O T Walk a Round

• Hobby farm

I think the time is long overdue where every driver be require to do a circle check, less complicated than truckers but at least sign a document being sure all lights are working, all tires are inflated properly and showing that they understand what lights come on when car is placed in ign on or drive. I recently spoke with a driver who had owned his car 3 years. He had no idea the tail lights on that model did not come on with driving lights. Hard to imagine someone could own a car 3 years and not discover that. I did notice he had two cell phones and a sound system that would match any concert hall.

On a 6 lane one day I came upon construction where the requested speed was 80kph or 50 mph. They were working in the medium but had supply trucks on right shoulder, thus workers were having to cross traffic lanes ocasionally. I slowed to requested speed limit with tractor trailer, in the right lane. All that did was cause 3 lanes of traffic to funnel into 2 lanes, to get the H@## by me. One guy in a Jaguar went by me doing at least twice my speed. I later talked with a DOT official. First I gave him an earfull about enforcement in construction zones. I said construction workers deserve better than this. In the end I told him, the only way I'd work on highway maintenence, was be allowed to carry a machine gun, and be allowed to use it. I once had to change a tire on the side of one of these roads, in icy, slush coditions, took me all of 10 minutes. I can't imagine putting an 8 hour shift out there.

I liked another sign I saw in New York, forget the exact wording, but something like illegal to run with windshield wipers on without full lights. If I remember correctly the fine was $500.

Here in Ontario, anything goes, I've driven for weeks and never seen a police cruiser. They have signs say fines are doubled in construction zones. But you know what, double nothing is exactly nothing.

I was coming home one night, snowy and icy on 402. Between London and Strathroy they fight over ditch space in bad weather. Visability was down to about 6 tractor trailer lenghts, trucks had backed off to 50 mph. cars and SUVs were still whizing by at 70 mph. To give you some idea how icy it was, the empty rig I was driving was a 460hp Cummins 2 lift axles raised putting more weight on tandem drives and a cherry picker over the drive wheels. Probably the best traction of any empty truck on the road. If you stepped the accelerator at 50 mph in high gear that rig would spin. That's damn icy, even if you driving a loaded Hummer.