Much has been written and commented on in the news recently. Although as the time passes from the disaster we hear less and less about Fukushima. But there is still much we can learn from the recent tragedy.

Why there will should never be a Nuclear disaster to that scale in Ontario

With the events that unfolded in Japan it was understandable that residents living at or in the vicinity of a nuclear plant were afraid. Some of the plants, including Ontario’s Pickering nuclear plant, were the same vintage as the Fukushima Dai-Chi Complex. Unlike Japan, Southern Ontario is more insulated from a meltdown resulting from a natural disaster.

For one thing Ontario is not located along a fault line, Japan is located on the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire.’ The Pacific Ring of Fire represents an area where many of the world’s tectonic plates diverge and move through subduction (in contrast mountains are created by collisions and convergence). Ontario is located in the middle of a continental (tectonic) plate and while it is generally a stable area sometimes small earthquakes occur in regional stress areas. In simple terms the ground in Ontario rebounds or moves up and down. These movements are no where as severe as the horizontal movements along fault lines; the regional stress zones cannot hold as much energy as the fault lines.

Ontario will also not see a tsunami because there is no body of water big enough to create a wave that large. A tsunami is a great sea wave produced especially by submarine earth movement or volcanic eruption. Since it is unlikely that there will be a massive disturbance in the Ontario bodies of water, and their volumes are too small, Ontario is insulated from the effects of a tsunami.

Transport of Nuclear seems like suicide

Today the G&M published an article on ‘The Right Size of Nuclear‘ but the article raised a more important issue, where Canada is planning to store its nuclear waste. Currently the nuclear plants house their waste on site, but the Federal Government, under the leadership of Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is trying to create a national dump site. Some potential sites have been selected in Northern Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario.

While the notion of a central dump site is logical, transportation of nuclear waste is unreasonable. Would you want to be sitting alongside a truck carrying nuclear waste? I certainly would not.It’s not the threat of leaked radiation from the truck that frightens me but the impending disaster if one of those trucks gets into an accident.

Possible solutions to be tabled should include a direct rail line to a long-term waste facility. Or storing the nuclear waste at the site where it is created. All the social, economic and an environmental factors should play a role when deciding where to store the nuclear waste.

I do not want to debate the necessity of nuclear power or whether it should be considered ‘green’ power; currently governments (worldwide) view it as a viable way to power our future. But as we proceed to plan, design, build and decommission these nuclear plants the life cycle of the plant should be considered in greater detail. It’s not just about powering today, it’s about powering long term, dealing with the ramifications (from any type of power) long-term, dealing with waste, managing growth and managing people’s expectations.

Through the month of January Toronto was plagued by a string of tragic pedestrian deaths. In total there were 14 deaths in Toronto, some of them quite tragic. Between transport trucks, streetcars and busses the pedestrians stood no chance.

Who was to Blame?

The debate as to who was at fault in these accidents has been a topic of discussion in the media. Whether it is the cars or the pedestrians who are not paying attention is the question. But either way isn’t it both parties faults?

As a pedestrian I don’t think I’m would want to play chicken with a transport truck. Even a SmartCar!

In 2007 the City of Toronto did a study, The Pedestrian Collision Study. Here is a selection of the conclusions of the study:

• 83% of pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions resulted in either minimal or minor injuries
• 12% of pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions resulted in major injuries or fatalities
• 50% of fatalities in pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions were seniors (aged 65+).
• 72% of pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions involved male drivers versus 28% for female drivers.
• Pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions occurred most during the autumn and winter seasons.
• Pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions occurred more often in the downtown area.
• Pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions occurred more often along arterial roads.
• Pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions distributed as follow: at intersections (47%), at non-intersections (37%), and other/unknown (16%).

The City of Toronto did a similar bike-car collision study in 2006. The results can be found here.

What I was reminded of yesterday was does it really matter who is at fault? In the end the pedestrian ends up dead or seriously injured.

How Can we Prevent Future Deaths

1. Alertness: Most importantly both drivers and pedestrians need to be more aware – pedestrian’s in particular. Again as a pedestrian if you play chicken with an automobile the automobile always wins
2. Turning – Left or right, as drivers we should be more aware when turning. Right turns are often worse. On a red light drivers are only looking for on-coming traffic. When lights are green drivers often forget about pedestrians and rush to make the turn
3. Updating Our Intersections: The ‘Scramble’ intersections of downtown Toronto are great, but we can make them even safer. In New Zealand and Japan pedestrians are only allowed to cross when all lights are red. In this manner cars and pedestrians are not competing entities
4. Slow Down: the issue of decreasing speed limits in cities has been raised. Unofficially people in Toronto drive 15-20km/hr over the speed limit so decreasing the speed limit would give drivers more response time
5. Txt Msgs, Email and iPods: Pedestrian’s cannot just walk in oblivion. Be aware of your surroundings and focus on the busy road around you, instead of the latest gadget.

Are the highways safer?

I have to say that as I mature I’m finding the roads to be more frightening. Compared to the average person I do drive a lot, and lots of it is on multi-lane highways and more semi-urban/rural 2-lane highways. I just don’t feel as safe on the roads anymore.

According to the statistics accidents causing death were down by 29% from 2007 to 2008 and the total number of overall crashes decreases by 21%, but still amounted to 16,274. And compared to the 10-year average for traffic incidents, the 2008 value was 24% below the average. It would appear that the roads are getting safer.

Programs in place making our roads safer

Several programs were implemented this year in an attempt to make the roads safer. To name a few

• Truck Speed Limiting Devices
• Stricter Drinking and Driving Laws
• Increased and Focused Enforcement
• License Suspension when speeding 50km/hr over limit

What more can be done

Is it ever enough? As a perfectionist I think that there is always more that can be done to make the roads safer. For instance

• Closing the highway: during heavy rainstorms or other extreme weather incidents the highways should be shut down, stop the cars on the side of the highways and don’t permit others to get on the roads.
• Variable Speed Limits: Have speed limits that vary throughout the day, the highway could move at 120km/hr in the late night but be maximized to 80km/hr during daylight, peak hours
• Variable Lanes: Force SUV’s and trucks into one lane and allow smaller, fuel efficient vehicles to have access to their own lanes. Not only is this safer it is an incentive to trade in a gas-guzzling machine for a more environmentally friendly machine.

I headed out on the same route, the waterfront trail along Lake Ontario and on the way home decided to take Lakeshore Blvd. Typically my bf and I like riding along Lakeshore Blvd because where it doesn’t have bike lanes, it has overly-wide right lanes. Aside from the lights it is a generally safer road to ride on.

Parked in the Bike Lane

As a cyclist I some times disobey the law … if I get stopped at a light and there are no cars coming I’ll turn right, do a u-turn and continue down the road or turn left before the cars have a chance, sometimes I’ll just slow down at stop signs and keep going if there are no cars, sometimes I jump on the sidewalk. I agree that I shouldn’t do these things but sometimes it’s for the sake of being safe.

If there are police on the road than I always follow the law, the last thing I want is a ticket while riding my bike! Yesterday there was a cop on Lakeshore and I made sure to stop at every light, wait for pedestrians and generally be a good cycle-citizen.

Up ahead what do I see a car parked in the bike lane, when just adjacent is street parking. The police look at the car, look at me and then drove away. No ticket, no warning, nothing.

Where is the incentive for people to obey the traffic laws when are police won’t even enforce them?

I was very disappointed in what I witnessed yesterday, but not surprised by it. In my quest to remain active I’ll have to accept these disappointments from time to time. I guess if I just didn’t break the law so often on my bike I’d have better karma.

Is it possible to ride through a city safely?

Thanks to green LA girl for pointing me to this article at bicyclesafety.com. The Article How Not To Get Hit By Cars suggests some great tips for staying safe while riding in the city. The site shows you the top ways of getting hit by cars and how to avoid these situations.

I have committed myself to riding to work as much as possible. I’ve had to adjust my route (it is now about 10mins longer) in order to avoid busy city streets adjacent to the highways.

In Toronto the bi-laws state that it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk, but sometimes it is the safest thing to do. Frequent Toronto cyclists have fairly good judgment and know where the sidewalks are very congested with pedestrians, but in those areas where the pedestrians are infrequent, sometimes it is just safer to ride on the sidewalk.

My few tips for city riding:

• Use judgement: road vs. sidewalk, city-street vs. residential road, etc
• Wear a Helmet: and gloves aren’t a bad option too, road rash on your hands is always super painful
• Wear Bright Clothes: cycling isn’t a fashion statement, make sure you are visible to cars
• Always let the Car have the right-of-way: even if you it is your turn and your right-of-way, the car’s size will over-power you and win.

The new laws
As of May 1st new legislation came into effect that should help to deter people from drinking and driving. Before May 1st if you were caught drinking and driving with a blood alcohol concentration between 0.5 and 0.8 you received a 12hr suspension, now the offence is much more serious.

• First Time: 3-day licence suspension and a $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty
• Second Time (within 5 years): 7-day licence suspension, Mandatory alcohol education program and a $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty
• Third Time (within 5 years): 30-day licence suspension, Mandatory alcohol treatment program, Six-month ignition interlock licence condition and a $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty
• Subsequent infractions (within 5 years): 30-day licence suspension, Mandatory alcohol treatment program, Six-month ignition interlock licence condition, Mandatory medical evaluation and a $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty

Not only that but instead of retrieving your license from the police station now if you are caught drinking and driving you have to go to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) Licensing offices.

How do you know how much you can drink before driving?
The safest thing to do is have a designated driver that doesn’t drink. Of course this isn’t always the case. The way your body absorbs and handles alcohol varies amongst individuals; it is very difficult to assess your own BAC or impairment. Generally speaking impairment from drinking is affected by:

• How fast you drink
• Gender
• Body Weight
• Amount of food in your stomach
• Tiredness
• Mood

Last summer I lost my cousin in the horrific drinking and driving accident up in Muskoka. His fate was an unfortunate lesson to us all.

(More on the MTO news release can be found here and here)

New Legislation to better protect young drivers.

Under the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario’s announcement yesterday drivers under the age of 21 would require a zero-blood alcohol level. Under the Road Safety Act other changes included higher fines for serious highway offences (i.e. running a red light or failing to remain at the scene of a collision) and immediate impoundment of a vehicle if the driver is impaired.

The proposed legislation that limited the number of individuals in a car with a young driver was dropped. However, the government may lengthen the required time under the graduated licensing system (from a minimum of 20 months under a certified driving school to a minimum of 36 months).

The full release can be found here.

Eyes on The Road and Hands on the wheel

A second bill went though its third reading on April 22nd, the bill that would restrict the use of hand-held devices. Under the new legislation individuals will not be able to talk, text or email while driving, unless using a hands free device.

The full release can be found here.

Here’s what happened: The bus driver pulled into the right hand lane approaching the Eglinton intersection. I went through the intersection behind other vehicles in the left-hand thru-lane to continue going north on Royal York. Just north of the intersection is a bus stop where the bus was proceeding to. No one wanted to get on or off the bus so the bus never slowed down or stopped. Instead of merging when it was safe the bus pulled over into the left lane without checking to see if there were any vehicles. But there were, I was there and have to slam on my brakes and veer into the right lane. Who needs caffeine when you have drivers like that!

Ontario Highway Traffic Act 142.1

I decided I would look up the law governing buses merging back into traffic, HTA 142.1. The requirement on yielding applies to buses merging back from the bus bay. The law states:

Every driver of a vehicle in the lane of traffic adjacent to a bus bay shall yield the right of way to the driver of a bus who has indicated his or her intention, as prescribed, to re-enter that lane from the bus bay.

But the law also states when the bus must wait:

No driver of a bus shall re-enter the lane of traffic adjacent to a bus bay and move into the path of a vehicle or street car if the vehicle or street car is so close that it is impractical for the driver to yield the right of way.

Buses are governed by the same driving laws as the rest of us.

My issue this morning was that the bus merged into my lane without checking to see if it was safe to merge. The bus is governed by the same laws as the rest of us, it must only merge when it is safe. I was lucky in that no one was coming in the south direction and narrowly avoided being hit by the bus.

I’m sure I’m not the first person to have a close call with a bus. I suppose it is about driver education, both vehicle and bus, and possibly about changing the Highway Traffic Act.

Ontario snowplowing – Does it Work?

Back in December I wrote an article comparing the snow maintenance methods of Quebec and Ontario. I stated then that I thought Quebec was far superior to Ontario for their snow clearing methods and stand by what I wrote. This weekend reminded me why Ontario does not ‘get it.’

Sunday was a beautiful ski day; warm weather (the temperature hovered around 0 deg), blue bird skies and not a drop of precipitation to be seen. This did mean that some of those snow banks were melting, which in turn created some very thick and treacherous ice on the roads. As my friend, Laurissa, and I ventured home we watched a snow-plow go by on the opposite side of the road and actually make the driving conditions worse.

The plow went by and exposed all the ice below the snow surface.

Quebec mandates that all cars are equipped with snow tires, in Ontario we have not even considered such legislation. But when the plow went by it exposed thick ice on the road and placed no sand or salt where it had just cleared. Instead of leaving a snow covered road it left and ice covered road. Laurissa commented that in Manitoba they leave the snow and add sand, which seems like a much more logical, safe, and environmentally safe thing to do.

The drivers made things worse.

As our drive continued we encountered areas that had just been snow plowed, which meant there was thick, shiny, slippery ice in front of us. Leaving a safe distance I watched the reaction of the cars around us. And I’m glad I did. The driver in front of us slammed on the brakes as they approached the ice. Slamming on your brakes is about the worst thing you can do in slippery conditions; the tires lock up, you lose control of the vehicle and typically spins and slides result. The car in front of us almost did a full spin into on coming traffic. I elected to drive on the snowy shoulder and use my transmission to slow me down.

We made it home safely; it just took a lot longer. But it was again a reminder that not only do our snow-plows make the road worse but some of the drivers out there make for very dangerous driving conditions.