A number of safety concerns have been voiced throughout the neighbourhood, and some comments and suggestions are shared in this article.
Roads misused
Like many rural areas, our community roads have become dangerous playgrounds through the careless and illegal use of unlicensed motorcycles and All Terrain Vehicles (ATV). There have been spills, broken bones and near misses all year between; motorcycles and ATV riders, pedestrians and licensed vehicle drivers. Most of these riders are children. To their credit, it seems that most of the adults are insisting that these children wear helmets, but then they condone the use of roads as suitable playgrounds. Neighbours are complaining about the noise, the damage to the roads and the dangerous riding habits, reporting that riders often exceed the speed limit of 50 km, with no apparent thought of safety to pedestrians and pets. The population and activity levels are significantly increasing in our area with construction vehicles, unfamiliar drivers and additional foot traffic, and there is bound to be a serious accident involving a motorcycle or ATV this year. The safety suggestion offered is please don’t use these frontage roads as a babysitter. There are abundant de-activated roads and trails in the hills on the north side of Highway 24 for riding. Adults should teach the young people in their charge to respect private and public property, and take riding out to the trails, where it belongs.
Can’t help falling
Our neighbourhood has experienced a number of falling incidents this summer, resulting in broken bones and other personal injury. With plenty of prime working weather ahead of us in the next few months, we all wish to remind our local handymen (and women) to use extreme caution when working at heights, whether on a ladder, scaffolding, deck or even in trees. The safety suggestion offered is to tie off ladders, use safety harnesses or restraint devices if practical and most importantly, have a spotter steady equipment and watch out for neighbours while they are in the air.
Location is everything
While the weather conditions this summer have kept the threat of forest fires down, the neighbours still keep a watchful eye out for smoke or fire in the surrounding hills. One diligent neighbour, who has reported suspicious smoke to the Provincial Forest Fire Reporting Center, mentioned that more detailed location information is requested and that "Lac des Roches" is too broad, especially for a large lake. The staff at the center (1 800 663 5555) has confirmed that an approximate waypoint, or the latitude and longitude co-ordinate in degrees and minutes for the subject area, is very beneficial for dispatching the forestry spotter plane. Longitude and latitude lines can be found on many maps, such as those published in the Backroad Mapbook – Cariboo or the British Columbia Topographical Maps, as well as on several lookup sites on the Internet. As an example of a waypoint, the rock bluff on the south shore of Lac des Roches has the approximate coordinate of (Latitude) 51° 29′ N and (Longitude) 120° 37′ W. The safety suggestion offered is to identify a few significant coordinates for your community and keep these noted near the phone that would be used to report a forest fire.
Lots to share
The Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake, a community lake stewardship and preservation society produced their second annual Resident’s Newsletter in May. This newsletter is one of many updates posted on their website www.lacdesroches.org/aboutus, with information and suggestions for living on a Cariboo lake. The society is holding their annual general meeting Aug. 29, at 7 pm in the Bridge Lake Community School. Business will include executive responsibilities and upcoming year’s meeting schedule. All are welcome!