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Wednesdsay March 15, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A3 Halton Police target aggressive drivers New era o f radar means m otorists can't beat speeding charges By How ard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Faced w ith the increasingly tragic toll from aggressive driving, H alton R egional P olice are now exerting both the will and the technology to m ake local streets safer. A ccording to C h ief Ean A lgar, the rising frequency o f fatal collisions, personal injuries and property dam age plus an increasing num ber o f other traffic related com plaints - have resulted in police launching a new cam paign targeting specific areas o f the region. "It's unacceptable the losses w e 're suffering," said Algar. "W e're going to the public to say 'P le a se drive care fully.' " In addition to conventional radar, six L ID A R (Light D etection and Ranging) units will be em ployed in a bid to nab speeders. In addition, says A lgar, everything from seat belt infractions to aggressive driving and unsafe lane changes will be enforced. "D rivers found com m itting these infractions will pay in fines and dem erit points," says Algar. "T he m otorists dri ving in this com m unity need to know that the officers are out there to m ake the highw ays in this region safe." A fter all, the ch ief continued, 1999 was a record year w ith 25 fatalities in H alton and this year show s no sign of slow ing dow n: so far in 2000 seven people have died on H alton roads. The num ber o f personal injuries is also up, as are traffic com plaints such as those for the running o f stop signs and cutting drivers off. "We w ant our public to slow down with or w ithout the issuing o f tickets," said Algar, who explained that higher speeds m ean w orse accidents and higher injuries. U nlike radar - w hich reflects radio frequencies to gauge speed - L ID A R em ploys light pulses to zero in on vehicles w ith uncanny exactness even in m ulti-lane traffic. "It is exceptionally accurate," said Algar. On Tuesday, Const. A lan Stennett, o f the Regional Traffic U nit, dem onstrated L ID A R on the shoulder o f B ronte R oad outside police headquarters. L ooking through the viewer, an officer sees a single red dot on the vehicle, or string o f vehicles, in question then pulls the trig g er to get a speed reading. "This is w hat m akes this technology unique," said Stennett, w ho also show cased the hand-held, "ultra lyte" v ersio n o f L ID A R . (T h e u n its are m ad e by L ase r T echnology Incorporated o f E dm onton. H alton radar are likew ise m ade in C anada.) Even if L ID A R has a driv er dead to rights, A lg ar says that discretion w ill rem ain w ith individual officers. E ven so, he said H alton police w ill act appropriately for the sake o f all m otorists. "T here w o n 't be m uch tolerance here,*' said Algar. To prove that the cam paign is designed to slow drivers dow n and not necessarily to issue tickets, the c h ie f said advance w arning w ill be given regarding som e o f the planned L ID A R and radar sites. In O akville, the T raffic U nit will be on U pper M iddle R oad this Friday and on T rafalgar R oad next Tuesday. S tennett explained that L ID A R is a m ulti-purpose tool that could be used for accident reconstruction and even finding hidden com partm ents for sm uggling in trucks. "The motorists driving in this community need to know that the officers are out there to m ake the highways in this region safe." -Halton Regional Police Services Chief Ean Algar Increased business means more injuries on Glen Eden slopes By Lisa C a rtw rig h t SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER ENNISCLARE INTERIORS A T r a d i t i o n of E l e g a n c e A rise in a c c id e n ts at G len E d en Ski A re a is a ttrib u ted to an in c re a se in th e n u m b e r o f sk ie rs an d snow b o ard ers u sin g the site, sa y s a C o n s e rv a tio n H alto n o ffi cial. "T h ere is a slig h t in c re a se b ec au se th e re are m ore sk ie rs," said B ob B u rc h e tt, d ire c to r o f co n se rv a tio n lan d se rv ic es fo r C o n s e rv a tio n H alto n . L ast year, G len E den h ad a re c o rd -b re a k in g y e a r w ith m ore th an 139,000 sk ie rs an d sn o w b o a rd e rs u sin g the h ills. It has a lre ad y su rp a sse d th a t n u m b e r th is year. B u rch e tt said th e fig u re is c a lc u la te d by th e n u m b e r o f lift tic k ets so ld , and by e s tim a tin g th a t ea ch s e a s o n 's pass h o ld e r uses the fa c ility 15 tim es. G len E d e n 's P ro P atro l, p aid ski p a tro lle rs w ho are resp o n sib le fo r e n s u rin g th e sa fe ty o f e v e ry o n e on the h ill, m a n u ally re c o rd s ea c h a c c id e n t th a t o cc u rs, he said. W ithin a co u p le o f w ee k s, ev ery in ju re d p erso n receiv es a fo llo w -u p c a ll fro m G len E d en to fin d out how they are d o in g . In m o st c a se s, the a c c id e n t w a sn 't as se v ere as first reported. O nly ra re ly is it w o rse, B u rc h e tt said. A t th e en d o f th e se aso n , th e re p o rts are e n te re d in to the co m p u te r an d the n u m b e rs a re c a lc u la te d . In 1998, 389 in ju rie s w ere re p o rte d at th e ski h ill. In term s o f sev erity , G len E d en h ad a 2 .6 ratin g . B u rch e tt said m o st ski are a s u se a ratin g sy stem to record th e se v erity o f a c c id e n ts. U sin g th e sy stem , one sig n ifies in ju rie s th a t a r e n 't very se rio u s (su ch as sprained an k les), and five m e an s se rio u s in ju rie s such as in te rn a l b le e d in g , u n c o n s c io u s n e s s an d tro u b le b reath in g . B u rch e tt said th e ty p e s o f a c c id e n ts re p o rte d at the hill have ch an g ed . As m o re p e o p le h av e p ic k e d up sn o w b o a rd in g , m ore w rist an d elb o w in ju rie s h av e o cc u rre d . "I t's the w ay th ey sta n d on th e ir b o a rd s -- w rists and elb o w s are m o re a t ris k ," he said . M o st in ju rie s are p re v e n ta b le if p eo p le w ea r the p ro p er eq u ip m en t and re c e iv e p ro p e r tra in in g , he said. B ut th e ski are a also h as a re sp o n sib ility to p ro tec t the p eo p le w ho u se the hill. E v ery day, th e p a tro lle rs te st the ru n s to en su re good skiing an d sn o w b o a rd in g c o n d itio n s, sa id B u rch e tt. T hey also ch e c k to m ak e sure the g ro o m in g eq u ip m en t isn 't in the w ay an d the lig h tin g is effe c tiv e . T hey also h av e the au th o rity to sh u t the slo p e s dow n if th e y 're d ee m e d u n safe. O nce the se aso n is over, G len E d en re v ie w s its h ills as w ell as its h a lf p ip e to en su re safety, B u rc h e tt said. "N o sp o rt is h a z a rd -fre e . W h en it in v o lv e s sk iin g dow n the sid es o f m o u n ta in s, th ere are h a z ard s th a t go w ith it. A nd, th e fa ste r y o u go, th e m o re h a z a rd s there are ." Winter Sale C O N TIN U ES From sofas to suites... you get unsurpassed selection, service and quality. STORE WIDE i .Jtece 4et. Round 44" table (extends to 60" with one leaf), . i shown with 4 wrought iron side chairs. I Reg. price, $2245. 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