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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 with 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 ie f E an 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 co m 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. "The m otorists d ri 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 Halton and this year show s no sign of slow ing dow n: so far in 2000 seven people have died on H alton roads. T he 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 dow n with or w ithout the issuing o f tickets," said Algar, w ho 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 with 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 Bronte Road 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 trigger to get a speed reading. "T his 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 Technology Incorporated o f E dm onton. H alton radar are likew ise m ade in C anada.) E ven if L ID A R has a driv er dead to rights, A lgar says that discretion w ill rem ain w ith individual officers. Even 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 ch ief said advance w arning w ill be given reg ard in g som e o f the planned L ID A R and radar sites. In O akville, the Traffic U nit will be on U pper M iddle R oad this F riday and on T rafalgar R oad next Tuesday. Stennett 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." -Hatton Regional Police Services Chief Ean Algar Increased business means more injuries on Glen Eden slopes By L isa 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 S ki A re a is a ttrib uted to an in c re a se in the n u m b e r o f sk ie rs an d snow b o ard e rs u sin g th e 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 e c a u se th ere are m ore sk ie rs," sa id B ob B u rc h e tt, d ire c to r o f co n se rv a tio n land se rv ic es fo r C o n s e rv a tio n H alto n . L ast year, G len E d en h ad a re c o rd -b re a k in g y ea 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 hills. It has alre 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 the fig u re is c a lc u la te d by the n u m b e r o f lift tic k ets so ld , an d by e stim a tin g th a t ea ch s e a s o n 's pass h o ld e r uses th e 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 fety o f ev 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 eek s, ev e ry in ju re d p erso n receiv es a fo llo w -u p call fro m G len E d en to fin d out how they are d o in g . In m o st ca se s, th e a c c id e n t w a s n 't as se v ere as first rep o rted . O nly ra re ly is it w o rse, B u rc h e tt said. A t the en d o f the se a so n , the re p o rts are e n te re d into the co m p u te r an d th e n u m b e rs are 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 hill. In term s o f sev erity , G len E d en had a 2 .6 ratin g . B u rch e tt said m o st ski are as use a ra tin g sy stem to reco rd the se v erity o f a c c id e n ts. U sin g the sy stem , one sig n ifie s in ju rie s th a t a r e n 't very se rio u s (su ch as sp rain ed a n k les), an d fiv e 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 a n d tro u b le b reath in g . B u rch e tt said the ty p e s o f a c c id e n ts re p o rte d at the hill h av e ch a n g ed . A s m o re p eo p le have p ic k e d u p 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 at ris k ," he said. M o st in ju rie s are p re v e n ta b le if p e o p le w ea r the p ro p er e q u ip m e n t an d re c e iv e p ro p e r tra in in g , he said. B ut th e ski a re a also h as a re sp o n sib ility to p ro te c t the p eo p le w ho use th e hill. E v ery d ay, the p a tro lle rs te st th e ru n s to e n su re good skiing and sn o w b o a rd in g co n d itio n s, sa id B u rch ett. They also c h e c k to m ak e su re th e g ro o m in g e q u ip m e n t isn 't in the w ay and th e lig h tin g is effe c tiv e . T hey also h av e the au th o rity to sh u t th e slo p e s dow n if th e y 're d ee m e d u nsafe. 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 e n 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 e n it in v o lv e s sk iin g dow n the sid e s o f m o u n ta in s, th e re are h a z a rd s th a t go w ith it. A nd, the fa ste r y ou go, the m ore 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. a STORE WIDE I S-'piece set. Round 44" feble (extends to 60" with one leaf), i shown with 4 w rought iron side chairs. I Reg. price, $2245. Sale s ^ c jq q ie c e s e k ta b je w ith ) 1 a rm 1] i A v a i l ir f 0 | | 7-p iece sfetruval tab le 4 4 * 60" (extends ' to 78" with one leaf), shown with 4 side & 2 arm chairs. Reg. price, $3423. I Sale $ 2 4 2 9 J e ^ G jR a lfs f^ n d C har?' R e g . S a le p r ic e , S 2 9 2 5 S 2 0 6 9 The p e rfe ct g ift th a t's alw ays w elcom e ENNISCLARE INTERIORS 1075 NORTH SER VIC E RD. W EST, OAKVILLE. Tel: (905) 8 2 5 -2 4 5 0 STORE HOURS: Mon., Tues., Wed. & S at.10:00 am to 5:30 pm Thurs. & Fri. 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Sun. Noon to 5:00 pm AD 0311 Trio charged in knife attack I A ll Brand New Year 2000 Models h trtrf" K I P o lice h av e a rre ste d th re e lo cal su sp ects w an te d in co n n e c tio n w ith the M arch 6 th k n ife a tta c k on a 23y ear-o ld O ak v ille m an. . 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