Bad Nabits - Are drivers on Terrace streets Keeping their minds | on the road? A? +6 - ASpecial report by Sarah A. Zimmerman CARELESS and aggres- sive driving habits in Ter- Tace are not hard to find. Drivers roli through stop signs, run red lights, tail- gate other drivers, change lanes without signalling and sit at green lights waiting to turn without ~ their indicator lights on. In less ‘than an hour an Aug. 21 two separate inci- - dents were observed down- town Terrace that speak to ~ this. ‘ - The first saw an east- -bound car stopped at the ted light on Highway 16 ‘and Eby St. The driver looked left to see if traffic _ was coming from Eby and, = seeing that the intersection was: clear, he proceeded -through the red light and . continued on his way to the Sande overpass. Just 15 minutes later . another driver sitting at the _ > four-way stop at Greig ‘Ave. and Ottawa St. mis- “sed his turn co proceed ‘through the intersection twice. - He had a cell phone in one. hand and a cigarette _in the other..He didn't go through the intersection until he had thrown the ci- - garette out the window — - finally. freeing: one of his : hands.~. causing other dri+ oo¥ers’ lonbecome visibly = - lipset, ~ These are just two ex- “amples of poor driving practices that happen on a regular basis. ‘According to David Dickson, ICBC's manager for the north central inter- ior, actions like this can be attributed to one thing - poor attitudes about driv- ing. “They cut corners, they don’t signal, they're not courteous — it’s just horrible,” he said. Four-way stops in par- ticular are bad spots for drivers in Terrace. “People just don't pay attention to who got there first or whose turn it is,” said local RCMP Con- stable J.R. Walker. It’s not just Terrace dri- vers but drivers throughout the country that are be- coming increasingly less courteous. “The attitude is we can do what we want,” said Dickson, A recent study commis- sioned by the Canada Safety Cauncil reported drivers in British Columbia have the highest incidence of aggressive driving. The survey asked re- spondents to identify what they consider aggressive driving. Tailgating topped the list with 93 per cent. That was followed by passing on the shoulder of: the road: :at-B8 percents oo: barr pulling into a parking space someone else is waiting for and changing lanes without signalling were also at the top of the list. CONSTABLE J.A. Walker stands at the four-way stop at the intersection of The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 3, 2001 - A5 Highways 16 and 37. He says drivers need to pay mare attention to whose turn it is when they are at a four-way stop, SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO, The report found that aggressive driving was identified second only to driver inattention as the perceived main cause of accidents. takes a split second for an accident to occur when a driver isn’t paying atien- tion to the road, Dickson said. The Canada Safety respondants said seeing other drivers reading, eat- ing or talking on cell phones while driving cre- ates tension that can spark aggressive driving. “They cut corners, they don't signal, they’re not courteous — it’s just horrible.” ' Drivers drinking coffee, tthanging CDs;...;:-eating, “osmoking, talking.’on‘a’ cell; “Making rude ‘gestures, . phone, applying make-up or even shaving while they drive are just a few exam- ples of common distrac- tions. All these tasks may. seem simple but it just Council claims more and more drivers are multitask- ing while driving, *’ Results' 6f another: sur- vey released by the coun- cil shows that 75 per cent of those surveyed admitted to doing personal or work- related tasks while driving, And 76 per cent of the Ther message from David Dickson zis drivers. ‘need to be rtiore cdutious, ; courteous and ‘aware on the road. “Don't take for granted what the other car may be doing,” he said. “Drivers need to be more atten- tive.” Terrace tests lights in stop signs THE intersection of Keith Ave. and Kenney St. “may not appear any different from others at first glance, but there is something special . about it. That's because the stop signs there house a new product on the market designed to remind drivers to come to a complete stop before heading through the intersection. Inside the posts the signs are afixed to are bands of smail, powerful lights that flash on and off at night drawing more attention to the sign. “The lights really catch your eye,” said - Henry Craveiro, roads foreman for the City of Terrace. And that’s exactly what they are supposed to do, sign. For whatever reason drivers tend to proceed through that intersection without coming to a complete stop, he said, “T think the biggest problem with that inter- section is that people don’t pay attention,” said Craveiro. When he was approached by a salesman about the product this spring Craveiro thought it would be an innovative and inexpensive way of preventing drivers from running the stop Terrace became-the first community in the province to implement the lights. The lights - called the J.S. Foster Active Flash — cost roughly $200 per unit and run on D-cell batteries which last up to two years. Considering it can cost thousands of dollars to run wiring for lighting at an intersection the economic value of the test project spoke for it- self, said Craveiro. The lights flash bright enough that drivers can see them up to three kilometres away. Craveiro plans to see how effective the lights are during the winter before he decides whether or not Terrace will implement more at other problem intersections. “| wanted to try them out for a year,” he said. “The winter time is my main concern has been good. with the little light Terrace gets,” So far, the feedback Craveiro has received “A few truckers and so forth have commen- ted and they absolutely, positively think it's a fantastic idea,” he said. Study identifies bad intersections IT’S THE FIRST time a project like it has been taken on in Terrace. Over the summer JCBC began a project identifying where acci- dents are happening in Terrace and how much they cost in claims. “We didn't really know what to expect,” said Lea Langille, one of the pro- ject coordinators. Langille and another Youth Employment Inni- tintive student, Danielle Richey, spent hours col- lecting dala and plotting the information on an aer- ial map of Terrace. Little colour-coded dots are stuck to the .map in clusters indicating how many accidents occurred, where and how much they cost in policy claims. “The goal was:to look at trends, hot spots and high-risk intersections to find out.what type of acci- dents are happening,” said Langille. _ The project: takes into account ICBC~statistics” for ICBC from Jan. 2000 to April 2001 that are based on claimants’ accident re- ports, “It's going to be an on- going project,” said Geoff Butler, operations manager in Terrace, “From here we have a starting point ta identify high-risk intersections.” Looking at the aerial map it’s easy to spot where some of the hot spots over the past year and a half are. According to the ICBC study, seven accidents happened on the corner of Keith Ave. and Kalum St. since Jan. 2000 causing roughly $50,000 in claims, One accident happened turning a corner, one was a rear-ender and the remain- ing five were because of other reasons which could include weather conditions or a stuck accelerator. The Sande St. overpass localion on the map is an- other spot with a bright cluster of markers but the ‘cost of those fender bend- érs is considerably lower, Six rear-enders were re- ported on the overpass costing between $4,000 and $4,500 in claims. Lakelse Ave. and Eby St. had only three acci- dents reported which cost between $30,000 and $35,000 in claims. Those accidents were caused primarily by people coming. around ‘a corner and hitling a vehicie, The area that cost the most in claims were acci- dents that occurred in the downtown core along La- zelle Ave, Three of those accl- dents happened because the driver ran through the intersection or a yellow light. Four accidents hap- pened while the driver was turning a corner, another four occusred pulling out of parking lots or stalis, Two accidents along Lazelle were caused by people backing up and one accident involved the dri- ver hitting.a third party. The 14 accidents along Lazelle added up to about $94,000 in claims. DANIELLE Richey and Lea Langille with the map where they plotted 16 months of accident claims. The information collec- ted serves as a solid base for ICBC to identify trends but the work isn't over. Butler hopes to conti- nue the study in coming years to monitor problem intersections. CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Memo to council Dear Sir: After reading David D, Hull’s (let’s not forget the ‘D’) letters to the editor, J can no longer stay quiet. Mr. Hull, you are elected to city council to Tepresent the residents of Terrace, As hard as it may be far you, Sir, you can not let your awn personal feelings out in a newspaper. What 1 refer to is the smoking in bars and restaurants. Mr. Hull, you are an adull. This being so, ] believe you have a choice to go into those establishments or stay out. 1 chaose not to drink, so it dees not matter to me. What does matter is that you chose to voice. your opinion in this matter. This is for our elected legislators in Victoria to decide, not you, As a councilman, do what you are elected to do for the residents of Terrace. Do you forget drinking and driving is a major prablem in B.C.? , We have dust in our air, dust in my house from the logging mill. We breathe this dust every day; should we close the mill? Diesel trucks run through our city every day, We all know that diesel fuel burns holes in ’ the ozone layer. Should we ban diesel fuel? Wood burning fires do damage to our health; should we ban wood stoves? [ could go on. This council would be better served if you would stay out of business and let the business community run itself, You are elected to run city business; not to be ‘in’ business. The economy of this province suffered under our Jast provincial government because they would not ; Slay out of business and let the business community ’ do what it does best. City council should not need to get involved with .. tree farm licences. Let the logging companies do their - job. It is not up to council to decide for me if ] want to vote in a referendum. When large sums of money or land are being given away I want a vote on all - major issues. Before you decide on 911, will the regional district pay their share? Seems to me Terrace taxpayers are paying more for the outlying areas to use facilities in Terrace. Now to raising taxes on our homes. Take a close look at a roll back on wages and benefits and spending on computer systems, also. After all Terrace is a small community, There is much to be done in Terrace. Council should place more energy doing what they are élected to do — work for us and make it a better community for al! and not worry about issues that are under provincial control. Is it not up to council to work on bringing more business to our city not hinder business? Frank Bowsher, Terrace, B.C. What nonsense Dear Sir: _ eee ‘Twas recently -given the opportunity::to read a . column entitled “Beware of the Grandparent” by Claudette Sandecki. We all have the choice of either responding to or disregarding such nonsensical written material. But it is my belief that this kind of babble is harmful and should not be disregarded. Ms. Sandecki and others should be aware that statistics show more children axe at risk of harm or death from their mothers than any other kinship member. Does this mean that we should take steps against mothers? I doubt it. There would be such a hue and cry as never heard before. In North America today there are approximately _ 3.8 million grandparents raising grandchildren. All across the country grandparents are strugeling heroically daily for the rights of their grandchildren who are victims of separation and divorce. Grandparents are the roots, history and heritage of every Canadian child. Grandchildren are loved unconditionally by most . gkandparents. What a destructive act if even one person should read Ms. Sandecki’s article and be influenced by it. Children without doubt, in their developing years, will occasionally endanger themselves through just the sheer process of growing. Should this create such paranoia that Ms, Sandecki writes of? Is she afraid to drive in her car with the children? ] sincerely hope that readers will treat her column as the nonsense it is and file the information in the appropriate receptacle it deserves. Nancy Wooldridge, President, Canadian Grandparents Rights Association, Surrey, B.C, He'll care then Dear Sir: ] was watching the evening news recently and saw an interview with the young people at a school ground in what, 1 think, was Prince Rupert. The reporter was asking them their reaction to the terrible events that took place in our neighbouring country, Most were quite rightly shocked and concerned for the well-being of the people that had been affected by these attacks but there was one young fellow who said he “didn’t care” and that “it wasn’t me in the accident.” I say there is only one response for (his comment — throw out your political correctness, throw out your Dr. Benjamin Spock books on how to raise children, grab this punk by the scruff and drag him all the way over to New York. Hand him a shovel and make him start digging out the bodies until bis hands blister, then throw him a pair of gloves and make him dig some more. After a couple weeks when he gets back home ask him again if he cares. He will — mark it down, Jim Andrei, Terrace, B.C, About the Mail Bag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address‘is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. VaG 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at standard@kermode.net. No attachments, please. We need your name, address and phone number for verification. Our deadline |s’ noon Friday or noon Thursday if It's a long weekend.