¢ APRIL, 1971 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER By STRUAN MATHESON Canada Safety Council Unless a motor vehicle is kept in safe operating con- dition, it is a potential killer of its occupants, people in other cars and pedestrians. “Studies and surveys show some 10 per cent of Canada’s half-million reported motor vehicle accidents involve mechanical malfunctions,” J. C. Thackray, President of the Canada Safety Council, said in his Spring Car Check cam- paign message. “In more than half of these, AFETY PAGE poor car maintenance is pin- pointed as the principal cause of the accident,’’ he said. The Council stresses that Owners are responsible morally and legally for the safe operating condition of their vehicles whether or not they live in areas where there are compulsory check lanes or periodic inspections. Motorists are urged to get their vehicles checked and repaired if necessary so they will be in topnotch shape for more extensive travelling in the late spring and summer months. A great many Canadians accept responsibility for the safe operating condition of their vehicles, knowing this is most important to help ensure their own safety and that of their families. Too many others run their vehicles until they. break down, a practise often resulting in accidents. The Council reminds motorists that potentially dangerous malfunctions can be spotted prior to a breakdown by themselves and qualified mechanics. Many of the symptoms are obvious such as worn-out tire treads, spongy brakes, ex- cessive play in the steering, vibrations, shimmies and pulling to one side. But qualified technicians should inspect such important assemblies as brakes and steering where a loose or worn part can cause an _ instant breakdown. Driver Responsible Even when the vehicle is under warranty, the onus remains on the driver to keep alert for signs of malfunctions and get them fixed. For example, a driver could pull out of a garage with a brand new car perfectly aligned and throw this out within a block by thumping over a pothole. There is some kind of com- pulsory car check in most provinces, the minimum level being checks to get dangerous crocks off the road. But the Canada Safety Council emphasizes _ the inability of laws and warranties by themselves to prevent needless accidents caused by motor vehicle malfunctions. Individuals must accept their responsibility for the safe mechanical condition of their motor vehicles. By doing this, they will save lives and prevent injuries. Garage operators par- ticipating in this endeavor offer free car checks to their customers who are under no obligation to have their vehicles repaired at the dealer who provides this service. Inspections Essential Well over half of all cars inspected in provincial com- pulsory and voluntary motor vehicle inspections are rejected because of malfunc- tions. A Canada Safety Council survey shows that more than 1,725,000 out of the preliminary motor vehicle registration figure of 8,250,000 underwent some kind of inspection in 1969, the last year for which statistics are available. Faulty headlights were the main reason for rejection in most jurisdictions. This mal- function can. be most dangerous not only by reducing gs: the driver’s area of perception but also by misleading other drivers. Faulty brakes were also high on the list. What is disturbing is that drivers can generally detect these malfunctions by spongy handling charac- teristics but too many don’t get them fixed. Steering defects accounted for many other rejections. Here again, inspectors report a large number of people who blithely carry on although they know the steering is poor because it is loose. Obviously defective tires — many say the inspections of the ear’s only contacts with the road are not sufficiently rigorous — accounted for the rejection of many other vehicles. The vehicle owner could obviously have spotted tire malfunctions just by looking at them for excessive wear, breaks and deep cuts. Another common cause of rejection was an inadequate exhaust system. Not only does this increase sharply the possibility of deadly carbon monoxide seepage but it also impedes the functioning of emission devices designed to cut down pollution. _ Amore complicated cause of rejection was poor alignment. In a more intensive survey carried out recently, poor alignment was detected in a large majority of the cars tested. Alignment should be checked by a competent mechanic. It all adds up to a great number of drivers who refuse to accept their moral and legal responsibility for the safe operating condition of their vehicles, thus endangering their own and other people’s lives. Thousands of the drivers of the cars tested operated their vehicles with defective horns, windshield wipers and signal lights they could have detected and had fixed with a minimum effort. Even compulsory periodical motor vehicle testing cannot replace the individual responsibility of the motorist for the safe mechanical con- * dition of his vehicle as these results demonstrate so vividly. Such an attitude would merely mean the driver would make an effort to get his vehicle fixed as inspection time rolls around, rather than ensuring that the car is kept in good operating condition all year around. The Safety Council believes one traffic safety goal should be uniform, compulsory in- spections of all motor vehicles every year. While there is some kind of inspection in every province, even if only to get obviously dangerous vehicles off the road, there is still a long way to go to achieve this goal. A national survey prepared by the Council discloses that four provinces have com- pulsory annual inspections for all motor vehicles — British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Ed- ward Island. Alberta’s two-year in- spection program ran _ into difficulties and it was dis- continued although such in- spections remain a provincial goal. Ontario has a rigorous in- spection program for all used cars sold amounting to some 800,000 annually. In addition, it has compulsory check-lanes, and a_ voluntary operation. inspection Check your cor Check accidents yoouncn” ZA vnc seety ciaerrer Quebec has compulsory annual inspections for school buses, a voluntary check system and compulsory check- lanes. Voluntary checks are made available in Saskat- chewan and Manitoba. The latter province has compulsory check-lanes. Newfoundland has a voluntary system. The rate of rejections in In the two-year Alberta experiment, 46 percent of the total vehicles inspected in 1969 on first inspection were rejected for malfunctions. Some 60 percent were rejected in Saskatchewan’s voluntary program while more than 80 percent were rejected in Manitéba’s similar programme. Ontario’s inspections turned up more than 60 percent rejection of vehicles which could not pass the used car- tests or check-lane.inspections. Quebec’s rejection percentage these programs varies widely although it generally varies inversely with the length of time they have been in effect. The rate of rejection in Van- couver, which has had such checks for more than 30 years, is some 30 percent. By com- parision, the rate was more than 50 percent in Victoria which instituted its system only recently. was also in the 60 percent range. Respective rejection per- centages for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Ed- ward Island in 1969, the last year for which figures are available, were 69, 61 and 75. The vital need for com- pulsory annual motor vehicle inspections is demonstrated vividly in these high rejection percentages. j On the other hand, the figures show a disturbing reluctance by a great number of Canadian drivers to accept responsibility for the safe functioning of their motor vehicles. , NEW REGULATIONS FOR SNOWMOBILES OTTAWA — The operation of competition motorcycles, com- petition snowmobiles and minibikes will be governed by special regulations under amendments to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations that have been given Govern- ment approval, Transport Minister Don Jamieson said. Under the amendments, which were published on April 14, 1971 in the Canada Gazette, these machines will be estab- lished as specific classes of vehicles and will not have to be equipped with headlights and mufflers which are a legal requirement on recreational and transportation-type vehicles. The competition machines will be for use ex- clusively on competition cir- cuits and will be required to bear a label clearly stating their restricted usage. Further proposed amend- ments to the regulations clarifying definitions of some specific classes of vehicles, as well as proposed changes in tire identification procedures, was included in Part I of the Canada Gazette issued on April 3. Mr. Jamieson has invited comments on these proposals from the. manufacturing in- dustry and other interested parties during the next month. INFLAMMABLE BEDDING OUTLAWED Canada has outlawed the manufacture of inflammable bedding material in Canada, but the Consumers Association of Canada has expressed disappointment with the -ef- fective date set by the federal department of consumer and corporate affairs — March 31, 1972. Meanwhile, the Association says it will inform its local group and the public on the hazards of inflammable bedding materials, and of the government regulations on their manufacture. In an April news release, the association also points out that most bedding marketed in Canada is also- manufactured in Canada.