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

Winter driving demands caution re you a skilled winter driver? During the recent freezing rain storm I had the opportunity to respond with lights and siren to several car accidents. As I was driving 30 km/h and being tail-gated by a four-wheel drive pick-up truck I began to question the driver's winter driving skills and my personal safety while driving in front of him. · Do you drive with your headlights on during the winter days, as the sun is typically lower in the sky, or is your presence on the road obscured by falling, blowing, drifting snow or freezing rain? · Do you keep your gas tank at least half full just in case you become stranded on the side of the road? · Do you have a flashlight, flares, extra fuses, blanket, booster cables, shovel, scraper or brush in your trunk? · Do you clear your car's body and windows of snow and ice before you start to drive? Or do you hope the defroster does the job by the time you hit Hwy. 401? · Do you drive below the speed limit and leave extra space? Speed limits are designed for the moderate traffic flow of personal vehicles on clear and dry roads. When you get into an accident due to slippery or snowy road conditions, you may be charged with careless driving! Does this sound extreme? If you were driving with "due care and attention" and with "reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway" why couldn't you come to a safe stop? Contact me personally for crime prevention tips, or police information with regards to your community concerns through 905-878-5511 extension 2470, or by e-mailing chris.borak@hrps.on.ca. Please reserve the 911 system for emergency calls only. --Const. Chris Borak is the community support officer for District 1