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6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Tuesday, April 17, 2012 OPINION Losing battle? You can see it every day across Halton. Drivers cutting each other off. Others staring intently into their mobile device while the light turns green. A vehicle racing past doing 30 km-h over the posted speed limit. Accidents just waiting to happen... and as Halton Police report, apparently happening at an alarming rate. Despite a 19 per cent increase in traffic enforcement activities by Halton Police last year, traffic collisions rose by 10.1 per cent. Police said this included 3,138 collisions in Oakville, 2,967 in Burlington, 1,434 in Milton and 847 in Halton Hills. Nearly 6,000 of these accidents resulted in property damage while 1,174 resulted in injuries, and 15 resulted in death. "It's a little disturbing because most of these collisions are preventable," said Halton Deputy Police Chief Bob Percy. "It's distracted driving, it's people being impatient, it's people running late who see everyone else on the road as nothing but an inconvenience to them. We've seen this increase and there's no one causal factor." In essence, there are far too many bad drivers traversing Halton's roads. Impaired driving is also an issue in Halton with impaired driving arrests during the first three months of 2012 already surpassing those made during the same period last year. But it's not all doom and gloom. Percy says surveys indicate local secondary school students are getting the message about drinking and driving thanks in part to a proactive in-school anti-drinking and driving awareness push by the police. The police have also launched various initiatives to combat speeding and distracted driving, operated seat-belt campaigns and conducted safety blitzes-- all efforts to improve drivers' habits on our roadways. But it comes down to the person behind the wheel to want to drive safer and show consideration for others on the road. Altering the behaviour of bad drivers is something for which there seems to be no easy answer... until it's too late. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Steve Nease Letters to the editor Litter proliferation should be stopped Dear editor, There are two issues that I believe need to be dealt with and nipped in the bud before they get worse. 1) The dumping of garbage along our roads 2) The plastering of posters on every pole and site available Having travelled through most cities in the U.S. I have witnessed firsthand how both of the above issues contribute to the demise of an area. The dumping of garbage is moving closer to town, especially along River Drive and Mayfield Road as the houses are starting to go up on Wanless. People were dumping along Wanless however the area is too active so they are starting to dump along River Drive. Only one solution will work. The fine for dumping needs to be so uncomfortable for the individual that it will be a true deterrent. I am not talking about throwing a Tim Horton's cup out the window; that will change with education. The dumping is being done by people doing cleanup for charge and then spreading it all along the rural roads rather than pay at the transfer station or landfill. The second issue also has a simple solution. And again I am not referring to "Yard Sale" signs or Open House stuff. The thousand "Clean Your Ducts" or "Wall Mount TV "or "Carpet Installation" being stuck on every possible and accessible area are the ones that need to be curbed. Someone needs to call the number on the flyer; explain that their flyer is now graffiti and charge them for cleaning it off the pole etc..... You put the onus on the merchandiser to ensure that he only uses reputable distributors of the flyers. People do not go and pick up someone's flyers and paste them up for fun. They are paid to do it and the only way to stop it is to make it expensive to the person advertising. Some may say that the issue is not that bad however you will see it grow exponentially and even see people fighting over space and "Who covered my flyer over?" situations. John R McLellan, Georgetown Dear editor, Georgetown has suffered a lot of loss lately. One of which was my mother-in-law, Eileen Creary. Nine weeks ago we found out she had cancer, unfortunately it was too late. She moved in with us so we could care for her on this journey. She passed away here at home very peacefully on March 11th, two days before her 67th birthday. Many thanks to: CCAC, and Credit Valley, Cancer Assistance Services of Halton (CAShh); Jericho (RN); J.S. Jones'; Clay and Nancy, for taking Eileen to her appointments. Matt and Lauren, Tom and Eva, Derek and Vicky, Pete and Sarah, and Gabby, our friends kept us standing when we were ready to fall. We have all suffered individual loss lately, alone we may crumble but together we are strong. Reach out, whether it's friends family or organizations. If you have cancer or know someone with cancer contact CASHH, they will help you. Katie Downes on behalf of James Creary, Hayden & Emmet Georgetown Reach out to CAShh if in need WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) The 2011 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey shows high-energy caffeine drinks are the second-most used drug by young people. Should these drinks be regulated by the Province? · Yes (74%) · No (26%) The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.