High accident rate probed by health and other officials MORE THAN 20 public officials and others have met once and are planning another session to discuss the high rate of traffic ac- cidents involving northemn young people. The areas’s chief medi- eal health officer, Dr. Isaac Sobol, helped orga- nize the first meeting In January after noticing that the north leads the pro- vince when it comes to accidents involving people between 15-35 years old requiring hospitalization. Health ministry statis- tics from 1989-99 show. that hospitalization due to transportation accidents in ithe northwest nearly dou- ble the rates compared to the rest of B.C. “Our hospitalization is so much higher than any other area in the province,” Sobol said. “I just posed the question, we've got a problem, what are we going to do about it?” Sobol contacted David. Dickson, ICBC’s main ac- cident prevention person in the north, and the two or- ganized that first meeting. Dr. isaac Sobol “T thought it was an im- portant health issue that couldn’t be addressed just by the health authority,” Sobol said. Twenty-four people, in- cluding RCMP officers, Skeena MLA Roger ‘Har- tis, Terrace city council- : lors, transportation mini- stry officials and people from the aboriginal cam- munity, were at the Jan. 9 session. The group is looking at all the possible reasons for traffic accidents causing Truckers upset over highways By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN LONG HAUL truck drivers in Terrace are outraged at the condition of highways in the Terrace and Smi- thers area, calling them the most poorly main- tained roads in’ the pro- vince. They're charging the: private roads maintenance contractor is either not , doing its job properly or wove that maintenance’ stan- dards need to be charged; and changed quickly. Jake Polzin; 34, is a moving company truck dri- ver who makes the trip from Terrace to Vancouver about four times a month. Covering thousands of kilometres, he says with- out a doubt, the highway between ‘ Kitwanga and Terrace is the most poorly maintained stretch of road ‘in the province. He’s not buying state- ments that highway main- tenance contractor Necha- ko Northcoast is comply- ing with the standards set out by the transportation ministry, “I've seen that road with anywhere from eight to 10 inches of snow on it and there’s no plow,” Pal- zin says of the Kitwanga- Terrace stretch of Highway 16. . The ministry requires plows to be on that high- way clearing snow once 4cm of the white stuff builds up. Polzin says he under- Stands the argument that driver inexperience, speed- and alcohol are contribu- ting factors to highway road deaths. But he feels road maintenance in the north hasn’t been given the Name game SUGGESTIONS of names for the new elementary school on the bench in Terrace have been pouring in to the school board of- - fice. . “We've received six. or seven pages of recommen: dations for naming the new bench school,” says assis- tant school superintendent Sharon Beedle. Terrace trustees Marj Brown, Diana Penner and . Les Deacon-Rogers will be. reviewing the suggestions’ and making recommenda- tions to the board. attention it needs. Terrace logging truck driver Oscar Lind, 52, agrees. He was involved in a highway accident three years ago near Hazelton in which a woman was killed after her vehicle struck his truck from behind. He says the highway was covered with ice and topped with about three inches of slush, Lind says he unsuccess- » dully tried to-get officials’ from the transportation ministry and ICBC interes- ted in the issue of road maintenance, “I told them it was all caused by road conditions and they didn’t do any- thing about it,” Lind says. -He’s convinced that priva- tization of road contracts has brought about dismal toad maintenance around Terrace. He says during heavy snowfall periods the high- way to Smithers is riddled with deep ruts and grooves. “Nowadays, you don’t see anything for hours and hours,” Lind said of snow- plows and other equip- ment. hospitalization. Those factors include driver inexperience, look- ing into the effects of gra- duated licensing, road conditions, seat belt use, alcohol use and speed. Dickson said the meet- ‘ing is a good first step to- ward finding out why people in the north are getting into serious acci- dents. “Hf you take on any pro- ject from an educational, engineering and lastly, en- forcement perspective you can affect change,” Dick- son says, “We want to re- duce the crashes and carn- age on the roads.” But first, he says, they need to figure out if there is a common denominator among northern accidents. The group is collecting more data and is to meet again in April, But whether there will be a full-fledged effort to produce answers remains to be seen. “The proof will be in the pudding at the next meeting,” Dickson said. “The key is, this isn’t my committee, this is our committee.” Jake Polzin The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - A? We are gearing up for some ello degbete exciting changes! TOTEM PRESS | is on the move to 4535 Greig Ave. (the Closeup Magazine building) ” ‘Tel 250-635-7412 Toll Free 1-800-958-6836 Bigger means Better Service Effective March 4, 2002 Totem Press and Closeup Magazine will continue to serve you in the future: rr ee Fax 250-635-7423 “Our Family of Printers Serving You” . Financing" ACQUIRE AN ALL-STAR. IP THE MASSIVE CONTRACT. | (But get the humble interest rate.) 002 FORESTER SPORT W Financing starting at %hs wallabie o on 2002 Forester models only. : Starting At ; Here's an offer that’s in a league of its own, Right now, you can drive away in a new Subaru, with financing 7 starting as low as 1.8%, Choase from our lineup of 2002 Outbacks, Foresters, Legacys, and Imprezas. Each one offers the responsiveness and control of our All-Wheel Driving System. Plus Subaru's proven reliabllity, 50 come in fora test drive at your Subaru retaller today, And put an all-star on your team. The Beauty of Wheel Drive! OFFICIAL VEHICLE oF CYPRESS wOUNTAIN - “a ARI T ISM. Conuma ra is SUBARU COUNTRY- Visit us at www.subarucca