680News traffic

Over the past year in our 680News traffic department you may have noticed a few changes.  Some of the voices that you were used to hearing were no longer on the air.  That is about to change as two of our new moms return to the airwaves.

Cara Graham is the proud mother of a beautiful boy, Preston.  Preston is just a little over a year and now it’s time for mom and baby to part ways from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday, so Cara can return to the 680 traffic studio. I asked Cara if it was a bit strange coming back to work after being away for over a year. “Well,” she said “my first day was a little strange just trying to get familiar with the cameras and everything else, but I have been doing traffic for so long and I’m so comfortable with it that, after the first day, I felt as if I had never been gone!”

Also returning in the not too distant future is traffic reporter Jennifer Young.  Jennifer is the mom of two children; Aidan and now Meghan, her newest arrival.  I am sure that she is both anxious and excited about her impending return to work but, like Cara said, give it a day and it’ll all come back.  I tried calling Jennifer just to check in but, being the busy mom she is now with the two kids, I wasn’t able to get in touch with her.

Sadly we will be saying goodbye to Christine Langos.  Christine has been with us as a part-time traffic reporter for several years. I am sure you have heard her on many different shifts.  Most recently she worked midday’s for Cara, but now has decided to pursue another line of work.  We will really miss her upbeat personality, her competence and her strong work ethic.  At the same time we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.  I am sure she will be very successful in whatever she does.

Since many of you are considering dragging the old bicycle out of the garage for the first time in years, I thought I’d take a look at some of the rules of the road you need to follow. There are a lot of traffic laws you should be aware of in order to ride responsibly and safely.

First of all a bicycle is considered a vehicle under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA). So, as a cyclist, you are required to obey traffic laws just like motorists are. If you don’t it can cost you both a minimum set fine, as well as a Victim Surcharge for most offences.

Some of the rules for cyclists are the same as the ones for motorists. There are the obvious ones like signalling your turns. But there are others that you may not think apply to you. For example you can be charged with speeding. It may seem funny to think of a bike being able to exceed speed limits set for motorized vehicles but a bike going down a hill in a 40 km/hr zone can surpass the limit. You are also required to stop at stop signs.As a cyclist I admit I have been guilty of breaking this rule. When you are going down a hill with a stop sign at the bottom and you are facing an uphill ride it is very tempting to keep the momentum going. But it is a dangerous thing to do and you are facing an $85.00 fine plus a surcharge.Other traffic laws that could cost you the same amount are riding the wrong way on a one way street, not stopping behind streetcar doors to let people on and off and not yielding or stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks.If you do not stop behind a school bus when the red lights are flashing and the arm is out you could be fined $400.00.

There are also specific rules for cyclists regarding reflectors and lights. You also need to have a working bell – again an $85.00 fine plus a surcharge. You must have at least one brake system on the rear wheel. You are not allowed to carry passengers on a bicycle for one and you must wear a helmet if you are under the age of 18. Breaking this law carries a $60.00 fine.

You need to be aware of bike riding bylaws as well. For example in some jurisdictions you are not allowed to ride on sidewalks, you must have both hands on the handlebars and you must ride single-file.

Yes, there are a lot of laws that cyclists must follow. But if you are also a driver, just follow the same rules of the road for both and you should be okay. As far as the specific bylaws, keep your eyes open for signs that pertain to cyclists. In Etobicoke where I live you are not allowed to ride on sidewalks and that bylaw is very well posted.

I’ve been trying out some of the gas-saving techniques that we have been talking about over the past few weeks and, according to my car’s information panel, my kilometres per litre have not changed a bit! What am I doing wrong? Perhaps it’s the way I drive. I am not a “smooth” driver, so maybe that has something to do with it. I also spend 90 per cent of my time driving in the city. City driving does eat up fuel more than highway driving.

I guess I have to treat my driving the way I treat dieting. Cutting back a little here and there may work for some but it has never worked for me. I always had to practically starve to drop the pounds. So I guess with my driving I have to resort to drastic measures. I just have to drive less.

Since I have been driving less I have noticed that a tank of gas does last longer. This is the simplest of equations. Drive less…save gas. And this seems to be working for me. I am more conscious of my travels. I don’t make one trip for one errand anymore. I try to bundle my errands by area, thus taking care of several things at once. I also drive very little on weekends. I try and do most of my running around during the week when I am out anyway. I have rescheduled my life so that on weekends I take care of things around the house.

I also bought my teenager daughter a metropass. She seems to love the independence it gives her and I get to drive less. At first I was a little anxious about this move but she has a cell phone and I always know where she is going. She almost always travels with a friend and she is not allowed to travel on the TTC after dark.

I am not suggesting that all the gas-saving techniques are bunk. Perhaps over time I will notice a difference in my gas usage. A number of practices, like respecting speed limits and making sure tire pressure is at the appropriate level, have been proven effective in reducing fuel consumption. So keep trying until you find what works for you!!

I know that I’ve been on the topic of gas saving techniques for a few weeks now but I’d like to look at just a few more practices.

One simple thing you can do is make sure you have less “junk in your trunk.” The more weight you carry in your vehicle, the more fuel you will burn. This won’t save you a huge amount of gas, around 1-2 per cent, but it’s a start.

All experts seem to agree that keeping your tires properly inflated is really important, not only from fuel efficiency standpoint, but also from a safety standpoint. Also if you follow a regular maintenance schedule for your vehicle, and you are diligent when it comes to oil changes and tune-ups etc, then this should help maximize your fuel efficiency.

Then there is the issue of air conditioning. How much fuel does it actually burn? Well, apparently it does draw power from your engine but it does not use a lot of extra fuel, unless you are driving a gas guzzling SUV. According to studies, running your car’s air conditioner reduces your fuel efficiency by less than half a kilometer for every liter of gas. So you do the math and see if being comfortable is worth it.

How about driving with your windows down instead of using air conditioning? Doesn’t that cause an aerodynamic drag that uses up extra gas? Apparently not. Studies have shown that driving with your windows down does not have a measurable effect on your fuel economy even at highway speeds. So driving with your windows down and your air conditioner off is more fuel efficient than the other way around.

There have also been a number of fuel additives that have been flooding the market recently. They are designed to help increase fuel efficiency. Most are nothing more than gimmicks that provide little or no benefit when it comes to saving fuel.

So there you have it. I think over the past few weeks we have covered a fair number of gas-saving techniques and I have tried to get a handle on what works and what doesn’t.

Next week we’ll look at some of the techniques I have tried and we’ll see how successful I have been at saving fuel.