24 - Friday, November 17, 1989 - North Shore News

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How do we get better drivers on the road?

LAST TUESDAY night, I had the opportunity to appear with five other panelists on the CBC Tele- vision program Forum. The subject was traffic

The moderator was an- chorman Kevin Evans.

In his introduction to the Evans

and what we could do about it. The audience in studio 42 was full of opinions about both.

safety, and each of us had a different angle.

Keith Morgan, iraffic col- umnist for the Province talked about the growing nightmare of congestion, frustration and mayhem on Lower Mainland roads. Staff Sergeant Chris Offer of the Vancouver Police shared his observations from years of attending accident scenes.

Richard Dickson, regional director of Young Drivers of Canada, provided his phi- losophy on driver training

Prepare for driving with kids

AUTUMN'S BEAUTIFUL colors are a natural draw to the eutdoors.

With a little planning and an eye to safety, a motoring trip with your children can be an enjoyable and relaxing way to see the countryside.

A thorough cleaning of your car’s interior is a good place to start. Nobody wants to sit for hours on end in cluttered surroundings. In- volving young children in a car-cleaning bee will help redirect some of: their excess energy and pre-trip excite- ment.

At the same time, it'll set the standard for cleanliness throughout the journey: if they've helped clean it, they aren’t as likely to get it dirty.

We tend to stuff all sorts of stray objects under the front seat — old rags, ice scrapers, and worst of all, bottles and cans. Anyone who’s ever had a bottle or pop can roll under the brake pedal realizes the importance of keeping the area beneath the front seat absolutely clear of debris.

Since you practically live in your car on day trips like this, it’s easy to accumulate garbage. Small, easy-to- reach plastic garbage bags in front and back seats are just the thing to keep the car neat and tidy. They can be emp- tied or discarded when you stop — another ideal chore for young travellers.

As weli as the obvious safety benefit, seat belts prevent children from boun- cing around while you trav- el. That means they present less of a distraction for the driver, who might otherwise become irritable, tired and inattentive.

You'll get the most out of your family outing if you’re able to plan activities ahead of time. One way to do that is to obtain travel maps and brochures from your auto club or tourist bureau sever- al wecks before you leave.

They come with plenty of information on points of in- terest, eating places, etc. That way you can schedule meals, fill-ups, exercise and refreshment breaks along the way.

and education. Keith God- frey related some of the in- formation he gathered around the province as chairman of B.C.’s new Traffic Safety Directorate.

Dr. Bill Mercer, director of CounterAttack, spoke of his research into the types of people who were more likely to be involved in an acci- dent. I was there to offer ICBC’s perspective and to describe the $1 bdillicn im- pact of auto insurance claims on the pocket books of B.C. motorists.

hour-long event,

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The hour didn’t so much fly by as it evaporated. The one. recurring issue

stated that we were there to find out why our B.C. driv- ing record was so abysmal,

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was driver education and training. Many expressed the feeling that a driver's licence is tow easy to get in B.C., and that once a person gets one, he is virtually exempt from any further evaluation for the rest of his days.

One after another, members of the audience spoke of the selfish, careless attitudes of others on the road. One burly trucker who wheels over 40 tons of trac- tor trailer around the Lowes Mainland every day, spoke of the small “ricer rockets’’ this term) that swoop in front of him and then slow down. Some days, he books off early — his nerves are shot.

I would like to say that we

solved all the problems in that hour, and that the solu- tions will be saving lives on B.C. streets tomorrow. But that, unfortunately, didn’t happen.

So to you, we extend an invitation. Watch for the program, CBC Forum, Saturday, November 25 at 9 p.m. Then, let's hear your ideas.

What do we do to get bet- ter drivers on our zoads? What should we do to get some bad attitudes turned around? Do you have an an- swer to our billion dollar question?

Write Auto Topics, North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4.

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