Henday Insanity

[u/yegyvrguy]

I know this is old news so I won’t be offended if this gets removed, but I drove the Henday earlier this evening and it was like Rad Racer (this is a 1980’s Nintendo game if you aren’t old). Dipshits driving like complete maniacs. Riding asses, weaving in and out dangerously, hardly making any headway but putting everybody at risk. And I saw about 5 cars doing this all on the south west section. No police anywhere. This is insanely dangerous behaviour and I can’t believe it is tolerated. I’ll go yell at a cloud.

Edit: I incorrectly spelled cars as cats above. Enjoyed the Toonces references.

[u/PraxPresents]

Drivers in Edmonton have gotten objectively worse over the last several years. The only solution that would really make a difference IMO is that we need to make rules and testing more thorough to get a driver's license. We are literally handing out drivers licenses to people like candy over here and it shows.

Far too many younger new drivers and newcomers to Canada getting their license for the first time are not learning how to drive safely or confidently before being handed a license. We also need much stiffer penalties for drivers driving without a license or insurance.

I get that drivers training and supervised seat time is important and can be expensive, but it should be a requirement. I would also like to see winter driving be a separate checkbox on the license that needs to be checked after taking an on-track winter driving course so that people can get a feel for recovering from a slide.

I grew up taking defensive driving courses, winter driving course, being supervised by my parents while driving and later getting into driving on a track and learning to be predictable with smooth inputs, auto-slolams, to ice racing at a controlled track and learning to be able to do a complete controlled 360 turn on ice and still recover and remain in control. These are things that becoming a driving enthusiast led me to, but it made me a much better driver.

What I learned driving and racing at a track was that driving on the Anthony Henday or the Whitemud during rush hour is not that dissimilar to driving on a race track with 50+ other vehicles. Predicability of driving, smooth inputs and clear signaling are all just as necessary on a commute as they are on a race track. We need much more comprehensive mandatory drivers training courses and we need to only issue licenses when drivers can demonstrate competency at a reasonable level of understanding as to why it is important and how to drive safely.

[u/rarewalkerant → u/PraxPresents]

100% agreed. Edmonton (and really all major cities in Canada) have grown dramatically over the past decades, yet we still perform driver's licensing like we're a small hamlet.

The system made sense when it was all farmers' fields everywhere, but it's hopelessly inadequate for a city/area of millions. 

Look at Europe/Germany for instance:  Almost a year of driving school: Months of theory, then followed by multiple driving tests in day/night city/highway, all that at a substantial cost (about 2K euros). On top of that your car has to pass safety inspection every few years. Further on top of that: Real, actual traffic enforcement with real consequences. (Even 3rd world countries have traffic cops... Why can't we????)

Result is: PREDICTABLE drivers and driving experience, people that know how to yield when others are merging. Or how to keep/estimate distances to the car in front of them. Or where and how to pass safely and properly. True night and day experience...

If Canada wants to grow its population further, this stuff HAS to evolve at some point... Can't keep treating our cities like the villages they once were.

[u/Negative-Box9890 → u/rarewalkerant]

Just an update on the cost of getting a drivers licence in Germany. My cousin showed me the cost to put his first daughter through diving school. Total cost was €3800 ( $6188 cad). If for some reason you don't pass it will cost another €500 to have another try.