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PAGE 22, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1989 Adjust diriving habits Driving in autumn requires special precautions. You need to adjust your driving habits te changing conditions. The days are shorter, which means more driving in the dark. And driving afrer dark is more hazardous, since there's less visibility. Even during the day there can be çlecreased visibility. Smoke and haze hang in* the air. In some areas, people may burn leaves. You, might see patches of whispy fog. And there's often more rain than usual. When you consider eil thse visibility problems, daytime running lights (Iow* beams or other running lights), make sense. While they don't do much for your vision, they certainly let other drivers see you. You're also prepared, no matter what the weather or light conditions - rain, fogi overcast, dusk. Daytime running lights will be a feature on àIl 1990 motor vehicles and their use will soon bemade law. Y uu can reduce, your driving risld further by foll4wing a few simý$e rules. 1 loi » FREE INSTALLATION & WHEEL BALANCING WE SPECIA L IZE IN MAO WHEEL SALAJVCING Limited Road Hazard Qualifier Sale Ail Seasen 195x70SR13 ........ $89-00 205x6OgAl3 ....... $92.00 z:.205x7OSR13 ........ $93.00 225x6OSR14 ...... $105.00 ........ $93-00 235x6OSR14 ...... $111.00 205x7OSR14 ........ $98-00 245x6OSRl4 ...... $120.00 -,,.215x7OSR14 ...... $101-00 235MOSIR115 ...... $122.00 225x7OSR14 ...... $105.00 245MSIR1,11 5-. ..... $124.00 11215x7OSR15 ...... $105.00 255x6OSR15 ...... $129.00 225x7OSR1 5 ...... $109.00 275x6USR15 ...... $135.00 235x7OSR15 ...... $113.00 215x65SR1 00 265x5OSR14... . $135.00 265x5OSR15... . $139.00 295x5OSR15... . $155.00 195x75Rl4. . $78.00 Questor, 205x75Rl4. . $83-00 155x8ORl3.. $64-00 205x75Rl5. . $83.00 11752011111. $68-00 21 5x75Rl 5 . . $85.00 '185x8ORl3.. $72-00 225x75Rl5 $89.00 185x75Rl4.. $74.00 235x75Rl5. . $95.00 'à VAN HEMMEN--TIRES 317 Hopkins St., Whitby Mon.-Fri. 8a.m.-6p.M. Sat. 8a.m.-2p.m. 666m2l2l Deaier foi Unirbya ch, Dunlop, Goodyear, Pire« Bridqesione DRI VING with RANDY RANDY McLEAN IS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO SPECIALIZES IN TRAFFIC SAFETY. Mr. McLean has 1reviewed thousands of individuai motor vehicle accident reports and his close working relationships wit poilic mces, governmrents, safety association, ndsry andthe public, have given hlm a true overview o<t traffic safety issues, problems and solutions in Cana a. BRoom to manioeuvre ARter an acci 4ent police often hear motorists say 'I had no cI oice but to hit the . .. '. And, unfortunately, nany times they're right. Often motonists must cioose the lesser of two or more evils. Faced witI, the choice between hitting a pedestrian or a Ifire hydrant, the fire hydrant starts to look pretty good- especially from the pedestrïian's pointl of view. In these situatmos the driving error is flot in running off the road and hitting the hydrant, but in getting into à position where hitting the hydrant was the ]beat choice. These drivers p 1i.nted themselves into a corner where an accident was unavoidable. Their only real choice was 1what type of accident they wanted to be involyed in., Sô while their ýexplanations for the accident might suggest that they were innocent victims of circumstances - anud most of us who have been involved in an accident truly and honestly believe that we were innocent victims - this may not be entirely true. If you hired someone to paint your kçitchen floor and came ho' e to find they had painted themselves into a corner you would probably think twice before hiring that person again. If they did it a second time, you would have some real concerns. Yet many motorists 'paint themselves into a qorner' time and time again. Some do it on a dai1y basis. CHEVROLET e OLDSMOBILE 9. CADILLAC -AT accidents everyday in the Region of Durham alone. In Metropolitan Toronto the average is over 150 accidents every day, rnany invoiving drivers who found themselves painting into a corner. Why? Driving is a complex task and driving corners are not always easy to recognize. Many of us don't realize when we're in a d1riving corner, at least not until after the accident. The surest and safest way to stay out of driving corners is to leave yourself room to manoeuvre!- Prepare for the unexpected. As you drive, continually assure yourself that in an emergency you have a safe place to move to. As a minimum you should leave a safe following distance between your car and the road ahead. The two-second rule applies wheni following another passenger vehicle under good road and weather conditions. This distance should be increased to three or four seconds, or more during poor road or weather conditions, when following a motorcycle, and when the driver behind is tailgating you.l But the safe following rule will give you room to manoeuvre in a forward direction only. It is also important to create a safety zone for lateral movement. The greater your speed, the more important a lateral safety zone becomes. You can create this safety zone by adjusting your diving speed to position, your vehicleé beside a gap in traffic in the adjacent lane. Ideally vehicles travelling in the samne direction should be staggered like the squares on a chess board. If you find yourself pacing another vehicle, side by side, for more than a few seconds, you are starting to paint yourself into a corner. Either slow down7 or speed up until you are driving beside a gap in traffic. Once you are driving beside a gap use your mirrors and glance over your shoulder occasionally to check your lateral positioning. In an emergency you wiIl not have a lot of time to make decisions. Always know where your car is on the road and how much of a safety zone is available to you. In congested traffic it is difficult 1o create lateral safety zones. Consequently, the space ahead of and behind your car is critical. Protect it! Motorists who drive without a lateral saefty zone and insist on tailgating ofcen become the not-so-innocent victims of circumstance. Pay attention te trafflc conditions around you. Do not paint yourself into a corner, and don~t let other motorists paint you into a corner. Drive safelyl Bucide up This October, police forec-s from across the province are joining together to promote and enforce seat belt use. Failure to wear seat belts is one of the most significant factors in fatal motor vehicle accidents. Since 'seat belt legislation was introduced in 1976, the compliance rate. in Ontario ha.s risen to only 70 per cent, despite seat beits having a 45 per cent effective rate in reducing fatalities and a 20 per cent rate in reducing injuries. In ternis of compliance, Ontario ranks eighth among ail Canadian provinces with seat belt legisiation. Statistics gathered in 1987 in Ontario show that 545 drivers and 318 passengers <ied in motor vehicle collisions. Sixty-four per cent of these drivers and 73 per cent of their passengers wereý not wearing seat beits. Had they been wearing them, between 228 and 275 probably would have survived the accidents. Ilf of the accidents involving small children killed in Ontario each year in motor vehicle accidents are due te non-use or improper use of child restraint seats. Tests have proven that even with prior warning, it is impossible to hold on te a small child in a crash. Unfortunately, in two-thirds of the cases, child restraint seats are not properly secured, putting children at risk of injury or death. For every lO-per cent increase in seat belt compliance province-wide, 80 lives could be saved and injuries affecting 1,320 persons could be reduced. Through the two-pronged program, consisting of enforcement and education, police forces hope ta increase compliance among the public, thereby reducing the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from mnoter vehicle collisions. The expert choice. L~IJI [>~liDUNDAS Ano TNICKSON JURE IRECTYD à SERIRE66804044 CHEVROLET * OLDSMOBILE e CADILLAC r p