Opinion
Disregard of laws endangers lives
The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, April 17,1996 »¿z
Karin Redston
Assistant Opinion Editor
My two pet peeves for this week
are the unsafe driving habits of
many drivers on the CCC
campus and the pedestrians who
fail to follow safety precautions
on the roads.
Failure to yield the right-of-
way by drivers causes numerous
accidents. These drivers must
think they are indestructible. They
might even believe they’re invis
ible.
Several fender benders occur
from drivers pulling out of park
ing lots without stopping or look
ing. The parking lot and entrances
around the Community Center are
particularly dangerous.
This campus is not the India
napolis 500 Speedway. It’s a cam-
pus where there are people walk
ing, running and biking on a daily
basis. Too many drivers love to
zoom around at the speed of light
while attempting to save a few sec
onds.
The posted speed limit is 30
mph on the main strip, 20 mph on
the lesser roads
and 10 mph in
the parking lots.
For those of you
who don’t know
what mph is, it
means miles per
hour, not mil
lions of miles per hour.
Pedestrians who walk down
the middle of the roads on cam
pus are very much at risk, espe
cially ones pushing strollers with
babies in them. Those people re
ally bug me. Not only are they put
ting themselves at risk but they are
risking the baby’s life as well.
There are also pedestrians
who do not look when crossing the
road nor do they use the crosswalk.
Some run into the road with their
headsets on. Are they hoping no
one hits them?
There have been
some close calls
more than a few
times.
The road by the
jogging trail is a
perfect example. I
have witnessed plenty of people
who don’t follow proper safety
measures while crossing the road.
They must have an in with God or
a guardian angel working over
time.
Don’t sleep and drive
Maybe unsafe drivers and pe
destrians should spend a day writ
ing how sorry they are for their
crimes on a blackboard 1,000
times. Or, maybe a day in the
stocks wearing a sign saying “bad
driver” or “bad pedestrian” would
be good. Either way, the issuing
of tickets seems to be non-existent
on campus. A few good speed
traps might work.
So far, all of my experiences
with the campus officers have been
very positive. However, it doesn’t
seem that citations are being is
sued to these transgressors. Cam
pus Security needs to cite more of
the people who jaywalk and drive
unsafely. Just one day a week
would probably get the point
across.
As far as this writer is con
cerned, those who tailgate should
beware; I stop for cats.
Automotive, from Page 2
scorers from each school on the
written examination portion of the
contest. The finals held at Clacka
mas are “hands on,” and the state
winners will compete in a national
contest against winners from other
states.
Students will work on identi
cal 1996 Ford Contours which
have had “bugs” installed in them.
The bugs involve the electrical and
fuel systems, among other things.
Students are judged on speed, ac
curacy and workmanship. Most of
the bugs require a high degree of
skill to find and repair.
A variety of prizes, scholar
ships and job opportunities will be
made available to contest winners.
This year’s 10 teams represent the
following high schools: Ashland,
Mountain View (Bend), Canby,
Junction City, St. Helens,
Tillamook, Vale, Benson (Portland
- two teams), and CTEC Training
Center’s High School Program at
Clackamas.
For more information, call
Ray Conklin at ext. 2320.
Lack of sleep proves dangerous for student driver Research panic reaches peak
VETO, from Page 3
Brad Zimmerman
Assistant Feature Editor
Normally, no one thinks that
a lack of sleep could kill you.
However, about two weeks ago, I
found~out that it quite possibly
could have. I was driving home
around 7 p.m. and fell asleep at
the wheel. When I awoke from
my ill-timed nap, I found that I was
in the emergency lane on the
wrong side of the road. In my
haste to get back on my own side
of the road, I turned the wheel too
sharply, and ended up doing in a
360 degree skid. An additional
180 degree turn left me in the ditch
(on my side of the road).
Fortunately neither I nor any
one else was hurt. Nonetheless,
there was still quite a bit of on
coming traffic, and I could have
easily been killed — by a lack of
sleep.
Since my accident, I have
changed my schedule so that I get
at least seven hours of sleep each
night (previously, I had been get
ting as little as four or five hours a
night).
-
;
While researching sleep-re
lated problems, I found that over
50 percent of all automobile-re-
lated deaths are caused by falling
asleep at the wheel. With that sta
tistic in mind (along with the real
ization that I could have been
killed by not getting enough sleep)
I have decided that losing a few
more hours each night to sleep is
well worth it.
Since that incident, I have
done a lot of reflecting. One thing
that I always think of is how stu
pid I would feel if I died because I
fell asleep at the wheel. Really,
that is about as bad a grabbing a
powerline or driving drunk. By
simply getting a few more hours
of sleep each night, one can easily
avoid a situation similar to mine.
Save money, take the bus
Jack Evans
Staff Writer
Almost everyone with a
driver’s license remembers the
first time their parents gave them
the keys to the car.
They warned us that owning
and driving a car takes a lot of
responsibility, so be prepared.
Caught up in the notion of free
dom, we pretended to be com
pletely aware of just how diffi
cult owning a car could be. Un
fortunately, once we entered the
real world, reality set in.
Lately I have noticed most
of the money I earn goes toward
my truck. I only work 20 hours
week, which gives me enough
time to study and still have some
what of a social life. I know my
average paycheck still barely
covers the cost of the gas I use to
get to school and work. How
ever, I started wondering exactly
how much per month it costs me
to drive.
I figure, on average, I use
about 20 gallons of gas per week.
Let’s assume the average cost of
gas is about $ 1.24. That means I
use close to $100 per month.
There goes a quarter of my
monthly salary.
Then there is that little re
quirement we call insurance.
Most people I know are fully in
sured. That runs around $800 ev
ery six months, or about $133 a
month. Great. . .now half of my
pay check is gone.
Finally, there is an important
necessity that all cars need: main
tenance. With oil changes, air fil
ters, etc., I figure I spend around
$50 a month on maintenance. Of
course, the older the car, the more
maintenance it requires.
For just these three necessi
ties alone, I pay an average of
$283 a month, just to drive. Luck
ily, I do not owe money on my
truck. Still, for those who don’t
fully own their vehicles, this could
take another good size chunk out
of their income.
There is, though, a very vi
able alternative to driving to
school.: It’s called riding the bus.
They can be found on almost
every comer in the Portland and
surrounding area.
It only costs $43 for a whole
month to go anywhere the bus
runs. That would save someone
like me about $240. This money
could be used to pay for half the
tuition of a full time student.
So the next time you get
into your car to drive to school,
ask yourself, is it really worth it
to drive?
ing the line-item veto one of his
“contract with America” objec
tives and the Oregonian can’t get
enough of it. I mean, what’s the
big deal, I ask myself as I scan
what seems like the 15th article in
a row reporting Newt’s promise to
save the American people from the
fiscal tyranny of future congres
sional tax-and-spenders.
By the 25th or 30th article I
have this Gringrichesque vision of
future republican presidents bran
dishing the line-item veto like
King Arthur would brandish
Excalibur, slicing appropriations
from bills that have been fattened
by pork-bellied legislators. Give
me a break. Gingrich is a putz.
And this chair really sucks.
Pretty soon I’m in the 50’s. I
abandoned reading and scanning
long ago in favor of reading head
lines. The datelines are into Oc
tober and November, Clinton and
the Congress can’t agree on a bud
get and I know they won’t in 1995.
So what does the president do? He
whines about not having the line
item veto. One article after an
other seem to be about how we
could keep the government oper
ating, while protecting the Ameri
can people’s Medicare and Med
icaid, getting Ricki Lake off day
time television, — and if Congress
would just give Clinton the line
item veto.
Yeah, right, Clinton: a man of
the people. Like the fix isn’t in.
The fix has been in ever since the
D.C. democrats turned right on K
Street and corporate lobbyists
started filling the pockets of both
parties. How about some more
Tyson chicken, Mr. President?
Some Gallo wine to go with that
breast? What a sell-out. I hate
America. If someone surgically
removed my rear, I wouldn’t feel
a thing. You want to punish the
Unibomber? Make him sit in this
chair.
And then I snap. I come
across an Otis Pike column from
a November issue. “Whatever
happened to the line-item veto,”
he begins the column. Are you
kidding me? What ever happened
to the line-item veto? It’s being
used to torture opinion writers in
Oregon, you schmuck! Need a
new office chair, Pike? I’ve got a
reeeeal comfortable one for you,
ya muckraking fascist!
I admit it. I have a problem.
My name is Damon and I’m a
compulsive over-researcher. I
know somewhere there is a pro
gram for my... disease. I hope in
the future I can write opinions that
are as brief and unresearched as
the verbal jousting I enjoy so
much. But for now, I’m taking
things one day at a time.
Oh, about that line-item veto?
I’m against it.
... God that felt good. Any
one have a cushion?
United Parcel Service offers a
variety of shifts to fit a busy schedule. $8-$9/hour
and great benefits are part of our part-time
package. Package-handling positions require lifting
up to 70 lbs.
IF A PART TIME JOB IS THE
SOLUTION TO YOUR TUITION EXPENSES,
CALL rhe JOBLINE 800-382-0945