A familiar sight.
A father or mother steps out of the house with his or her arms full. Stuff in one hand, the baby in the other, the cell phone, etc. He or she arrives at their vehicle (we are in December), and it is covered in snow (if not buried by the snow plow). He or she sighs, barely manages to open the door to install the baby in the seat, drop the stuff in, and sit behind the wheel to start the car. He or she turns on the heat so the baby stays warm while they step out to scrape the snow off the car.
After 10 minutes, he or she gets back in the car and drives off. The car is now warm. And, the father or mother takes a peek in the rear view mirror and sees that their little munchkin has fallen asleep. All is well.
We see the car get out of the snow bank and drive away. They're heading to the shopping center.
When arrived, the parent steps out of the car and opens the rear door to wake the baby up and go shopping. He or she shakes the kid a bit, and speaks: "Honey, wake up, we have to go shopping..." But, the baby is sleeping tight. The parent shakes the kid a little more. "Honey, come on, we have to go!" But the baby is not waking up. The father or mother starts to get impatient and shakes the kid a little more, no luck. Impatience turns to worry, and then panic. The baby just isn't waking up.
The baby is not waking up, because he or she is dead.
A terrifying story, isn't it? And what if I told you that it isn't fiction?
In fact, not only has this story already happened, but it has happened several times by unfortunate parents who will never forget it. And why these dramatic situations happen is less because of an unfortunate situation, and more because of badly-maintained vehicles.
And here's where the debate starts.
An inspection program for automobiles. For or against?
For years, inspection programs for light and heavy vehicles have been put in place in a lot of places across North America. Certain have proved to be effective, others have not. However, one fact remains: where there are no inspection programs, vehicles are more dangerous safety-wise for its occupants and for other users of the road. They are also generally more harmful for the environment and, like we discovered in the example cited earlier, living beings who are mostly vulnerable.
There are people who object to these types of programs. As a matter of fact, several critics say that the only winners of such a program are mechanics who would be paid for inspecting vehicles, and they would also make profits on the parts and labour necessary in the case where a vehicle would not meet the safety and emissions requirements that would be dictated by the government.
I can't disagree with that argument. It's true that repair shops would benefit from this. But where my opinion differs from those who consider it to be a problem, is that they seem to forget that vehicle owners who do not maintain them are breaking the law, even without an inspection program.
In addition, the money that repair shops would make through an inspection program is approximately the same amount they would make if everybody would maintain their vehicle like they should. That's why, in my opinion, we need mandatory inspections of road vehicles, light and heavy.
Many people do not maintain their vehicle according to the recommendations of the manufacturers. They neglect the condition of the tires, the brakes, the steering system, the suspension, the wipers, the exhaust system, the good running order of the engine, etc.
A father or mother steps out of the house with his or her arms full. Stuff in one hand, the baby in the other, the cell phone, etc. He or she arrives at their vehicle (we are in December), and it is covered in snow (if not buried by the snow plow). He or she sighs, barely manages to open the door to install the baby in the seat, drop the stuff in, and sit behind the wheel to start the car. He or she turns on the heat so the baby stays warm while they step out to scrape the snow off the car.
After 10 minutes, he or she gets back in the car and drives off. The car is now warm. And, the father or mother takes a peek in the rear view mirror and sees that their little munchkin has fallen asleep. All is well.
We see the car get out of the snow bank and drive away. They're heading to the shopping center.
When arrived, the parent steps out of the car and opens the rear door to wake the baby up and go shopping. He or she shakes the kid a bit, and speaks: "Honey, wake up, we have to go shopping..." But, the baby is sleeping tight. The parent shakes the kid a little more. "Honey, come on, we have to go!" But the baby is not waking up. The father or mother starts to get impatient and shakes the kid a little more, no luck. Impatience turns to worry, and then panic. The baby just isn't waking up.
The baby is not waking up, because he or she is dead.
A terrifying story, isn't it? And what if I told you that it isn't fiction?
In fact, not only has this story already happened, but it has happened several times by unfortunate parents who will never forget it. And why these dramatic situations happen is less because of an unfortunate situation, and more because of badly-maintained vehicles.
And here's where the debate starts.
An inspection program for automobiles. For or against?
For years, inspection programs for light and heavy vehicles have been put in place in a lot of places across North America. Certain have proved to be effective, others have not. However, one fact remains: where there are no inspection programs, vehicles are more dangerous safety-wise for its occupants and for other users of the road. They are also generally more harmful for the environment and, like we discovered in the example cited earlier, living beings who are mostly vulnerable.
There are people who object to these types of programs. As a matter of fact, several critics say that the only winners of such a program are mechanics who would be paid for inspecting vehicles, and they would also make profits on the parts and labour necessary in the case where a vehicle would not meet the safety and emissions requirements that would be dictated by the government.
I can't disagree with that argument. It's true that repair shops would benefit from this. But where my opinion differs from those who consider it to be a problem, is that they seem to forget that vehicle owners who do not maintain them are breaking the law, even without an inspection program.
In addition, the money that repair shops would make through an inspection program is approximately the same amount they would make if everybody would maintain their vehicle like they should. That's why, in my opinion, we need mandatory inspections of road vehicles, light and heavy.
Many people do not maintain their vehicle according to the recommendations of the manufacturers. They neglect the condition of the tires, the brakes, the steering system, the suspension, the wipers, the exhaust system, the good running order of the engine, etc.