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6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,September 7, 2010 OPINION Share the road It's probably safe to assume that many motorists don't like having to ease their vehicles around cyclists while traversing the roads of Halton. Cyclists, as well, are probably not too enamored with the fact that autos will zip past at unnecessarily fast rates of speed coming just a little too close for comfort. Motorists travelling the backroads of the Region often have their patience tested when they come across a group of cyclists riding several abreast, blocking the driver's lane. Bike riders are rightly annoyed when a driver makes a turn in front of them when the cyclist has the right of way. The fact is, both drivers and cyclists have a right to use Halton roadways. However, the fact there have been six serious injury accidents involving vehicles and cyclists in Halton this year has prompted Halton Police to issue a reminder to both drivers and cyclists to obey the rules of the road. Police say speed, not sharing the roadway, not wearing a helmet and failing to obey the rules of the road were contributing factors in the six accidents-- one of which claimed the life of a Burlington cyclist in April. There are some simple steps cyclists can take to ensure a safe ride. · Wear a helmet and bright clothing · When riding in a group, ride in single file and close to the edge of the road as possible · Ride in the same direction as traffic · Be vigilant-- just because you see a vehicle doesn't mean the drivers sees you Drivers should remember that under the Highway Traffic Act, a bicycle is considered a vehicle. As such, cyclists have the same privileges that come along with that but also the same obligation to abide by the rules of the road. Drivers should: · Always signal your intention to turn (this goes for cyclists too) · Be patient and pass a cyclist only when it is safe to do so, keeping clear of the cyclist by at least three feet Mutual respect is the key to ensuring more tragedies don't occur on Halton's roads. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) WEB POLL RESULTS Nominations for the Oct. 25 municipal election close in about two weeks. How would you rate your interest in the local campaigns so far? · I have been very interested (41%) · My interest is lukewarm at best (27%) · What election? (32%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor Long-form census is a valuable tool Dear editor: Speaking as a person with a degree in statistics I can easily state how vital the census is and how useless a voluntary one would be. At the most basic level, the census helps all statistical organizations as it makes it possible to know if you have a representative sample of society or not when doing a survey. A voluntary one would not provide that ability as you would need a mandatory one to know if the voluntary one was accurate or not. See the problem? This would lead to all surveys becoming more and more inaccurate as the years go by. At first we'd be fairly close as we'd have data from 10 years ago to go on, but with the changes society always goes through we'd be seeing more and more inaccuracies appear. Not to mention how big an effect it would have in high growth areas such as Georgetown as our representatives get a weaker idea of who lives here and what their needs are. In the end, a voluntary census would A) cost more (long form going out to 65% more people, thus a need for government to hire more people to do data entry just in case then ending up having most sit on their hands as people choose to not fill it in) B) be less useful and C) still have mandatory elements thus not `solving' the privacy issue that is non-existent. Is it a pain? Yes. But nowhere near the pain taxes or obeying the law are, yet we deal with those as part of citizenship. The census is a very, very small requirement of citizenship every 10 years, with the long form being something you should get no more than twice in your lifetime. To throw that data away for the three people who actually complained to the privacy officer in the past 10 years is just silly. John Northey, President, Green Party EDA for Wellington-Halton Hills Georgetown allowed the Liberals to add the PST to gas, when British Columbia managed to negotiate a deal where the provincial taxes aren't added to the cost of gas. Just as surprisingly, where was the media when Ontarians were stuck with that gouge? Olaf Kaminski, Georgetown Soccer coach praised Dear editor, If you are even slightly involved in Georgetown soccer you know him. You often see him spending the night at Cedarvale watching games that have no relation to him. A coach is someone who dedicates their time to others to pass on their knowledge to their players. After having this man as my coach for the past six years, this is more than true. He has been someone that our players look to learn from. He has taken our team from the bottom to the top, probably not knowing the true impact he has on us. In my last year, I realize the amount of work he has put in. I have learned and grown from what he has taught. I am writing to say thank-you for the preparation for my future years of soccer and life. This gratitude is small compared to what you deserve. Kara Woolley, GU18 Mustangs Letters to the editor policy Letters must include an address and daytime telephone 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. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. MPP thanked... sort of Dear editor, Many thanks to WellingtonHalton Hills MPP Ted Arnott and his party for standing up to Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberals and forcing them to scrap the eco-fees as he was so happy to inform us of in the August 3 Independent. However, I wonder why his party 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.