Friday, January 30, 2009

Just so terribly, awfully sorry






Today, I am just so sorry that Matt did not know to get off the brakes and steer into the ditch. In retrospect, it seems like such an incredibly simple thing that could have saved them both easily. What a crying, crying, crying shame.

I post today the other last pictures I have of Stefan. It shows how I had to chase him for a decent picture, as he was just making faces at me.

Also, there are Andrea and Thomas this January. They've been such a big help.

I should be in bed.

From Gigababy:

How much insurance you pay or the fact that you've never filed a claim does not mean you are a good driver. It just means you've been lucky. The only way to determine that you are a safe, cautious and skilled winter driver is to have yourself assessed by a licensed and accredited winter driving instructor.

What concerns me as a driving safety advocate is how many parents are sending their young drivers out onto the road not ensuring they have the skills and the maturity needed to handle adverse weather conditions, even if the car itself is equipped for the road by its design, tires or size. Ice is ice. Slush is slush and traction is not something that is guaranteed regardless of what you drive, how old you are, or how long you have been driving. Driving in winter does not compare to dry, summer conditions.

Many people feel 17 *is too young* to drive. I disagree. It is young enough to make bad decisions due to a lack of guidance and experience. But that can be corrected. I was 19 when I first got my licence but I didn't drive in my first real snowstorm until I was 22. But I was prepared, as the year before, I had taken winter driving lessons with Young Drivers of Canada. I was in a small Ford Zx2 sports car with no winter tires on my way back from Montreal in the great big snowstorm of 1999 (the one where the mayor of Toronto called in the army). It took me eight hours and I got home in one piece and so did my three passengers. That day, four people were killed in crashes on the 401 during the same time I was driving. Two of the victims were in SUVs.

Take some lessons. It doesn't cost as much as you think and you'll be surprised at what you learn. And at what you didn't know.

The following schools offer winter driving courses:

Accent Driving School
Bowmanville ON
p: 9056971148

Winter School $295 by CarControl
p: 905-473-9500
ianlaw@carcontrolschool.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brigitte,

Thanks for posting the information about courses for winter driving.

Info. like this just could go along way from preventing a tragedy such as your family is going through.

Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing them.

Your friend,

Steve

Anonymous said...

Hi Brigitte
I found some schools local to Edmonton:

City of Edmonton
Winter Driving Courses

Winter Driving Course
This course offers students and seasoned drivers highlights of driving in the winter months.

Each student will be given the opportunity to perform at least 8 maneuvers:

Stressing
Hand positioning
Eye lead time
Posture
Seat positioning
Emergency braking
Swerve-to-avoid
Skid recovery

For more information:

3rd Floor, Westwood Facility
12404 - 107 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2R7

Telephone 780-496-6464

* * *

Then there's the BMW Winter Driving school also in Alberta
http://www.nabmwclub.ca/winter.asp

* * *

This is also a good article
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/cars/crash+this+winter/1218918/story.html

Lots of stuff at the gigababy site. But it's got a new name now.

I can only imagine what you are going through but it's amazing you find the strength to help others !

Anonymous said...

Brigitte;
I believe when God calls us to His eternal home, it's time to go. Regardless of where we are,or what we are doing.
Scripturally correct? I am not certain.
This belief doesn't alleviate the grief for what has been lost. It does however dismiss my thoughts of "what if", or "only if", and the like.
Thanks for sharing the photos.

Brigitte said...

Mary, I believe like you say, and I've taken lots of comfort from it all along.

Yet, we decry sad things and evil; they happen and we work against them.

Maybe the accident could have been avoided, maybe not. There are a hundred things that could have gone differently, and I think we've thought them through a hundred times, each. This is just one of them.