The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 20, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 -- Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Oakville Beaver THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award Neil Oliver Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The OakvilleBeaver is a division of David Harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution Sarah McSweeney Circ. Manager You can see it every day across Halton. Drivers cutting each other off. Others staring intently into their mobile device while the light turns green. A vehicle racing past doing 30 km/h over the posted speed limit. Accidents just waiting to happen... and as Halton police report, apparently happening at an alarming rate. Despite a 19 per cent increase in traffic enforcement activities by Halton police last year, traffic collisions rose by 10.1 per cent. Police said this included 3,138 collisions in Oakville, 2,967 in Burlington, 1,434 in Milton and 847 in Halton Hills. Nearly 6,000 of these accidents resulted in property damage while 1,174 resulted in injuries, and 15 resulted in death. "It's a little disturbing because most of these collisions are preventable," Halton Deputy Police Chief Bob Percy recently told The Oakville Beaver. "It's distracted driving, it's people being impatient, it's people running late who see everyone else on the road as nothing but an inconvenience to them. We've seen this increase and there's no one causal factor." In essence, there are far too many bad drivers traversing Halton's roads. Impaired driving is also an issue in Halton with impaired driving arrests during the first three months of 2012 already surpassing those made during the same period last year. But it's not all doom and gloom. Percy says surveys indicate local secondary school students are getting the message about drinking and driving, thanks in part to a proactive in-school antidrinking and driving awareness push by the police. The police have also launched various initiatives to combat speeding and distracted driving, operated seatbelt campaigns and conducted safety blitzes -- all efforts to improve drivers' habits on our roadways. But it comes down to the person behind the wheel to want to drive safer and show consideration for others on the road. Altering bad drivers' behaviour is something for which there seems to be no easy answer... until it's too late. Perhaps many drivers need to give themselves a little more time. Time to do the things that distract them while behind the wheel, before they leave. Time enough not to be late as they hit the road, and time to take a breath and remember to be safe, above all. Remember the old saying, better late than never. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Take your time Letter to the editor Reader supports Town's casino call Re: Oakville saying no to casinos, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, The Oakville Beaver I couldn't help but chuckle while I was reading this article on April 18. I fully support the decision made by the Town of Oakville to not have a casino located in Oakville. I also appreciate the fact that the Town is able to make this decision without interference from the provincial government. What struck me as humorous was the comment by our MPP Kevin Flynn who, when describing how the provincial government is allowing individual municipalities to make this decision, said, "Over the last eight years, the McGuinty government has made it a priority to restore the partnership between the province and the municipalities." I find this questionable when I look at what has happened with the so-called `Green' energy act in Ontario. This provincial government has completely stripped the ability of local municipalities to decide on the location and the installation of wind turbines throughout our province. I suggest Mr. Flynn look more closely at the policies of his government before making broad statements related to the relationship between provincial and municipal governments. Mike Watson, Oakville Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Thanks for the help for Kenya Thank you for helping us spread the word about Saturday's Because Kids Grow consignment sale at St. Cuthbert's Anglican Church Hall. We welcomed hundreds of families through our doors and sold more than 3,500 pieces of kids clothing, toys and accessories in one day. Best of all, we raised more than $2,000 to benefit Hands4Hope. This wonderful, kid-focused charity supports an orphanage in Kenya. The amount raised will help educate, house, feed and clothe 29 orphans for one month. To keep the momentum of the fundraising alive for Hands4Hope, we will be selling the handmade bracelets at Little Treasures Consignment Boutique at 2530 Sixth Line Unit 8A with all proceeds going directly to Hands4hope. Jamie Pinner and Megan Woods Becausekidsgrow.info By Steve Nease neasecartoons@gmail.com Pud