Whitby Fise Press, Wednesday, December 20.1995. Paoe 13 Be fore you take that wînter road tripÎÎ MRM PAGE 12 Ifyou must be on the road, keop listoning for weather warnings on the car radio, so you can adjust your route and other travel plans, if necessary. If conditions worsen, don't press on. If the going gets' teugh, turn back or seek refuge. Try te keep te main roada. Lot somebody know your expected time of arrivaI and your route. Drens for the cold: Dress for the weather - carry extra winter clothing with you - in case your car breaks down or you get stuck. Always have a bat, warm coat, boots, socks and mittens. (Without a bat, you can lose up te 60 per cent of your body heat.) Carry an emergeucy it. Keep a flashlight, first aidkidt and a sleeping bag or warzn blanket (or a space-saving hightweight "space" blanket) with you in the car and consider carrying a shovel, sand- saIt mixture (or kitty litter, which is lighter), tew chain, warning light or flares, warm Joint venture on fuel efficiency Anne McLellan, federal Minister of., National- Resources (NRCan), recently Eigned a'coeopergtive agreement with the Motor Vehicle Manufactiîrers Association (MVMA,) on vehicle fuel efficiency. The association will work with the rinistry te, develop a strategy for the motor vehicle industry te contribute lum*tatinnt;. DR i V iNGIÀ SAFELYmi with RANDY RANDY McLEAN IS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO SPECIALIZES IN TRAFFIC SAFETY. Mr. McLean has reviewed thousands of individuai motor vehicle accident reports and his close working relationships with police agencies, governiments, safety associations, industry and -the public, have given him a true overview of tralfic safety issues,. problemns and solutions in Canada. SHOPPING FOR AN ACCIDENT Many festive season activities take place at one of our ever expanding shopping centrs. Inside an enclused mail, away fromî the elenients, Christmas shopping can be fun - evon exciting. But going to andfromn the shopping centre may flot bie as safe as we might thiiik. Very few motoris;ts realize that about one out of six motor vehicle accidents occurs. at an off- highway location, many of themi in parking lots and during the holiday season rush. Why will s0 many of us go shopingfra accident? Two reasons. First andfloremost becauso we do not think of parlig lots as particularly dangerous places. W e tend te believe, that low speed roads and sc4è roads are one and the same thing. That high level of concentration we use when cfriving along the road - constantly looking for pedestrians, cars, traffic signs, and so on - gyets refocused when we enter a parking lot. InÎ a 'crowded lot, our main goal is te find an Cruisin' C FROM PAGE 12 16 ("t didn't work, se we sold it te Cadillac te offset our lesses,le Runciman said). Eventually the SC-01 was fitted with a series of ight tiny powerplants, arranged in tandem on either aide of a central sbaft. The new system was unbeatable. In tests, it was clocked at zero te 60 in 0.021 seconds, and rated 6,000 foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 revolutions per minute before the dynamometer broke. The SC-01 was ofllcially delivered on Sept. 15, 1930. Runciman would net divulge his client's name, but snooping at the local lioensing office showed that it was sold te one Mr. K Kringle, with the ambigueus address of, simply, North Pole. To this day, it remains in the hands of its original owner, who has reportodfly turned down bids of $3.2 million and $1.6 billion, offered, respectively, by Donald Trump and Michael Jackson. It stIl lbooks as good as the day it was built, even though it bas 1,593,728 miles on the odometer. t is stered in a climate-controlled warehouse and is used once a year. "We've tried te talk him inte a now model, but our client îs te greenhouse clothing/footwear/mnitits, emergency food (cookies, candy bar, etc.), boos3ter' cables, ice scraper and brush, waterproof matches and a 'siurvivaî'candle in a deep can (te warm, hands or use as an emergency light), fuel-lino de-icer, winter windshield fluid, traction mats (carpet or cardboard) and fire extinguisher. Get your car tuned up and checked out:' Winterweather presents the greatest challenge te vehi des and their erigines, s0 prepare for winter driving with a tune-up. Systenis te be checked include battory and charginir systoni, ignition system (ignition wire and. istributor cap), lights (makeesur headlights are properly aimed), brakes, tires (all four tires should have the samne tread pattern for even traction), exhaust system (check for leaka that could on d carbon monoide inte the car), heating and cooling system empty parking space. Looking for. pedestrians and moving_ velicles are way down on our priority list. Payng attention te one-way arrows also appears te be a low priority. The only thing we are really looking for is an empty parking spaoe, preferably in our aisle, but we are usually looking for at least one, if not two, aisles off in the distance. When we finally find that elusive empty space, we thon set into motion the second majo contiibuting factor in parking lot accidents .Wle drive nose first inte the space, thus later. requirnng uste back out. While backing ite a parking space is slightly more dificuit than driving i backing out is considerably more dangerous than driving eut. The biggest advantage of backing inte a space is that the two vehicles on either side of you are not- moving. They will not unexpectedly jump inte your path. Backing out is essentially the same manoeuvre as backing in, exoept when backing our the cars and pedestrians in the aisle behind you are moving. And we already know that they're not paying much attention te, us. Evenif wo do take the time to scrape aIl the ice and snow off out back and side windows and wait for them te properîy defog - which most of us won't - we wil stillh ave a large blind spot over our shoulder. If we happen te bo parked beside a van or truck, now increasingly used as family vehiclos, our blind spot wilI be consideaylae. Atbotweil be backing up, practically blIndeinttw moving lanes of cars andâ pedestrians. While Most parking lot accidents are net vory serious, they can be surprisingly expensive. A minor fonder bender can easily acid up te $500 te, $ 1,000 or more. And, althougb relIatîvely few in number, serious personal injuries can occur, particularly if a pedestrian is involved. This holiday season, don't'go shopping for an accident. lIassics: the ScO0f something of a traditionalist," Runciman said. "We have done a few upgrades, though. We put in power steoring in 1963,, a radar device in 1972 and Iast year we added a four-speaker CD player." Runcimnan & Felîs le still in business, and currently they produoe their lino of cars, boats and planes for a single client. Runciman would net namo him, but the National Enquirer bas hinted that it may be billionaire Bruce. Wayne of Gotham City. While no one is quite sure what use Mr. Wayne wcmld have for theEe bandbuilt veicles, there is no doubt that hoenjWoys the superb craftsmanship that has made this Canadian firm unique in the world. lMeri Christmas te ail ... and te ail, a good night! - j68m69 (radiater and hoses, anti-freeze, thermostat, heater, defroat water purnp>, and winter windshield wipers and fluid. What to do if you' get strsunded: If you do get stuck. or if your car breaks down, dont. panic. Avoid over-exertion and oxposure te tlie cold. Try te dig yourself out only if you are in a safe area and if the eifforwill not betoo, arduous. Otherwiso, stay in your car, especially at night or during a aterm, se you will have shelter. Dont risk exhaustion or getting lost or frozen by setting out on foot te, get help. Keep seme fresh air in the vehicle by opening the window a crack. Run the moter sparingly so0 you won't wear down the battery. Beware of exhaust fumes and ens ure the exh aust pipe isi not blocked by snow. (Remember - you oen't smell potentially fatal carbon monoidoe). You can run the car engine about 10 minutes evexy half-hour if tuie exhaust system is working welI. Set out warning lighta or flarefi._Put on the dome light if it geté >dAk. Overuse of 1iadlightsà will run down your battery. Keep warm. Put on extra clothing. Don't faîl asleop. Clap your bands and stamp your foot se they won't froeze. Keep watch for traflic or searchers. Do not' drink. alcohol asa it' inhibits clear thinkcing and lowers the body temperature after an initial warzmng effect. Excellent. Christmas Gff AS LOW As $1995 per month *Free Emergency Calis to 911, *C.A.A., O.P.P. and *ROAD " Free Activation (a $60.00 value) " Free Licence Fee for first year (a $48.00 value) when prepaid for 12 months. ~ P'TO LL FREE 1-800-668-9247 1WHITBY AUTO GLASS. 668-2003 specialists W. 1013 Dundas St. E., Whitby Am. - -- -- Mobile Service Guaranteed Workmanshli IDurham Regions Largest Tire Warehouse.Clearane S E M P E R I T A........... WA. S Whitewall sîze Sale price HOOSIER AT fng P155/80R13 $49.00 P235/75R15~~~U S P175/80R13 $57.00 m * ,*ni.ý Pi 85/75R 14 $5.00 FREE with every tire purchase P 185 R 4 $6.00 ïd Co m~puter Tire Balance GP195/75Rl4 $6 .0 lInstallation P05/75R 14 $70.00 i Valve Stem if P205/75R 15 $72.00 î1 Road Hazard Warranty sDUNOAS ST.À s ) se,,ssns,0 s s s O s s s s e .r- --7r Pr ÀA VI«deo & Audi"o S e*rvi"ce VCR e CAR STEREO e CORDLESS PHONES L'IMM, 48 custfrre #.Experienced Whithy Free Press, Wednesday, Decomber 20.1995, Page 13