The individual behind the "Vancouver's Worst Drivers" YouTube channel describes himself as an average Vancouverite. However, unlike the average person, he has received a fair share of anger and threats.
His videos are compilations of dash cam footage that spotlight problematic drivers in Metro Vancouver. He narrates over top footage of near misses, car accidents, dumb mistakes, and mishaps but some viewers have a hard time separating the art from the artist.
"Driving on the roads has always bothered me," he tells V.I.A. over the phone.
The channel began four years ago and has over 19K subscribers. He considered starting a blog to help vent his frustrations living in East Vancouver and driving a lot for work but he liked the dash cam footage format and says that the voice-over allowed him to rant and be funny.
He says he also tries to add an educational component and has even partnered with driving schools to sponsor his videos. "I try to make it a way for people to learn drivers tips," he says.
The YouTuber started by just stitching together videos he found on social media but as the channel grew he started getting lots of submissions from people sending in their own footage.
"It is a very fine line for me to walk," he admits of the video's content. "I do get a lot of submissions of serious incidents but I never post them."
He explains that if someone is seriously hurt or if the clip is too graphic he won't include it. "I don't want to get famous off someone's misfortunes," he says.
Vancouver has had a rash of bad driving lately thanks to the winter road conditions, but VWD shares that it's not his busiest time of the year. He doesn't like to include minor fender benders because they're a dime a dozen and, according to him, aren't that interesting. Apparently, the busiest time of year for crazy dash cam videos is the spring and summer.
ICBC has reached out to VWD a few times to track down the people who gave him the dash cam footage and he says he only shares it with the person's permission.
"It's like watching a train crash...or a car crash," he jokes of the channel's popularity. People just can't help themselves. There are several other big channels doing content like VWD across North America.
