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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2009 8 16 Mill Street East, Acton ON L7J 1G9 Tel: (519)853-9555 Fax:(519)853-9555 Email: actonbia@aztec-net.com Web: www.dowtownacton.ca DOWNTOWN ACTON Please Drive Safe ?????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???????????????? ?????? ??????? Please Drive Safely! Our children are precious. Actons best selection of Wines from Around the World 113 Mill St. E., Acton, Ontario L7J 1H7 519-929-9137 12 Main Street, North Acton School is back. Look out for children! ?????? ????? ???????????????????????????? ??????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????? ???????? ??????????????????????????? ????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????? Ron Henry BARRISTER & SOLICITOR 67 Mill Street East, Acton 853-1160 & 27 Cork St. Guelph Drive safe Serving the Community for over 30 Years FREE JOB TRAINING We are hiring school bus drivers. CALL TODAY! Never pass a school bus that is loading or unloading passengers. 379 Queen St. E. Acton ON L7J 2N2 519-853-1550 DRIV E SAF E Defensive driving helps secure childrens safety Its almost back to school time and roads will be busy again with school buses, a higher volume of chil- dren walking on the road and parents picking up and dropping off in school zones. Drivers need to be cau- tious and take extra care on the road. They can affect pedestrian safety by how they act and react behind the wheel. Each year in Canada more than 4,000 children are hit by motor vehicles while playing outdoors or walking to school, to friends homes, to sports activities or to a neigh- bourhood shop. Younger children especially often lack the skills to make safe decisions. In Canada, children ages fi ve to nine years old remain at high risk for pedestrian injury. Drivers can predict and prevent these collisions by driving defensively, said Young Drivers of Canada President. Drivers should be aware of conditions and take precautions and take pre- cautions such as: Being aware of school zone signage. Reducing speed in school zones. Waiting for children to complete their crossing before proceeding (they often change their minds). Stopping at least 20 meters behind a school bus when the upper red lights begin to fl ash and wait until the fl ashing stops. Motorists travelling in both directions must stop for a school bus except if the road is divided by a median. Being prepared!: School buses stop at all railway crossings and are required to open their door, but are not required to use the up- Continued on Page 9 Late summer or fall may bring cooler temperatures, but will never stop kids from playing outdoors, whether it is riding bikes, jumping in the leaves or tossing a ball. These early evening hours are a dangerous time for children. Nearly half of traffi c-related child pedes- trian deaths occurred after school from 4pm to 6pm in 2001, according to a sur- vey. These statistics are at- tributed to the fact that kids cant always judge speed, space and distance. Such capacities are beyond their control these senses dont develop fully until age 10. Thats why children under 10-years-old should never cross the street by them- selves. Make it a point to teach kids the rules of the road. Teach them how to obey traffic signals. Tell them to stop and cross the street at corners and crosswalks, and not to enter the street from between parked cars or from behind bushes or shrubs. Tell children to look in both directions twice before crossing the street. They should make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street just be- cause they can see a driver doesnt mean he/she can see them. Prohibit play in drive- ways, streets, parking lots and unfenced yards adjacent to streets. A high number of children from birth to age 2 suffer non-traffi c-related pedestrian injuries in place like driveways, parking lots and sidewalks. Teaching your children these tips can help reduce unnecessary accidents and keep them doing what kids love to do playing out- side. Early evening most dangerous Halton Regional Po- lice will be undertaking a high enforcement, edu- cational traffic initiative to commence in Acton, Georgetown and Milton on Tuesday, Sept 1 and Oak- ville and Burlington on Tuesday Sept 8. Safe Start will conclude on Septem- ber 18. Safe Start, which began in 2006, will again be undertaken to remind the driving public of the need to be courteous to other drivers and to children, par- ticularly at this time when they make their way back to school, police said. The project will be a regional response utiliz- ing the District Response Enforcement Units and District Patrol officers to maximize the effect of the project by ensuring that every available officer is focusing attention on this initiative. Offi cers will be focusing on the five Ss: Speed- ing, Seatbelts, Stop signs, School zones, and School buses. The project is an ongoing initiative that will be main- tained year round, Halton Police said. The project is dubbed Safe Start since it is being kicked off as children return to school. Future initiatives will ensure that focus is main- tained throughout the year. Police said Safe Start is designed to encourage the community to comply with the Provinces legislated driving laws and ensure a safer driving and pedestrian environment. Project Safe Start kicks off as kids go back to school