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Judy Hagen |
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Speed Watch on
Vancouver Island
Judy Hagen, Quadra Island Speed Watch Volunteer
 My
name is Judy Hagen and I live on Quadra Island. I
have been involved with the ICBC Speed Watch program
for approximately twelve years.
After completing high school, I trained as an X-ray
technician and saw firsthand the devastating results
of motor vehicle crashes. One crash can change a
life and that of an entire family for a lifetime.
After my training, I moved to Invermere BC, married
and raised a family of three.
Volunteer activities have always played a major role
in my life, and it was while I was volunteering with
the RCMP on the Citizens on Patrol group in
Invermere that I was asked to take on the Speed
Watch program that ICBC created.
I
call Speed Watch a ‘friendly’ program. Drivers are
visually reminded of their speed but it doesn’t cost
them anything unless they fail to heed the slow down
warning, as police may be further up the road. It is
possible to measure the success of the program, as
one sees traffic slowing down almost immediately.
Follow up at a later date can prove that you really
have made a difference.
I
have had the pleasure of working provincially with
the former Speed Watch Advisory Board, helping to
update their training manual and setting up new
groups. This has given me the opportunity of forming
lifetime friendships from all over BC.
Three years ago my husband I retired to Quadra
Island said good-bye to the ICBC program.
Retirement never lasted long as my old friends had
me back ‘on the road’ on Vancouver Island within the
year! In 2006 we started our own program on Quadra
Island because speeding from one ferry to another
can be a problem.
Now,
instead of four hundred cars an hour I might see
twenty-five, but our island is a safer place on
which to live. While we wait for the ferry traffic
we relax and enjoy the beautiful ocean views Quadra
is famous for.
Retirement is great. Work no longer interferes with
my volunteer activities and I wear my clown nose
more frequently now. I become ‘Miss Judi’ and teach
safety to children as young as three years old. I
volunteer in schools with the SPCA, RCMP, fire and
ambulance departments. Participating in community
events is always enjoyable too.
If
you should visit Quadra, watch for a small but happy
group of volunteers ‘on the road again’ checking
speed, and hopefully preventing anyone from becoming
an unfortunate victim of speed.
Submitted by ICBC.
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Saluting our
Volunteers! |
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"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." |
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