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Page 20, Whitby Free Press, Weclnesday, Novemnber 17.,1993 Auto Office: A 'peerfectfit or no fit at ai By GlenKonorowski Today's fast-paced business environment bas led many people eut of the office into the car. Unfortunately, a car cannot be easily converted te an office. Over the past few menthe, I have been testing products that just might help those who do much of their work from the car. One such product is called the 'Auto Office.' Made by Rubbermaid, the Auto Office is a two-cempart- ment seat desk that fits inte place in the passenger seat and is held in place by the seatbeit. '94 Fords FROM r-.-iE18 side of Ford. The Mustang aise gets a terri- fic new interior fer this year -- a real departure from the rather plain and functional interior of old. Trucks and vans: Most of the chan ges for these vehicles camne over the past few years. The Ranger wili now come with a new extended cab, 'Splash' (step aide model). The improvement te this good-looking truck shouid add te its appeal. The F150 gets a -unique 40/ 20/40 bench seat. Almost like a emali bucket set in the middle, it can be foided down into an am- reet. It allows you to holdL pencils, paper, clips, sinali books, calcula- tors and whatever else you need te work in your car. The Auto Office I have bas the removable file bin (with carrying handie) that adds an extra comn- Sartment te the unit. The bin oids 25 han *ng file folders (standard size) which can be easily removed from the unit for rofiling in the office. On top of the Auto Office is a writing surface made up of a swivelmng, reniovable ciipboard. The other part of.the writing; surface is a convenient pen andi pencil storge bin. To remove the Auto Office, take off the seatbelt and lift it eut with the attached strap. Clips hold ail items within the compartments. Looking over the construction of the Auto Office, I found it te, be of good quality plastic. During Following too closely? four nionths of testing, it bas held up weil, being moved in and eut of cars and bumped around in my garage. Depending on the seat place- ment of your vehicle, writing on the Auto Office can be either a perfect fit or ne fit at aIl. The contoured shape of the seats in my long-term Chevy S-10 Blazer mnade writing cumbersome, since sliding over wasn't that easy. On the other hand the unit fits perfect in the Olds 98. It seems that vehicies with wide consoles or, in the case of the Blazer, contoured seats, the Auto Off»ice was iess suited for writing. Even though I don't do a lot of business in a car, I like the features the Auto Office had te offer. Its size and shape miade it easy te use and stow away when net in use. Price for the Auto Office and the accompanying Miing bin is $137.95. 1994 PLYMOUT H SUNDAýNlCE $1 ,250 REBATE or 3.9% FINANCING No Froduct Failure Claims ln Over 1 Million Applications Unlîke euls, tars & waxes, Rust Check creeps into seams and crevices where catastrophic rust bogins and dispels moisturo. Ask about our Exclusive Guaranteed -(-PROVE- EF-E-T-V-S Forever Warranty on new..andiFROE gualîfied used ehicles. OROE SApplied in any season, while you watch. %'--- ---- T s O S 1 ourW - e u eac MoMillan & Wife IF IT MIN'T RUST CHECKEM IT AIN'T1 eI SP A ALa*A AT$.9 WIHITBY 200 Dundas St. W. (1 Block West of Brock) Calforan aponrn open saturdays 8-5pm RUST <m CHECKU Mn03 DUNDAS ST. 92 'iii AN AMBULANCE worker tends to an There were tive such accident displays, injured woman and her child at the Dur- each using vehicles which had been invol- ham Reginal Police Accident Awareness Yed in real accidents, some of them Show held last weekend in Pickering. involving fatalities. Photo by Mark Reesor4 Whltby Free Press DRI VINra ,SAFELY with RANDY RANDY McLEAN IS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO SPECIALIZES IN TRAFFIC SAFETY. Mr. McLean has reviewed thousands af individual motor vehicle accident reports and his close working relationships with police agencies, govemrments, safely aRsodations, industry and the public, have given him a Irue overview of traffic safety issues, problemns and solutions in Canada. Durham polie 'show' the way Conratulations te Chief Trevor McCagherty and the Durham Regionai Police for their ou1tstanding effort in organiZing the Accident Awareness Show held Nov, il te 14 at the Metro East Trade cjentre. The show was certainly the most interesting safety pootion event rve attended. And, judging froni the reaction of other adults, youth and children, it was one of the most effective. There was something for everyone, including displays of car accidents and forensic engineering, bicycle safety, demonstraios of the jaws of life and tours of real firetrucks, ambulances and police cars for the kids. One of the reasons for the show's success is that it treated the public as intelligent huinan beings. Ncbody preached about what drivers must do or, must net do. Instead, it simply and clearly highlighted the consequences of automobile accidents. The choice of whether te drive safely or net was left te you, as it is ini real life. The exhibits included the wreckage of severai cars tewed from reai accident scenes, broken glass, twisted metal and ail. No blood, no guts, those were better left te the imagination. The message aeemed te bit home with a agea. Pepeget hurt in accident&. You could teil by teloso eopW i e as whlle staring at the mangied wes-da they had a new snse of reality of what an auto collision really means. Another reason for the ehow's success was the co-operation of other police forcqs, fire departments and ambulance services, as well as safety organizations, such as the On.n Safety League, Head Injury Foundation of Cazda and the CAA, and the business community, i cluding Canerai Motors, BMW Canada, 'orensic Engineering Ltd., the Insurance Bau of Canada and Royal Insurance. Provincial insr of T1ransportation and Region of ý>urham transportation staff aIso participated. The OPP brought aiong the «Convipcer,' a ride that simulates the impact of a colli Ïon by ailowing a 'driver' seated (with a seatbel$ on) te slide down an incline and be abruptly stl ~ed at the bottoni by a rubber bumper. The impact speed is only 12 Idiometres/hour. Promn the look on even the most macho of faces, you ntight have guessed it was 50 ilometres/hour. While there are mnyteclinical reasons for the show's success, and they did just about everything right, the reai reason is the commitnient and dedication of police officers such as Bob Annan, Dennis Glazier, Jim Stevenson, John Girelas and Jean Hlindit and the leadership of Chef McCagherty and Inspector Tony Turner of Durhamn Regionai Police. Having helped organize similar (but nowhere near as successful) shows myseif, I know that these offiers spent a great deal of their personal off-duty time making arrangements for exhibitors, coenmunity groupe and echois, media and se on. Why? Purely and simply te heip reduce accidenta. Keep in mind there is ne extra pay, no year-end bonus, ne sales commission and often no thanks for arranging this show. At a time when other professions are complaining about cutbacks and threatening or actually reducing services, the efforts of the Durhama Regional Police are te bo applauded. I can just imagine Chief MicCagherty's reaction when the idea was fi rat propoeed.. Se you want te, use 42,000 foot/square of exhibit space for a four-day accident awareness show, the firut of its kind in Canada, with ne budget. 'Sure, iees do it. What the heck!' Weil chief, what a show. I hope other police forces and cominunities in Ontario and Canada follow Durham's lead. Fm already looking forward te next yea9. show. Drive fely. 1' 1 1