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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, December 29, 2011 · 20 Your Halton Connection Jan. 2012 www.halton.ca Remember to Drive SAFE this winter by Regional Chair Gary Carr With the winter weather here, it's important that we work together to ensure safe driving this winter season. Safe driving starts before we get behind the wheel, through proper vehicle maintenance. It is also very important to plan ahead for a ride home if you or your guests may be unable to drive. Working together, we can all ensure we have a safe winter on Halton's roads. Halton's Drive SAFE website has winter driving tips at www.halton.ca/winterdriving to remind you of how to stay safe on our roads this winter. Since winter driving can be especially challenging, it's imperative that your full attention is on the road and both hands are on the wheel. We need to make sure that our Blackberries, iPhones, cell phones and all our other gadgets are put away during the drive so we can focus on the road ahead. Red Light Cameras Help Save Lives Red Light Camera Locations For more information on red light cameras, dial 311 or visit www.halton.ca/stoponred Working together to stop impaired driving Halton has been named the safest regional municipality in Canada for the fourth year in a row. This is partially due to the great work of our police officers, but also due in large part to the vested interest residents have in ensuring one another's well-being. As part of Halton Region's ongoing partnership with the Halton Regional Police Service, Halton has the Safe Roads... Your Call program to educate motorists about the dangers of drinking and driving. This program encourages motorists to help police by calling 9-1-1 immediately when they witness a suspected impaired driver on Halton roads. Once 9-1-1 operators receive a call from the public through the Safe Roads...Your Call program, it is assigned high priority and all available police resources are used to locate the suspected vehicle. Motorists reporting a suspected impaired driver in progress should have a description of the vehicle, the nearest intersection where the suspect was witnessed and direction the vehicle was headed, and if possible, a license plate number. Standing up to Aggressive Driving Have you ever seen a driver who seems to be breaking all the rules and wondered what you could do about it? You can report it! If you see a driver demonstrating unsafe driving behaviour, you can submit a Citizen Report Form through the Halton Community Road Watch program. The police will send an information letter to the registered vehicle owner explaining that their vehicle was observed being operated in an unsafe manner at a specific time and location and asks them to drive safely. For more information, visit www.haltonroadwatch.ca. Slowing Down We want to make sure that Halton continues to be the safest Regional municipality in Canada and we've recently introduced some new Vehicle Activated Traffic Calming Signs in our community to remind drivers to slow down. These electronic road side signs stay blank until an approaching vehicle exceeds the speed threshold to trigger the sensor. The sign then lights up for three to four seconds with the speed the vehicle is travelling and the message to "SLOW DOWN." These signs have been positioned at strategic, rotating locations across Halton to increase driver awareness of speeding. They are a useful tool that grabs the attention of speeding drivers with a reminder to slow down, improving the safety of our roads for everyone. To find out more about road safety within Halton, dial 311 or visit www.halton.ca/drivesafe. Driving sober and following the rules of the road are things everyone can do all year round. Working together, we can help keep our roads safe and make sure Halton stays a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. We want everyone to stay safe on our roads, so only report what you can safely observe. Impaired driving is a crime in progress and as extra eyes on Halton roadways, residents play an instrumental role in enhancing road safety and assisting police in their efforts to stop impaired driving on our roads. Halton Region Meeting Schedule Jan. 10 Jan. 11, 9:30 a.m. Jan. 11, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 18, 9:30 a.m. Jan. 31, 9:30 a.m. www.halton.ca Preparing for winter driving The three key elements of safe winter driving are to stay alert, slow down, and stay in control. Always drive according to weather conditions, and be sure to keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to avoid situations where you may have to brake suddenly on a slippery surface.