|
|
|
| |
|
Home >
Driving >
Tony deBree |
| |
Speed Watch on
Vancouver Island
Tony deBree, Duncan Speed Watch Volunteer
 After a year of retirement, I was ready to do
something more for my community. An advertisement
in the local paper in 2000, “Volunteers needed,” got
me started in Speed Watch.
Ken Hatton, who was running a small group of Speed
Watch volunteers based in Chemainus, had placed the
ad.
At that time, he still kept the equipment at
his home, and newcomers were taught to use it at the
side of the road. At meetings we learned safety
measures, care of the various machines, and
appropriate response to the public.
The next year, with the group enlarged to about
fifteen of us, we began to meet at the Duncan RCMP
Detachment. Ken was still in charge, but the
equipment could now be stored in the RCMP offices.
In 2003, the City of Duncan opened a Community
Policing Office, with Carol Anne Rolls hired as
Manager of Community Policing Programs. Speed Watch
was one of the programs placed under her
jurisdiction. Because of my previous experience, I
did some training for the new volunteers, teaching
then how to use the speedboard and handle the tools.
I still help with the care and maintenance of our
equipment.
I do Speed Watch with a partner, at least twice a
month, and usually in school zones. We meet at the
RCMP office at 7:30am, set up at 8:00, and work
until 10:00.
Sometimes, as during the recent Crash
Reduction Week, the whole team is called out, along
with several RCMP officers and ICBC personnel, and
we all work for eight hours, with ICBC providing a
delicious lunch. By making people aware of speed
limits, we are reducing accidents, saving lives, and
keeping insurance costs down.
Speed Watch volunteers are mostly retired, and so,
as well as doing this for the community, we are
doing it for pleasure.
Submitted by ICBC.
|
| |
| |
|
Courtesy ICBC. All rights reserved. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Saluting our
Volunteers! |
|
"ICBC's investment in road safety includes the
support of volunteer based programs like "Citizens
on Patrol" and "Speed Watch." These programs, and
others, can make a significant impact in communities
by helping to reduce auto crime and unsafe speed.
The success of these initiatives is due, in no small
part, to the dedication of hundreds of volunteers
across Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands and Powell
River. In a salute to the wonderful work of our
volunteers, we have asked a few of them to describe
their experiences and motivation in their own
words." |
|
| |
|
|
 |
| |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
