By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

We've talked about the kartSTART program before. It's a fantastic way to teach kids as young as 8 years old not only how to drive, but also the importance of vehicle dynamics and safety. Fellow journalist and ex-racer Russ Bond has done fantastic work since the program's launch a few years ago, and has slowly been expanding not only its popularity, but also its reach.

Essentially, the program gives kids one-on-one attention from highly trained instructors with basics like accelerating, braking, turning in a vehicle that's their own size: a kart. And kartSTART also works with the entire family by going through all of the various new safety systems found on new vehicles and how they work in real life.

Now, with Toyota Canada's continued sponsorship, kartSTART is expanding its schedule to five provinces this summer. Starting in mid-July and stretching through the end of August, the program will be visiting karting facilities in Chilliwack, BC; Calgary, AB; Innisfil, ON, Montreal, QC and Halifax, NS. They estimate being able to educate over 1,000 children over the course of the summer.

For a more detailed schedule and information, or to enroll your family in the program, visit kartSTART.ca.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Every spring, after the freeze-thaw cycle has completely cratered Canada's concrete and asphault, the various CAA regions jump into action. In an attempt to kick-start the annual pavement-fixing construction season - otherwise known as 'summer' - the clubs hold a contest to see exactly which stretches of infrastructure are in need of the most attention.

The CAA Worst Roads campaign is back for 2013, running from May 1 to 31 in British Columbia, Ontario and the Atlantic regions. Anyone can vote for which roads are in the absolute worst shape with suspension-breaking potholes to nausea-inducing whoops. Pretty much any public road in those provinces are fair play and results are updated daily. In the end, the tallies are released to every level of government in hopes that the exposure will finally shame someone into fixing them properly.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan released their results back in April, while Alberta and Quebec apparently opted out of the contest.

So which road do you use or know of that you'd qualify as the worst? Around Fredericton, there are plenty, but a couple recent discoveries include Highway 615 out towards Bright, NB and Highway 105 from Mactaquac to Nackawic. Reply in the comments and tell us about why your picks are so terrible.

 

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

While there are some folks who feel any added piece of safety technology is only making us worse drivers by becoming more reliant on them, others feel quite differently. The arguments both ways can get heated and - unfortunately - there's very little hard data to back up the claims on both sides.

Apparently, that's no longer the case, at least for one small fraction of what's available. The idea behind forward collision warning systems is pretty simple: through an array of sensors and/or cameras, the car's computer will somehow alert the driver when another vehicle's closing speed is too great.

Depending on the system, some will do more than just beep and flash: they'll apply the brakes too, avoiding the collision altogether. But whether any of them are worth the investment remains to be seen.

 By Steve Mertl for MSN Autos

The Vancouver Police Department is thanking modern automotive technology for helping save the lives of two of their own, one of them a police-dog named Shack.

Shack and his handler, Const. Dan Ames, were responding to a 911 call when their GMC Yukon was involved in a major collision near Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside earlier this week that saw both vehicles seriously damaged.

The truck’s airbags helped protect Ames, who suffered minor injuries. But Hash, who was potentially vulnerable inside his built-in steel dog kennel, also got the benefit of the airbag technology we take for granted thanks to upgrades to the department’s fleet of K9 vehicles.

 

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Despite driving hundreds of new vehicles over the past decade, you can always be surprised by the new, random things that happen. Yesterday evening, just after my wife and I were coming back down the stairs after putting our daughter to bed, all of a sudden she said, "why is the car on?"

Huh?

Sure enough, she could see through the front windows that the Dodge Journey press car parked in our driveway was indeed idling away. The only reason why she'd noticed was because the lights came on. Didn't take me long to realize that the culprit was in my pocket: the keyfob.

Essentially, I'd done the auto-equivalent of butt-dialing - where you accidentally call someone by sitting on your cell phone - somehow double-clicking the Journey's remote car starter without actually touching it. Thankfully, the remote works equally well at shutting the engine off with another single click. And in order for the car to start remotely - theoretically, anyway - is that the doors need to be locked, so at least in my low-crime neighbourhood, there was next to no chance of someone driving off with it.

Still, an embarassing situation that took me completely by surprise.

And it leads me to today's big question: have you had similar experiences with things like remote starters or keyless ignition? Any other new technologies that left you speechless because of bad timing? Let us know by replying and commenting below.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

This is the kind of story that should warm the hearts of any driver who's ever been caught behind a left-lane bandit and wished the police were around to see. A woman in Maryland was given a ticket by police for doing 63 mph in a 65 mph zone, but as you might have guessed, she'd been in the far left lane - i.e. the passing lane - at the time. 

The woman, who hasn't been named, said that she'd slowed down because it was very windy at the time, which the NBC affiliate who reported the story confirmed. There were apparently wind gusts up to 40 mph at during the day.

Both a retired police officer and a spokesman from the local AAA affiliate both support the woman's case that the ticket probably won't stand up in court and that it sends the wrong message.

However, if the woman had simply moved over to the right lane to slow down, there wouldn't have been a problem. The left lane is the passing lane, plain and simple. It's not there to cruise in, to travel in. It's there to help pass other drivers. Sure, if you're driving in bumper-to-bumper rush-hour traffic, that fills up pretty quickly, but in normal conditions, get out of there.

I'm guessing the judge will probably throw it out in court since apparently the law in Maryland says that you can drive in the left lane provided you're doing the limit or not impeding people by doing 10 mph under. That seems like legislation designed to breed left-lane hogs since there's no real incentive for a driver to move back over. Regardless of how it plays out, I'd love to shake the initial police officer's hand for acting in the first place.

What do you think? Do you agree with the police officer's actions in ticketing the driver? Should he have been more sympathetic given the conditions? Let us know in the comments.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

The statistics and studies saying that the first Monday following either 'springing forward' or 'falling back' for Daylight Savings are more dangerous are confirmed by my bleary eyes and second cup of coffee needed while writing this post. Depending on whose facts you use and where you live, the increase in crashes today will be between seven and 40 per cent compared with any other regular driving day.

So let's just remember a few simple tips suggested by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). If you're reading this on the Monday, chances are the suggestions of getting plenty of rest and planning ahead might not help today, but chances are your body clock may take at least a few more days to adjust, so keep that in mind.

Otherwise, slow down and increase the following distances since your reaction times are likely to be sluggish at best. ICBC suggests turning your lights on (which I complain about plenty already) to make your car more visible to other motorists and pedestrians. And finally, be a role model to other drivers, meaning take a deep breath, don't tailgate, brake-check, cut-in without signalling or any other of the poor habits we can fall into when tired.

In New Brunswick, we have a double-whammy day thanks to March Break ending for elementary and high school students, so the buses and kids add more distractions for already tired and stressed drivers.

If you're already halfway through your day when you read this, let us know how the roads were this morning. Any funny stories to share? Tell us in the comments below.

Photo courtesy wax115 at sxc.hu

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

The standard to obtain a drivers licence in North America is generally pretty low and inexpensive, which is why far too many people have poor skills and judgement behind the wheel. In Europe, however, the bar is set significantly higher. Getting your full licence in, say, Germany runs about $2,000 and includes between 20-40 hours of intense study and practice. And the standards are so high that most people fail at least once along the way. That's kind of the gold standard, but even places like Great Britain are generally more intense than those found on this side of the pond.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Out in the Maritimes, we're hunkering down in preparation for the ginormous snow storm that's currently making trouble in Ontario and parts of Quebec. So what better time to provide some advice on not only how to stay on the road, but what to do should you happen to go off. With some areas expecting anywhere from 40-60 centimetres of snow and blizzard-like winds that'll make near-zero visibility, we need all the help we can get.

MSN Autos Canada has a great Winter Driving section with plenty of archived stories and excellent information, and that should be the first place to look. Some of the gems include what to include in a winter survival kit, how to survive getting stranded, and lots more.

Some basics to remember:

First, whatever you do, stay with the vehicle. The only exception would be if staying with it or inside it would place you in more danger than not... for example, if it's perched on the edge of a ravine or too close to downed power lines. That's the best piece of advice that ups your chances of being found safely.

Second, stay inside and only venture out to keep the area around the exhaust pipes clear of snow and ice. If they get clogged, then the toxic fumes will instead creep into the cabin and can kill you. Make sure to run the engine for about 10-15 minutes out of every hour for warmth, and move your arms and legs around to keep blood flowing properly.

Third, try to attach a bright piece of cloth to the car's antenna or another part to make it more visible to other drivers or rescuers.

Finally, one piece of advice passed along from an old rally-driver friend is to always keep a can of dog food in the trunk. Why? Well, other things might get eaten or spoil when you're not in an emergency, but no one's going to eat dog food unless they absolutely HAVE to.

Stay off the roads if you don't have to travel, and if you do, keep your speed down and your eyes up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

Paper road maps? They are so old school, right? What with the advent of Global Positioning System navigation systems — either built right into vehicles or as a portable handheld device — the idea of unfolding a map to figure out how to get someplace in your car has become as anachronistic as rolling down your car windows by hand.