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Motorists wOill lose with t~Iegïslation, say lawyers. by Jil Mclntosh Christmas: Remembering pop and bis cars ChBy Jil Melntosh Cbistmas at our house tends te be like the ones you see on television. For weeks beforeband te steve is filled with home- made fruitcakes and ahmnd cookies and everyone wbo steps inside the door is handed a wine- glass filied witb eggnog.The tree is strung witb popcorn and cran- berries, snd littie igbts twinkle in the corners of tbe room tbrougb the tinsel garlands. We have no children, s0 my busband and I filîl.tockings and bu y'teys for eacb other, wonder- fuly detsiied miniature cari and model kits, along witb, wrapped catnip mice for Mfax. This year tbe trappings will be out sgaiu, but tbere will be a note of sadness over ail. For the firat time ini my life my grand- father will not be bere te share it with us. He psssed away last January in bis inety-.seventb year. My grandparents raised me from th e time I was six. The generation gap made itself known in wonderful ways: while tbe other kids were listening te, rock n' roll, I bought Glenn M il- 1er records. My avorite movie was Casablanca. And while the otber kids' parents drôÃ"ve 1970 Chevys, my grsndfather took me fiaces in a sBtately black 1955 It was an enormous four-door sedan, the only kind Pop would drive. He had no use for amaîl cars or coupes. He ioved bis cars big and luxurious but, above ail, he loved bis cars. Pop was a theatre manager and marque painter by trade,. first in t he days of vaudeville, then silent, pictures and finaliy %tikies.» Hieshsop was in down- towu Toronte, but neyer in his life did Popi ever ride the subway (he neyer fiew in a plane, eitber). He drove his beloved cars. This was back in the days when you could drive a car in dowutewn Toronte, and park it, to(rlght outaide biseshop on Queen Street). During that time he drove a varlety of cars and bad a lilce for tbe independeut automakers. He owned a Star a.nd a Gray-Dort, but alwaya told me that the best car be'd ever owned was a Hupmobile. Pop was the sort of person wbo learned bis lessons quickly sud neyer forgot tbem: when. an apiple gave bis him indigestion bie didn't est another one for 81 years. When hie came home from the World War , lbe bought a Model T Ford that you had te crsnk. One day it backfired and the crank s pun and broke bis r; it was the verlast Fordble ever owned, altbou h I StiRlhave the wheel wrencb Vom it, care- fully preaerved among bis tool chest since 1921. He also liked te tell me about bis motercycling days -- or sbould I say «day"? Not long after the Ford, Pop bougbt a SEE PAGE 30 By Trudie Zavadovics In its effort' to appease motonists faoed with paying exor- bitant insurance icreases, the Province's no fault insurance limite increases to about eight per cent from the originally pro- posed 33 per cent, but also strips accident victims of their right to sue in about 95 per cent of accident cases and offers a maxi- mum of $480 per week ini disabi- lit compensation, when, and only when, the victim has used up ail other forme of compensa- tion. Lawsuits will be allowed in cases where the accident victim bas <ied, or, bas permanent seri- ous disfigurement, or,_permianent serious impairment of an inpor- tant bodily function caused by a continuing injury which is physi- cal in nature. I t is up to the courts to determine whether the injuy is serious enough for the victi to be entitled to sue. "The tbreshold the government proposes is very high,» says Whitby lawyer Ni gel Schilling. "A substan tial num er o inured people won't be able to sue. I can see people losing their bouses. Fifty per cent of Schilligs practice involves motor vehicle accidents. This proposed legisia- tion will cause him to sbift bis focus to another area of law but Schilling says tbat tbat loss is only secondary compared to what motorists are. losing if legisiation for no fault insurance is passed this month. «It is morally reprebiensible to take away the right to be com- pensated for pain and suffering. Iu accident cases a lot of in- nocent victims suifer. It is not uncommon to get calîs tbat fam- ilies bave separated. Now, if some careless driver ruins your life tbey don't bave to pay for it.' "I bad no problem witb in- surance companies jacking up insurance premiums (according to driving history). This act pro- vides a means, for people Who can't afford insurancerates, te drive.» Làike Schilling, many people are outraged biy the proposed legilation. He says it doesn't mak*e sense tbat people *njurd in~ a ski accident or bitten bL a dog bave the right te sue, w . le people injured by automobiles no longer bave that rigbt. 'They want te rani this (the legislation) tbrough by Christ- mas " says Michael Boland, another Whitby Lawyer. «It bas gone through its first.reading at the committee stage. People *ho oppose this (no fault insurance) would like to see open public meetings te discuss it. I arn sure if the public really knew about this. it wouidn't pass.' Bo)land predicts that only people wbo are left as paraple- gics or quadrapalegics wili have earned the rigbit tesue. "TiMs whofe package may be completely unconstitutional,» says Boland. "The wbole thing is a bureaucratic nîgbtmare. I don't know what the government is thinking'of. It's _p art of North America's love afair witb tbe car," says Schilling. "We build our cities te, accommodate cars, net people. The automobile industry h as always been very siguificant te our economy.» The Fair Action in Insurance Reform (FAIR) is a committee working te promote the appro- priatepublic scrutiny of this podlegisiation. The com- mittee consista of concerned members of tbe legal, medical and academic communities together witb associations repre- sentig victims and other groups throughout Ontario. The government la trying te push tbe Bill (68) tbrougb by the end of December. The committee bas been urging people te openly challenge the proposed Jegisla- tio - -before, tey say, it's too late. Safe Driving Week .More than 4,000 lives are lost on Canadian roads every year. 'Courtesy Is ...' is not just a themhe for National Safe Driving Week, it's a. viable'iway to reduce tragic statistics. The Canada Safety Çouncil's (CSC) 34th annual campaign on Dec. 1 - 7 challenges ail drivers to make old-fasbioned courtesy a con- scious p art of safe driving habits. Thinl< ofbhow many times you have carelessly ceut off the car behind you. Th e conse quences could be frustrating at beat, or tragic at worst. , any rivera M2k the assumption that everyone is able to judge a situa- tion quickly and react to it safely. Not so, tbe CSC bas found; 85 per cent of traffic accidents are attributed to driver error. National Safe Driving Week raises awareness of current trends in driving. Two timely issues are.*.' attitudes toward eldérly drivers and'the growing popularity of cellular phones. Emi le Thenien, president of the CSC, explains this, year's cam- paign addresses seniors, cellular phones and safe driving. "We challenge ail .young dri- vers especially, to iearn to under- stand and ahane the. road with senior drivers. We also want to raise awareness among motoniats about the safe use of cellular phones. Most- importantly, wýe urge ail Canadians to drive acci- dent and fatality-free duning tbe week.» SEE PAGE 27 Some- tips for mght driving a Check headlights, taillighta and directional signala before starting out at nlght. 0 Clean beadlights and windshield. You'1l be more hikely te avoid an accident if you can aee better.. a Check te sce if headligbts are properly aimed - for your effect and for other drivers. 0 Give your eyea time to adjust te darkness. After you leave a lighted building, wait a few minutes before driving. .0 Don't drink and drive. Alcobol slows recovery of vision from the effects of glane. e Don't wear sunglasses at night. They are not designed foi reducinglegdUl.ght.glar.... . *Don't amoke. Nicoti ne and carbon monoxide can reduce your vision wben it's dark. It aiso puts a film on your windows. e Keep your headligbtà ' on iow beam wben other drivers are around. e Reduce your apeed.- Since you can't see as weli, you won't bave as much time te stop as you would in daylight. 0 Increase your followlng distance at night. e Neyer stop on any roadway unless it's an emergency. Other drivers can't tell if your car is moving or not until it's too late. e Take curves aiower at nigbt. Headlights pointing straight ahead wili abine off the road, furtber- decreasing 1your view of the -rôàd abead. JULY UrdnledmIUnieadei prnMim R nd British Coluab NewBnswick Newtmzlad» NOMa Soetif Ontario riam Bdwmw ia Ssachean YuhoM1... 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