The Times Advocate, 2004-04-07, Page 44
Exeter Times–Advocate
Wednesday,April 7, 2004
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EDITORIALS
'No' to driver
retesting
Tucked away in the news last week was an
item that didn't receive much attention, but
one that could affect the lives of all Ontario
drivers.
The Ontario government, influenced by a movement
in Alberta, is considering retesting all drivers every 10
to 15 years. The government will study the issue to
see if retesting will improve safety. If it appears as
though safety will improve, driver retesting could
become a reality in this province.
At first blush, any attempt to improve road safety
sounds like a positive thing. But upon further consid-
eration, driver retesting has the potential to become
another red tape disaster, something that could waste
millions of taxpayers' dollars with little or no benefit.
Driver retesting is probably just another excuse to
drain money out of drivers' pockets. Drivers are
already overburdened by being forced to overpay for
gas, annual license stickers and emission testing, and
the government will no doubt force drivers to pay for
the retests. The rest of the administration charges and
red tape, not to mention the money the government
wastes on the idea, will just be taken out of tax dol-
lars.
It remains to be seen whether or not driver retesting
actually makes people drive safer. Just because a per-
son knows to stay within the speed limit and signal
during lane changes while there's a driving instructor
in the passenger seat doesn't mean those practices
will continue for the 10 to 15 years between tests.
A better way to increase safety on the roads is to
actually enforce the rules already in place — speed-
ing, for example, and other infractions like drivers
running red lights, failing to signal and not knowing
what to do at three- and four-way stops. Maybe ticket
prices for such infractions need to be increased.
Drivers need to be better trained before they are
allowed to get behind the wheel of a car. Retesting
drivers every decade or so sounds like a financial dis-
aster waiting to happen.
In his defence, Ontario Transport Minister Harinder
Takhar said he is only looking after the safety of dri-
vers on Ontario roads and the province will not rush
into any retesting program. That's good news.
About the Times -Advocate
Editorial Opinion
2004 [Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc.
Letters from home
Life on any overseas deployment, whether it is the
soldiers slugging it out on a daily basis in Iraq today or
the crew of a Canadian frigate turning circles in the
Red Sea for months at a time, is something like the life
of a patient in a hospital waiting for a sign that some-
one at home still cares, with the magic words, mail
call.
Boredom can be the greatest enemy, other than the
occasional leftover floating mine, as a crew waits to
board the next tramp steamer with its load of
5,000 sheep or the final piece of Saddam's ulti-
mate weapon or both. Heat is another constant
companion, as an 1950s North Atlantic climate
air conditioning system tries to withstand a
1990s Middle Eastern summer, with obvious
results as engine room temperatures nudge 120
degrees.
To break the day up, creativity is required such
as placing bets on whether it's a fishing boat
keeping pace alongside or a crew intent on blow-
ing a hole in the side of the ship with their high-
powered rowboat.
But as a port visit nears, problems are forgot-
ten with the promise of a long delayed mail delivery.
Mail calls are often the cause of frustration, with the
bags not arriving at a port in time before departure, or
arriving early and being sent on to the next port of call.
But eventually the military supply system makes a
mistake and ship and mail come together. The pre-
cious sacks are hauled up the gangway where a
harassed mail clerk, usually toiling in obscurity, is
swamped by eager volunteers more intent on finding a
letter with a familiar bit of writing on it before disap-
pearing.
With the mail finally distributed, sleeping quarters
dissolve in a blizzard of brown wrapping paper and an
unnatural hush falls over the ship, save for the can-
nonshell voice of a chief seeking an elusive sailor.
Cookies and other pieces of gold from
home, still edible or not, are produced and
passed around, willingly or not. Artwork
drawn by an unsteady hand and a fat cray-
on is proudly displayed, with its scrawls
decipherable only by the recipient. Pictures
are tightly gripped, as fathers try to get to
know sons they have never met.
But not all the messages are ones of com-
fort. Absence may make the heart grow
fonder, but the expression is hard to believe
for someone who has their life boxed up and
mailed 6,000 miles back to them as an ex -
someone takes multiple pages to describe
her activities of the last several months, including joint
accounts emptied, credit cards rung up and every
detail of a new relationship with a now ex -friend.
As the ship begins to stir, letters are locked away or
left shredded on the deck, in either case with thoughts
already waiting for the next mail call.
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