I was prompted to write this article after talking to a friend of mine about the recent rash of traffic fatalities on the Highway 99. His comment was that there isn’t much you can de when a car is coming toward you in your lane. My point was that there is alot you can do but you have to have done it well beforehand. On this highway, 90% of | the accidents are “head-ons” —— either with another car or the face of a cliff. Most fatalities result from head and upper body injuries, Ifyou have a well- designed car with seat belts (or the much Detter combi- nation of seat belts and air bags), the car can save your life and the lives of your family members. It is very important that Outback debuts in summer SUBARU Canada recently introduced the world’s first sport utili- ty sedan, the Subaru Outback Sedan. The Ourback Sedan is a 1999 mode! and goes on sale this summer at all Subaru dealers in Canada, The Outback Sedan is the first vehicle in’ North America that combines cae versauliny and ruggedness of an All. Wheel Drive sport unin vehi cle and the comfort. conve: nicnee aad saren ofa refined sedan. The Outback Sedan also has an advanced four-wheel disc, fourechanicl, four sensor anti-lock brake svstem thar gives inthe fesibiliey and sare- ty required Gf a vehicle that hives both on and otf the road. Subaru has made its mark in the North American market asa leader in developing hybrid vehicles tor the rapidly expanding sport utility: seg: ment. Subaru is still the only manufacturer to feature the acrive safety of All Wheel Drive on all of chetr vehicles sold in North America. Subaru redetined what a sport utility vehicle was when it intraaluced the Ourback as “The World's First: Sport Uniity Wagon” in 1996. your car perform well it vou have co make sudden manosuvres to avoid obsta cles such as rocks or an ort comil g car. Velicles that have a high er centre Of gravity are more fikely to roll aif vou turn them sharply at high speeds which can be most haz ardous to vour health. Generally speaking, mini- vans, trucks and sport utile vehicles do not do handie in the same way as asa paysen- ger cars. Crash pertormance in vehicles has improved signif: icantly. If vou are interested in researching a sate vehicle for your family and have iacer- net access Vou should check out the folowing sites; www hwesafetyorg or wwwinsure.com, At these sites you will find that there is a large discrepancy in vehicle design and their resulting safety. Building safer cars costs more, but when you factor in the well-being of your family, the extra cost is mare easily justified. Rememiser that a car may cost vou more: you buy it bul if may ako have a higher resale value when vou are finished with it. I vou drive a small car. don’t expect the sani per: formance in a front-end col- lision. Pee seen two cars that were of the same size a few What began as a dream more thai 1S vears avo, premium fuxury sedan, this all-wheel driver is lighter, sironger and safer than its steel-based comy nerth shere news a, minutes atter they were involved ina severe head on collision The ditterences in the outcomes can be signiticans. A well desgned vehicle with airbags can do a great job of protecting its accu pants. Unfortunately not all selicles protect their passen “It's plain old human stupidity — including falling asleep at the wheel —onavery dangerous highway that causes most of the fatalities.” gers to the same extent resulting in more serious injuries or loss of life. Other tips @ Tires: vood brands are Pirelli and Yokohama. When 1 asked four tire store own- ers what they used on their own cars, three said Michelins, the other guy was evanive. ‘Vires thar have become "seperated™ due to ware or damage will blow out; likewise underintlaced tres ona hot dav. Separated tires will “wobble” before they blew. AU ay fireman calls for cauti TO Htvou have a flaten our narrow highway keep going until vou can tind a sate place to change it; better wreek arin than get rear ended @ Dark rainy nights: | dawt know about vou but I curt sce a darned thing ahead of me so atter 1S vears of driving the Sea-to- Sky Highway. T just ger behind some- one and stay there; if there is rock on the road, he finds it, Not me. ® Black ice: The highwavs department guys don’t salt the sides of the roads so if you cut the corners vou could be in tor 4 surprise. One very cold night a jeep driver tound this out. In addition to the fact that jeeps dant stay on the road very well: it was his fast dis- covery. @ Rear-enders: We get a fair amount of these on this highway due to all the blind corners. If you come to s sudden stop on this highway and you think you're about to get nailed, don't get our: sou don’t have time. Stay in JEEP OWNERS: Friday, March 27, 1998 — North Shore News - 37 your car, don’t turn around and look, press vour head lightly against vour head rest and watch in your rear view mirror and try to relay, @ Back seats: Good place to keep the kids. Volvo's night in their ads — we have bad only one deaths in the back scat that anyone in the fire department can remeniber and thar was a thuke M@ Flares: Keep at least three in vour car. Keep them dry since it they seaak up water they will not light worth a darn. In faery they are not very easy to dight even if they are dry. So vou might want to trv one athame when you wet then, @ Kid’s cars: Get 2 strong heavy beater tor these guys. Sate brakes, and no muscle cars; they are going to wreck their first few cars anyway. so get them solid older vehi- cles, @ I.C.B.C.: Should vou get ina fender bender the first thing vou do is get the Aames of people who saw the accident before they all splic. ; “ Gerting the Heense plate number won't help; the police will not give vou the hames of mere witnesses. nif vou think vou were blameless tt may be a good idea to see a Lawyer before you go to ICBC; it won't cost vou anything, vou don't have to hire them, and it could save vou a whack of money. En conclusion let me say thar in mv opinion and the opinion of most knowledge- able people Mve talked to on the subject of traffic acci- dents on Highway 99 it’s not speeding and it’s not drinking. It’s plain old human stu- pidity — including falling asleep ar the wheel — ona very dangerous highway that causes most of the faral- ities, The best ching vou can do for yourself and vour family is to get the safest car you can afford -- and one that is suited to the wpe of daving you do. —Lawrence Ruskin ts a member of the Lians Bay Fire Department. READ THIS! Quality Repairs by factory trained technician now available on the North Shore. “Building business with honesty, one customer at a time” 1405 Pemberton Ave., N. Van loday drives jtke one. W's the Audi AS 4 2 quatre, setiiion, Naw witha versatile five-speed Tiptronic ® transinission that lets you cruise in automatic or shift for yourself, The Audi AS. When we imagined it, we had you in mind. The future of the luxury car has arrived. The Audi A8 4.2 quattro. 985-6237 or 831-7999},, earjeenteerh ® More than just the world’s first all-aluminum 1151 Marine Drive NortTH VANCOUVER