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Show Motorists Are Warned About Winter Driving We'll have to wait until later in the season to know who is the king of the Skyline football, but we know light now that king of the coming season of ice and snow will again be Old Man Winter. So stated G. Ernest Bourne, Executive Ex-ecutive Secretary of the Utah Safety Council today, pointing out that approach of winter already has been heralded by a marked reduction in the daylight hours, prevalence of fog in low areas, and highways made slippery by frosts and moist fallen leaves. "Bad weather should be considered consid-ered a challenge to one's driving ability, not as an alibi for an accident," said Bourne. "First of all, the expert driver makes certain cer-tain his car is ready to meet the season's severest tests." "That means more than checking check-ing the battery and lights, changing chang-ing oil and grease to lighter grades, and protecting the radiator radiat-or with anti-freeze," he declared. "It means also replacing dead windshield blades, putting the defroster de-froster system in perfect order, adjusting brakes for simultaneous gripping, replacing badly worn tires, and carrying anti-skid chains ready for use when severe snow and ice conditions develop," the state official empphasized. He further advised that "The national use of synthetic rubber ' tires, which wear better and per-, per-, form normally on dry or wet pavements, pave-ments, but which skid and spin more on ice, and particularly on snow, make tire chains more important im-portant than ever as the best, help for avoiding accidents and traffic delays during periods of ice and snow." I "I skidded" is the most frequent fre-quent excuse on accident reports submitted to the state during the winter months, the Council Secretary Sec-retary said. "Rather than being a valid excuse, ex-cuse, it is really a confession that the driver was caught unprepared for the emergency in which he found himself. "After the car's vital safety equipment has been placed in good order, the driver must adjust his own driving habits. For example, he must always remember that road surfaces change with snow and ice which he can see, and even with frost and moisture winch he sometimes cannot see very well if driving fast. Frost or thin ice on shaded streets and highways gives many a driver his or her first skid scares of the dangerous driving season. If no accident results, the scare may prove a blessing in disguise for it usually shocks a person into more careful driving. Unfortunately," he added, "There's no way to guarantee a safe skid." Pedestrians, too should be more careful, Mr. Bourne said. They should bear in mind that drivers have more difficulty operating their cars in bad weather. Walkers are especially hard to see on a stormy night when visibility is poor. Pedestrians, therefore, are asked to obey the rules of safe walking by crossing at corners and not between intersections. On rural roads, persons walking should face towards traffic and step off the traveled portion of the roadway whenever vehicles approach. |