Too ci

Shaun
Conlin

A FUNNY thing happened on

the way to my house the

other day: I darn near rear-
“ended somebody — and was
darn near rear-ended myseif.

’ Fortunately, I was alert enough to
avoid the collision(s) and quite
inspired to write this column.

I was on the Georgia Viaduct in
-the far right lane. [ noticed a large -
panel van being hooked up to a tow |
truck a couple husidred metres ahead
in n the same lane.

- [changed lanes with plenty of
time to spare and didn’t even need to
= reduce my speed, | was just about to.
° pat myself on the back when I was
forced to slam on my. brakes. You
see, there were a couple of drivers
who did not notice the stalled vehi-:
cle until they were practically on top

~. of it
' .’ However, these two drivers
seemed content to let traffic lighten
«before moving around the stationary
“obstruction, they were neither signal-
ing a lané change nor positioning
. themselves to move over.’ The driver
‘directly in front of me, on the other

$6 Had 1 been
inattentive or
_ speeding, or:
‘both, I would .
have: collided
with Mr> Canes”

"for certain. 99.

hand, decided to stop and let these;
“ two cars out of the little trap =~" -

- oblivious to me and a few dozen .

“other-vehicles coming up behind

‘him at full speed! Truly. a botched™:. ~

_ attempt at common courtesy.

*. *Had I been inattentive or speed:
‘ing, or both. | would have collided
‘with Mr. Courtesy for certain. I was

about to pat myself on the back
again but there was still that small’
_-problem of the vehicle behind me
~ screeching iis tires in what.might
very. well have been a panic. 2)...
Fortunately, | had « few metres
jeft in front of me so I continued to
roll forward rather than come to a
complete stop and this allowed the

driver behind me to bring his vehicle -

to.a safe and controlled stop. ;

_ “EP gave up on patting myself on
the back at this point because I had.
nearly missed the poini that | am try-
ing to make now, which is this: -

, While the driver in front of me could

. be applauded for his attempted cour- °

‘tesy he could also be slapped on the
- wrist for his lack of it. He was com-

pletely unaware of me, the other cars |

behind him and every car in the area
* hot to mention the tow truck dri-
ver hooking up the stalled van. You

-see, if L had decided: to swerve rather

‘than brake, | may have forced
swerving and/or. panic-braking by
. the drivers around me which could

yes

ose for co!

have easily lead to a multi-car pile-
up and perhaps an injured or dead
tow truck driver.

Had 1 simply rear-ended the car
in front of me [ would have had to
take the blame, most certainly, for
following too close and/or for dis-
playing a lack of due care and atten-
tion.

Regardless, Mr. Courtesy would
be very injured — in pain — as
would many others, most likely. All

* this stemming from an apparent act

of kindness. ;
If you are a licensed driver then
. your eyesight has been tested; you

_ can see far enough ahead to notice

hazards and obstructions. Please
look far ahead and notice!

OiL, LUBE
& FILTER

Prt PLUS TAX

AX 4 LITRES OF OIL

Furthermore, your vehicle is
equipped with mirrors so you can
see what's going on behind you-
please use them!

And finally, drivers are supposed
to have eyeballs that move around in
their sockets and necks that allow
the head to move around, Look
around, folks!

Get the BIG picture.

Be aware of everything in front
of, behind and beside you. Be cour-
teous but be safe about it — and
please don’t rely on others to be safe
for you.

_ Shaun Contin is the owner/opera-
tar of Upper Levels Driving School.
To reach Shaun for a question or
comment, call 984-8688.

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