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Page 4— Halton Hills This Week,’ Saturday, Décember'4, 1993 HIS WEEN ‘Georgetown, Ont. L7G 481 PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy OFFICE MANAGER: Jean Shewell Opinion 22 PHONE: 873-22! trucking To the Editor: I am an outraged and concerned wife of a frus- trated and discouraged truck driver. I am sure the following letter will grab the attention of many more mutoally. ee drivers and their I feel Eas’ $s society is too wrapped up in their own material world; people just simply forget to be courteous, and to respect the fellow human beings. The latter statement is especially true out on the highways. Every day, when my husband fires up his big engine and goes back out on the roads, it seems his job is getting harder. He is tired of fac- ing the ignorance of the car drivers. If there is an 80,000 pound tractor trailer dri- ving down the road, one can be certain a car will “cut off” the big rig, think- ing this vehicle is slow ene has many more brakes thi they have. The reality. te a yas it may. be-slo or even behind those | 18 wheels and therefore its braking distance is much, much longer. Another typical ignorant ‘move a truck driver has to sdeal with happens when ‘the trucker proceeds to attempt a famous right hand turn. Most people do not realize that these long vehicles make wide right hand turns, sometimes requiring two. lanes to complete a safe turn. There is always the car driver who completely ignores the right-hand signal and just pulls up to the right of the truck-and then they wonder why they have been jammed underneath a big trailer. The next big complaint experienced by our profes- sional drivers is the fact that “four wheelers” on the freeway seem to forget to pay attention to the signals | of the tractor trailers, indi- cating a lane change. It never fails for the car to pull up beside or in front of the tractor trailer, even though the driver of the enormous power unit is desperate to make a lane change. The final annoying move a trucker has to deal with is the problem of cars follow- ing him/her too closely. The car driver does not seem to acknowledge the possibility that a trailer tire could explode and hit the car, causing an accident. A car driver knows he/she is not following too closely when they can see the left side view mirror of the street tractor. Remember, A plug for the industry as soon as the car driver loses sight of the mirror, the trucker also loses sight of the car. I strongly believe that the public has to be educat- ed about who is bringing all the essential commodi- ties of their lives to the shopping malls, grocery stores, repair shops, hospi- tals, etc. If the trucking industry would collapse overnight, one would won- der the next morning how the quality of their life would be affected. It would be in a matter of weeks that our society would be out of jobs and starving, because everything would be on hold since there is nothing moving. The peo- ple who are fascinated to control the power of these enormous engines are actu- ally the most important link to the general popula- tion’s survival. Our truck drivers also play a major role in main- taining the highways in good condition, since they and. are ing quite: a large more onus but MACE 3 I-suggest that everyone Start to show respect and courtesy towards these huge power machines and their “pilots”. I used to be an. offensive driver until I met my husband, - who taught me how to be patient and defensive. I have escorted by husband on some of his trips and even though I used to drive various farm equipment, I am amazed at how much knowledge and talent it takes to operate these trac- tor trailers. I can honestly say I have learned to respect the truck driver, their career and their machines. It is very satisfy- ing to receive a smile, a wink or flashing lights from a thankful operator, because you gave him/her enough room to turn or to make a lane change! I am hoping to reach some people, and at least make them think about who these truck drivers are. They are business executives with their offices in the truck cab. They like wearing cowboy boots and blue jeans, and enjoy listening to country music. They love to talk about their spouses and children, enjoying a home- made meal and to getting a good night of sleep. But most of all they would like to return home safely, without any accidents and subsequent deaths! I am very proud of my husband’s career and the trucking industry! Theresa Hopf. Rockwood EDITOR: Colin Gibson CIRCULATION MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. “AX:873-3918 The People’s Corner The People’s Forum What is your Christmas wish? Deb Fram, Acton : “I Nancy Garber, Norval : “I would like to see my chil- would like to see world dren have a wonderful peace and happiness for Christmas.” everyone.” Greg LaPlante, Georgetown : “I wish every- one a safe and merry Christmas.” christ Walter Meyer, Georgetown : “I wish that my wife, our nine children and eight grandchildren, ae a aay oe ve the best Christmas ever.” Seniors Association grateful to Globe Productions To the Editor: was a double pleasure real- May T-use your columns ly, since the donation was to express the gratitude of made on the occasion of the the Georgetown and District Globe's opening night of Seniors Association to Me and My Girl, a most Globe Productions for the enjoyable show and so well generous donation to our done. building fund recently. It Also, we extend our thanks to Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. and Marilyn Champ in par- ticular, for very thoughtfully and generously providing tickets and transportation for a number of less able seniors. Thank you all for this car- ing gesture. Les Mellish President Georgetown and District Seniors Association na ri acne Ri ae Human Rights Day re By Geraldine Barnes General Assembly. Special to HHT W Each year since then, Dec. 10 has been recognized as the day to renew commit- ments to the protction and promotion of the basic human Tights named in the 30 articles. To this end, International Human Rights Day has been proclaimed by. Halton Hills Town Council as requested by Amnesty International, Halton Hills.Group 196 = In addition to seeking the release of prisoners of con- science, the. Georgetown chapter. Amnesty International: is also-con- The universal declaration of human rights was signed Dec. 10, 1948 by members of the United Nations iat cognized this Friday cerned with the numbers of political killings and “disap- pearances” which have increased in numbers and intensity since 1971. These have been described as “mur- der by governments” by * Amnesty International. Our local group is united with similar chapters world- wide, in a campaign to stop these “disappearances” as reported in 20 countries. Some 1,270 individuals were unaccounted for in 1992 alone. Many people who read these grim statistics feel.sad- dened, frustrated and help- less, but the DN of the pen is still mi; Members of the Georgetown Amnesty International group will have a display table in the mall (from 3-to-9 p.m.) at Georgetown Marketplace, Here you will have an oppor- tunity to find out more about the group’s mandate, read the literature and sign a peti- tion sheet requesting a stop to these killings, disappear- ances and other violations of human dignity. We. look forward to seeing you-this Friday. lunderstand dad has one, but Santas not so sure he can give you a BOB RAE dartboard, Molly that your