside of Terrace between Kitwanga and The rest stops on the side of the highway I followed at a safe distance these incredible bright flashing lights, I am sure if the highways was flat and straight you could easily see the truck 10 miles away. (Yes I am old school so I still think miles) The road was bare and dry, (wet spots in places) the outside temperature was plus 6 C, there was no snow, there was no need for sanding, but this sand truck was driving at around 40 km/h and for the next 30 minutes we were stuck behind that truck that refused to drive faster, or pull over or turn off those blinding lights, i have it all on dashcam footage including the speed and actual GPS locations courtesy of a Thinkware Q800PRO 2K Dashcam so I can prove what I am saying is accurate.
He has so many kilometres to pull over and turn off those blinding lights but insisted on owning the road.
Here is some of the footage. It was like following a fireball the size of a truck going 44 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.
Passing this moving fireball was an act of desperation, I had to pull down my sun visor enough to block out all but the bottom of his wheels, put my high beams on say a prayer and wait for a passing lane to show up, when it does take a leap of faith and head on into the oncoming passing lane and pray nobody is coming.
The camera does a better job of seeing than a human eye which closes the retina due to the bright light making the passing lane even darker.
I swear these guys are going to kill us in the process of keeping us safe on the local highways.
This last video after we make the pass shows just how bare (dry and sometimes wet due to the warm morning temp) Highway 16 really was, obstructing the highway like this was inexcusable.
I will also admit I am getting older and in so much am hating to drive at night, not because I hate night driving but I hate the fact ICBC and the police do nothing about blinding headlights by drivers with illegal lights (illegal intensity) or keeping high beams on, or very bad alignments. When I grew up police used to pull you over and ticket you for failing to lower your high beams, also they used to send some people in for mandatory alignments. Its high time police and ICBC did a crackdown on headlight intensity with equipment for testing light intensity at road checks or to police patrolling highways. I should make a point that it is not a case of people with light bars, most of them do turn them off long before they hit you in the eyes. Illegal headlights bulbs are easily found and can be purchased readily at any auto parts store.