44 — Friday, April 16, 1999 - North Shore News Police boost presence on GC. highways BRITISH Columbia’s biggest program to enforce traffic laws and combat aggressive driving was launched lest week. The 1999 — corridor enforcement program began last Sunday, and sccording to B.C. Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh, will involve 37 key highway and urban corridors across the province. “Enforcement ‘and public zducation work together to help us reduce aggressive dri- ving such as speeding, tail- gating or improper lane changes,” Dosanjh said in announcing the program. “The only thing you can . really control on the road is your own behaviour. Driving should never become a con- test. We all win only if we keep our emotions in check, drive with care and courtesy, and get where we are going safely.” The corridor enforcement program will see B.C. police services add approximately 70,000 hours of enforce- ment to the roughly 96,000 hours of regular traffic patrols they had planned on the corridors. | The Insurance Corporation of B.C. is con- tributing about $5 million in overtime and related costs for extra police traffic enforcement. “Public education and traffic enforcement cam- paigns keep our roads safer for everyone and reduce the costs and numbers of insur- ance claims,” said Dale Lovick, minister responsible for ICBC. “ICBC’s work as a public auto insurance com- pany is keeping our cates affordable.” Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Galvin Brower, a collision reconstruction expert. said police are asked every day to determine what led to a seri- ous or fatal crash. “Too often it is the direct result of aggressive driving — drivers don’t maintain a proper distance, they muake unsafe lane changes, they travel too fast for condi- tions,” Cpl. Brower said. “And frequently the collision could be avoided if all drivers were more alert to condi- tions around them.” Collision reconstruction- ists are technically trained police officers who can deier- mine and interpret the prob- able cause of a crash through such things as observations at the scene and statements from witnesses. “By spending a litele time with a calculator, we can usu- ally determine the speed involved,” Brower said. “I can measure things like skid marks, the angles of approach and = departure when two cars collide or the distance a pedestrian is thrown to determine the speed.” The corridor enforcement program began as a pilot on the Sea to Sky Highway in 1995. In 1998, police made contact with 117,000 dri- vers, handing out close to 90,000 tickets and 33,000 warnings. : ] VOR OTIV _” BCA, AULA, LOBE. Approved Check battery, test antifreeze, check tires & brakes, visual inspection 4, Super Lupe 2 S) With scope check by one of B.C’'s top Air Care -< Ww technicians, road test & report any findings wes Pressure test cooling system, check beits, hoses, visual leaks, check on fad condition, ~** tighten clamps, drain and fill anti-freeze = nek £2, Ain-COND. cHeck & report -. Diagnose A/C operation. Test temp. perfor- -« mance, check refrigerant level, check com- pressor belts, hoses, etc.