The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 20, WEMTBFMEZPRES, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, Ml9 Look at road sfety through a child's eye by JiI Mlntosh Cab characters If!s often been said that bartenders and cab drivers see it ail. Weil, I cant vouch for bartendersý, but it certainly is true of those who make their living ' behind the wheel.' I spent six years doing that job in Toront and Istil credit it for the silver strand ini my brown bair. There certainly were some characters out there. I remember a passenger Who wanted ta bit me because I couldn't find .a Chinese restaurant at 5 a.m. Sunday morning -- he thought it was Friday.night. The man who wanted ta be driven ta Florida, and who got on bis knees with bis plastic bag of beer and prayed aioud when' the poice arrived. And of course, the man who tried ta kidl my best friend late one Frida nigh with a vaultin le (He didt succeed; t agto wbip one cf those tbings around inside a Chevy.) Sanie cf the characters weren't ini the back seat. We had one driver on the fleet, an older man named Bob, who was a very good cabbie. His downfall was that he was terribly naive, and the dispatchers took advantage of it. He was constantly getting phone messages and cail he did, time, after time. He cailed when he was*tald that someone wanted ta arrange a gaine with bis 12-year-olds hockey teain; the number was for Maple Leaf Gardens. He cailed when someone else wanted ta arrange a basebal game, and got the Blue Jays. He even cailed the nuznber where Baboon was waiting. Nicknames were comnion in the taxi industry (by giving my pet bunny ta a dispatcher, I was s' friend Rene was taU and gangly, with a flowing beard, and was good-naturedly known as the Baboon.j 0f course, Bob called the number and asked for the Baboon -- and got the Metro Zoo. You tbink he would have caught on by that point but no, he just kept fefling for them. Fina]l? came the day when 'the plan. came together, hatched by a couple of dispatchers in the pub one night. Out-of-tawn runs were very popular, mince they were worth a lot of money. and when we heard a call for the Ford plant in Oakville, al aur ears pricked up. Bob was given the order, even though there were closer cars, and we ail got suspicious. Then we heard the instructions: "Go ta the front door of the Ford plant and ask for Mr. Edsel." None of us believed he would do it. But the dispatcher won bis bet, for an hour later, we heard Bob on the radio complaining that the secretar had never heard of Mr. Edsel! There were odd characters averywhere. I worked for a while for TorontoIs Checker dealership, who not only sold the- New York-style taxicabs but also ran a fleet of them and'a repair shop. The shop was in the back of the building, not visible from the street and, for this reason, was a favourite spot for thieves. One night, the shop was broken inta by menwith time on their handa. Tere was a Checker inside the shop and if you've every been in one, you know that you! can pack a five-room bouse inside one. .Ç5PJP PAIW 2 As cbildren get ready ta return ta school, the Ontario Safety Lague asks both parents and drivers ta try looking at road safety ftrn a cbild's viewpoint. Too often we tbink of cbildren as emall adults. But there's a big difference. Walk ta, the curb, get on your knees and imagine you're about ta cross the street. You Won't se muchi, Parked vebicles block your view. You cant see oncoming vebicles. Children have one-third lesa peiheral vision than adults. Tey ca't see approaching vehicles out of the corners of their eyes. They cant judge such tbings as distance, speed of vebicles or gaps. in trafflc. Children' also have trouble separating whates real and not real. Often they se cars as living creatures. They don't imderstand death. When wvatcbing cartoons, kida readily acoept the 'fact that the Road Runner bounces back ta life afler, ifs run, over by a ýDRI VING SAFELY with RANDY RANDY McLEAN 19 A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO SPECIALIZES IN TRAFFIC SAFETY.> Mr. McLean has reviewed thousands of individual motor vehicle accident reports anid his close working relationships with police agencies, governiments, safety associations, indus!ry and the public, have given hlma true 'overview of traffic saiety issues, problemns and solutions ln Canada. ESP -extra safe practioes As we drive, rnoet of us -- although obviously not all of us -- watch the vehicles near our car. We look for some indication of what they rnight do next. The sooner we know what these vehicles, are going to do, the better we are able ta stay out of their way. Brake lights and turn signais are obvous advance warning devices. Braise lights are more reliable since they almost always mean the vehicle is slowing down. A flashing turn signal, as most of us know, does not necessarily mean that the vehicle will actually turn. But there are many other dlues that give us advance warning about what lies ahead. Lane position: When driving straight through, moot motoriste tiy ta position their car in the 1middle of the lane. A car that drifts ta the left edge of the lane and does not inunedia±ely corne back ta the centre, wiil probably turn left at the next interserction or driveway, whether they signal or not. A car that drifts ta the right edge of the lane is likely ta turn ta the right. steaniroller. They. tend .ta believe that the saine thing can happen i real life. Children- assume that, because they can see the driver, the, driver sees them. When 5- ta 6-year-olds were asked what «could'happen .if a car were about -ýta b'it themý, some- said simplyr. "I would hold up myhand anid sto it." SChildren interpret trafflc signs in literai ways that may mislead SEE PAGE 21 On a multi-lane road, a motarist who drifts ta, one edge of the lane, while frequently glancing in the rear view nurror, in a good bet ta, change, lanes. Trucks, buses and other alow-moving vehicles usually drive in the ýcurb lane. A. truck moving inta the passing lane, after driving for a long time in the curb lane, generally means they intend ta turn left soon, there,,is.an àobstacle in',the ,curb,.. lane or the curb lane'ends ahead. The key point is under.standing that the truck driver changed lanes for a reason. We have al probably had occasion ta watch a motorist get' upset when, after'a bus bas moved inta 'his' lane, he accelerates inta, the lane vacated by the bus only tabe met head' on with a parked car, construction a'i'gn or other obstacle. If the bus doesn't want ta, be in that lane, you probably don't want ta, be there either. In addition ta watching the other nearby motoriste and cars, it i. also important ta keep an eye on the spaces bet;ween vehicles. On our road systein, a space is like a vacuum. It can only eit for an instant before something geta sucked inta it. I he ý bigger the space, the quicker another vehicle wiil move in ta MIl it. TIi fact, by watching the spaces and thinkIng about wbich vehicles are best positioned. ta move inta thein, you can anticipate what' many motorias are about ta, do, even before they know they're about ta do it. A bad driver dos't; pay attention ta bis or her surroundinge and blaines other drivers for not properly signafling their intentions. A not-so-bad driver sees the obvious. A. good driver, a.ka. a safe driver, knows that there are bad drivera and not-so-bad drivers on the road. and anticipates their actions. Don7t, let someone else involve you in, their, accident. Drive safely. iowIi as te Mta ZWDIJI1 DUU elMatz ai OWASCO VOLKSWAGEN 1425 Dundas St. East, Whitby Experience the OWASCO feeling. Proven te servey ou BEST since 19 72 AN '1 CARE" AND O.M. SERVICE AWARD VWNNER "IJetta: Best Tel: Ajax Pickering Toronto 683-3235 Economy car" Whtby Oshawa 668938 -Te LturusOFFERING CUSTOMER "Passat: Best CohsSATISFACTION Personal Choice"- TheVoksagflJetaTony Whitney, Co-host '91 JETTA was rated safer than the "Passat: Best tevrs et CCT '91 vw PASSAT 2 Dr. 5 Speed, Fuel lnected 100 HI.P. Engine or Diesel Mazda 626, Toyota Family Sedan" Power Steering, Air Conditioning, Tilt Wheel, etional, Power Steerung, Tift Wheel, AM/FM Cassette Corolla, Honda CIvlc, and - ied Laturnus, Ca-hast,- AM/FM Cassette, 4 Wheel Disc Brakes AND MORE. AD MUCH MORE. 48 x $250.00 + Taxes with $599.00 Ford Escort Drlver's Seat, CBC-TV 48 x $299.00 + Taxes with $2950.00 Down. Payment. Dowp Ppaymsnte FRT. PDI. Extra. Q.A.C. --Volkswatgen'Canada Inc. ,,. . FRT. PDI. Extra. O.A.C. kn