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( EI BE 28 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 20, 1990 by Ken Gadsden So you're a driver. But you think you're a good one -- most § people do. Studies have shown that 90 percent of drivers think § they are better than average. Obviously most of them are kid- § ding themselves, and unfortunately many find out the hard way. According to the Canada Safety Council, each year there are § 750,000 collisions. Two hundred & fifty thousand poeple are in- jured and 4,000 persons are killed. You see it in the papers, on television and (shudder) § sometimes you are right there to witness the horror. That makes § you extra careful for a few days but pretty soon in the hustle § and bustle of life, it is stored back in the mental closet and the § old careless habits reappear. : Bear in mind, it's unlikely that those 4000 dead people or the | quarter of a million injured got up that morning and said to § themselves -- 'I think I'll smack up the car today' No -- they §& likely figured (along with the rest of us) that they had nothing § || to worry about. After all "I am a good driver." 3 But something went wrong. Maybe it was the other driver's 3 : fault, maybe there was an unexpected curve on an unfamiliar § road, -- something happened. And all of a sudden -- too late -- §& the brakes are screaming, steering wheel frantically cranked, a dreamlike sequence followed by the sickening crunch of metal 3 | being bent and compressed. A cloud of dust slowly subsides. The § | first witness on the scene blinks in terror and wonders "What § || should I do? Can I handle this?" . S Others arrive. Police and ambulance are called and thc stan-. dard pattern develops. Dead and injured are whisked away. §& . Paperwork is completed. The tow trucks sort out the debris. x And life goes on...well almost. For some of the victims it : . won't. For others it may be drastically altered. Suffering and & disability may become a lifestyle. Why?? Were they extremely careless? Probably not. Were they helpless to avoid the situation? Probably not. Was their number up? : I guess so, given their approach to driving. Did it have to be? : No. In most cases it could have been avoided. In fact, follow- {| ing years of careful analysis the Canada Safety Council has § | determined that 85 percent of accidents are avoidable with defen- & sive driving. 3 That doesn't mean all of the drivers involved must be defen- sive drivers. In most cases if only one is driving defensively it § can be enough to defuse the situation. What do we mean by defensive driving? We'll be discuss- : ing that in future articles, and with your help maybe we can 0 make a difference. "Your help' means realistically assessing and improving % your driving as well as stimulating interest and motivation among your family, friends and acquaintances. This newspaper, is determined to get the message out. The road is dangerous and getting worse. Perhaps we can, through this column, pass on to you that "Little Things" can keep you alive and roadready. (Ken Gadsden is a retired Bell Canada Manager and now a defensive driving instructor accredited by the Canada Safety Council. His column "Roadready" appears in the Port Perry Star on a regular basis). => Sm Another reason to get Invisible Fencing. Want to give your dog freedom, and safety too? Then call the number below for free information on Invisible Fencing. Ten years and tens of thousands of dogs stand behind Invisible Fencing. It's veterinarian approved and recommer.ded as completely harmless and humane. And it all comes with a money-back guarantee. Because you can't see it, Invisible Fencing maintains the beauty of your property. It costs less than conventional fencing. And if you move, it can move with you. To learn all the other reasons to get Invisible Fencing, call: Of South East Ontario (416) 797-2431 Are you ready for the road? by Ken Gadsden Ever notice how it dominates the news? Day after day the television and the daily newspapers proclaim it with graphic pictures and unsettling prose. At social gatherings it becomes a topic of conversation and the consensus is that it's getting worse. Everyone has a horror story to recount. And it's all about driving, ac- cidents, collisions, fatalities... Fortunately it doesn't happen too often around here. It isn't a zoo in the country like it is around the big smoke. Or is it?? Durham Regional Police keep accident statistics in 4 categories, property damage, personal in- jury, fatalities, and non repor- table (less than $700.00 property damage). The accompanying table shows the figures from January to August of this year. Comparing 26 Division (Scugog, Uxbridge, Brock) with the rest of the region. These figures do not include ac- cidents which occur on Provincial highways which are under durisdiction of the O.P.P. Non Report. -- 26 Divn. - 13; South 269; Total 282. Prop Dam -- 26 Divn. 418; South 3713; Total 4131. Pers. Inj. -- 26 Divn. 181; South 1329; Total 1510. Fatality -- 26 Divn. 4; South 11; Total 15. Considering our much smaller population in the north it only stands to reason that our numbers would be much smaller. But there is a disturbing note. Our accidents are likely to be much more serious. The south has 20 times more non reportable (minor) burps, 9 times as many property damage smacks, 7 times as many per- sonal injuries, and less than 3 times as many fatalities. In other words the odds are that if you become involved in a colli- sion up here, there is a greater likelihood that it will be much more serious. We see indicators everyday, speed limits exceeded; stop signs virtually ignored; passing on curves, hills, solid lines; tailgating; the list goes on. It isn't confined to any one par- ticular age or sex group. It's ram- pant, and likely most of us are guilty from time to time or in many cases it unknowingly has SEARS become a driving style. Although we think we are, In fact, we're not protecting ourselves from accidents - fate is! You may remember some at- tempts by Texaco, and the In- surance Bureau of Canada to heighten awareness through television commercials. In our view these were effective but something ongoing is needed to help drivers to become more aware of what you can do to pro- tect your life, and property. So here it is, "Roadready," a column about driving -- defen- sively. It is written by Ken Gadsden, a retired Bell Canada manager who is now a Canada Safety Council member ac- credited as a defensive driving course instructor. Ken's objective is to make the column as entertaining as possi- ble while at the same time pro- viding information which could save lives. We hope it works for you. PORT PERRY PLAZA 985-7311 -- CHRISTMAS STORE HOURS -- Monday to Wednesday 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM; Thurs. & Friday 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM; Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM Effective Immediately until December 22nd, 1990 Now is the time to register. Are you ready for the pro- posed GST? If not, now is the time to register and prepare. Registration applies to anyone prise. This includes fishing, farming, professional services ahd many activities carried out prepared forthe GST. Have you? involved in a commercial enter- Pve by non-profit organizations. Revenue Canada is ready to assist you with information on: m How to register and the benefits of doing so m What the GST means to your operation m Simplified accounting options and administrative procedures m Rebates of the Federal Sales Tax m How to recover GST on business purchases m GST return and filing options Contact us today. Phone: 1 800 461-1082 Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired: 1 800 465-5770 Or drop by the Revenue Canada Excise Office nearest you, Monday to Friday, 9:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Canada's GST. It's good business to prepare now. Revenue Canada H & Ravenu Canada Douanes et Accise Customs and Excise Canad?