Drivers taking ICBC Road Tests are required to demonstrate hand signals and many of our students ask why they have to know this since vehicles are equipped with turn signals and brake lights.
Here is a bit of history on the use of hand signals by drivers: a 1954 Victoria newspaper report about a planned crackdown by the Victoria police against drivers who fail to use hand signals.
Victoria newspaper story about a planned police crackdown on drivers not using hand signals, 1954.
Note the comments in the right hand column:
“Blinking lights on both sides of car (i.e. turn signals) that have an indicator inside on the dash are allowable if the blink 32 times per minute. Certain mechanical hands on commercial vehicles are allowed [note: some trucks and commercial vehicles of the period had mechanical indicators or pointers that signaled turns or lane changes], but the lighted trafficators on some British cars [note: some British cars of the period had lights which illuminated, but did not flash, to signal turns or lane changes] are against the law.”
The BC Ministry of Transportation has put this video on YouTube featuring a sped up film (the 1960’s equivalent of dash cam video) of a drive from Duncan to Parksville, circa 1966.
Many of the locations are still readily recognizable despite the many changes over the intervening decades.
And for the younger viewers, the background sound is of a movie projector.
We will post more of these videos in future.
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We came across this 1937 advertisement from Vancouver Island Coach Lines which, at that time, ran public transit routes in Victoria as well as inter city bus routes on Vancouver Island.
This advertisement shows Douglas Street in downtown Victoria looking north from Yates Street, with several buildings which are still standing today. Note the emphasis on “Hot water heaters [that] radiate a pleasant warmth throughout the inviting interiors” of the buses. Continue reading 1937 Advertisement For Vancouver Island Coach Lines
Apart from being a very good example of 1930’s Art Deco advertising, this advertisement shows how constant and standardized gasoline advertising has remained over the years. Note this advertisement’s emphasis on “smoothness” of acceleration, fuel economy (mileage), “scientific selection and blending” and “continual research to achieve improvement in 76 without adding to the cost”. None of these statements would be out of place in 21st century gasoline advertising.
Another interesting historical note is the reference to the Union Oil Company of Canada sponsoring Band Concerts from English Bay in Vancouver on CKMO Radio. The CKMO call sign is still active but it is no longer used by a Vancouver radio station, as it was in 1933. The CKMO radio station ceased operations in Vancouver in 1955. the CKMO call sign was used by Camosun College in Victoria between 1993 and 2012, when Camosun College switched to Internet streaming instead of radio. CKMO-FM is now used by a radio station in Orangeville, Ontario.
1933 advertisement by Union Oil Company of Canada for its 76 Gasoline. (West Coast Driver Training & Education Inc. collection)
We came across this 1944 advertisement from B.C. Electric (the forerunner to B.C. Hydro, which ran B.C. public transit systems before the formation of B.C. Transit), showing the types of buses and streetcars which B.C. Electric planned to introduce in B.C. cities.
Notice the “Trackless Trolley Buses”, which are still operating in Vancouver.
1944 advertisement from B.C. Electric (the forerunner to BC Hydro and BC Transit) showing the buses and streetcars the company was planning to introduce in B.C. cities. (West Coast Driver Training collection)
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Here is a 1944 advertisement for Davis-Drake Motors and Wilson & Cabeldu, which were General Motors dealers in Victoria and Duncan at that time.
The advertisement is about winter maintenance for vehicles and contains suggestions which are still valid today. The winter maintenance suggestions in this 1944 advertisement are:
Cooling System Inspection – keeping anti-freeze at proper strength and levels
Lubricating System Inspection – including regular oil checks
Electrical System Inspection – including battery, defroster and heating systems
Steering System Inspection – including tires and wheel alignments
1944 advertisement about winter maintenance from Davis-Drake Motors and Wilson & Cabeldu, which were General Motors dealers in Victoria and Duncan. (West Coast Driver Training collection)
All of these suggestions are still totally valid for winter driving today.
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Here is a 1944 advertisement for Dunlop Tires which contains some tips for tire maintenance which are still valid today. At the time this advertisement appeared in 1944, Canada was at war and many products, including tires, were rationed. Dunlop’s tire maintenance suggestions were intended to conserve tires and extend tire life because, as the advertisement says, tires were scarce due to wartime rationing. But these tips are still true and all drivers should be aware of them.
These Dunlop tire maintenance tips in 1944 were:
“Keep driving inside the prescribed speed limit” – this is still true today; tire wear increases, and tire life decreases, measurably at higher speeds, i.e. above 90-100 kph.
“cross switch your tires occasionally” – still true today; rotating your tires from front to rear, and vice versa, is still a recommended practice today. Ask about it wherever you have your vehicle serviced.
“keep [your tires] properly inflated” – still very true today. Check your tires regularly to ensure they are properly inflated. Tire pressures over, or under, the recommended tire pressure(s) can have a very significant effect on tire wear and performance.
1944 Dunlop Tire advertisement. Notice what it says about tire maintenance; all these things are still valid today. (West Coast Driver Training collection)
So the tire maintenance tips given in this 1944 Dunlop advertisement are still true today. We will put out a video about this in future.
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While doing some research we came across this article, Forfeiting [Drivers] License Inculcates Care, in a February 1926 edition of the Daily Colonist [now the Times-Colonist]
Fear of Being Deprived of Privilege Induces Carefulness, Investigation Shows
Chicago, Feb. 27, – Fear of losing their licenses makes automobile drivers more careful. This declaration was made today by S.J. Williams, director, public safety division, National Safety Council, after a study of reports received from more than ninety American cities. In those states where operators of motor vehicles do not have to obtain licenses the drivers are not as careful as in places where they not only have to pass an examination, but face revocation of the permits if convicted of recklessness. [Emphasis added]
“The National Safety Council believes that every state in the Union should have real applications for automobile license applicants and should revoke the driving privileges of motorists convicted of operating a car while intoxicated, of taking a human life while driving, upon being convicted of a felony, upon being found physically or mentally incapable of operating a machine and for other good causes,” declared Mr. Williams. “The state should impress upon its citizens that driving is a privilege which is likely to be cancelled if abused.
“Suspension of automobile licenses is also a good step. A motorist is taught a good lesson when he is deprived of the right to drive for thirty, sixty, ninety days or more. Reports from our affiliated safety councils throughout the country show that accidents have decreased in places where licenses have been suspended or revoked and where it is not too easy to get a permit to operate a car. Publication of the names and addresses of persons whose licenses have been called in also has a good moral effect on the community in question. [Note: in December 2018 there was media coverage of an Ontario police department, York Regional, publishing the names of impaired drivers]
“Once drivers learn that they must submit to control, or sooner or later pay the penalty, we shall see a gradual but substantial decrease in the number of automobile accidents, which last year [1925] took 21,000 precious lives.”
We also liked the second story in the photo. It’s about traffic police in Berlin being provided with electric foot warmers and the elevated octagonal stands they stood on to direct traffic being used for advertising.
“Traffic Policemen
In the belief that traffic policemen will be more affable and polite with their pedal extremities [i.e. their feet] heated, safety islands in the middle of busy streets in Berlin, Germany, will be equipped with electric foot warmers. Another new fixture of the so called “islands”, which are octagonal in shape, will be paid advertisements on their eight sides, which will be illuminated at night.”
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Clarkson’s Car Years was a BBC TV series, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson (also a co-host of Top Gear), which first aired in 2000 and which put out some episodes which are still well worth watching if you like automotive history.
