OSOYOOS TIMES-October 13, 2010
More than a few people in this town have pointed their finger at one point or another at Albertans when complaining about slow drivers on South Okanagan roads in the summer time.
Well, it turns out such generalizations now have some scientific support.
Last week, the University of Calgary announced that 89 per cent of 2,394 Alberta drivers failed a research test modelled on the province’s learner’s permit exam.
Most of the drivers, the study states, reported having more than 10 years of experience behind the wheel.
According to a press release from the university, even when questions relating to graduated licensing, demerit points and parking, which are not considered directly related to driving and road safety, were removed from the test, the pass rate was still between 22.9 and 38.6 per cent.
So, it may be fair after all to give in to the generalization that our friends from Alberta are behind the snail-paced traffic plaguing our highways during the summer months.
Interestingly enough, however, the Osoyoos Times found that British Columbian drivers are often seen in a bad light when it comes to their motoring habits outside this province.
When the Times went out to talk to Albertans vacationing in Osoyoos about the University of Calgary’s study and the general feeling among locals that our neighbours from the Wild Rose province don’t know how to handle our mountain highways and windy roads, we learned that British Columbians get a bad rap in Alberta and the other prairie provinces for driving too fast and recklessly.
One woman from Alberta said everyone in the Prairies complains that B.C. drivers are constantly speeding on roadways outside their home province because the highways are straight and flat.
There’s also a generalization that British Columbian drivers often engage in dangerous passing, especially on double-solid lines.
(Well, that might only happen when we get stuck behind someone from Alberta.)
It’s likely that most people here have complained about, or been subjected to the frustrations of others toward, Alberta drivers.
But it’s interesting to get the prospective from the other side of the fence and think about how we’re seen by motorists outside of our home province.
Perhaps if more people considered the negative way British Columbians are perceived by some in other provinces, it might change their driving habits or put the brakes on any frustrations they feel when they get caught behind a slow-moving motorhome with Alberta plates on Hwy. 97 between Osoyoos and Oliver.
Maybe, it might even lead to people being a little more patient – and perhaps a little safer – when travelling on our roadways.
