• Add to Technorati Favorites

Auto show drives home safety points

 auto show cars detroit car show new york international  car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show autoshow autoshow auto show car show auto show car show auto show car show

Hard to say what was cooler Saturday at the Still Saving Lives Car Show - a vintage ‘55 Chevy LAPD cruiser, a $1 million Ferrari Enzo or 100 other cherry sleds.

And it was hard to determine which bozo traffic behavior visitors deemed most unsafe.

“For me, it’s cell phones, (or) people shaving and putting on makeup,” said Los Angeles motor Officer Terry Turner of Valley Traffic Division. “With cell phones, drivers are not paying attention.”

The fifth annual show, presented by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Valley Traffic Advisory Council, drew more than 115 thumbs-up autos at Hansen Dam.

With its cars, live music, food booths and parachute car safety demonstrations, the Valley Traffic Advisory Council hoped to raise $20,000 for safety education.

And safety-conscious police and firefighters hoped to divulge the whys and wherefores of motoring safely.

“Seat belts and speeding - that’s No. 1,” said Los Angeles motor Officer Steve Carbajal. “Cars are now so fast and quiet, people feel comfortable exceeding the speed limit.”

For Los Angeles firefighter Greg Hoon, it’s drivers who fail to pull over to the curb during the approach of a screaming fire engine.

For at least one city Public Works street inspector, it is the condition of the roads themselves.

“Our city really needs to do a better job of maintaining all these potholes,” said Stuart Horwitz, an investigator with

Street Services. “And the freeways, too.”There’s a big chunk of concrete missing on the 405 near Burbank Boulevard that they haven’t fixed - it’s been four weeks.”

Whether it was getting cut off in traffic, seeing little use of left-turn signals, or encountering parents who let their kids play in the streets, people were peeved.

But when it came to some of the hottest iron in Los Angeles, they were all smiles.

“It’s the sweetest thing here,” said Horwitz, 61, of his immaculate ‘55 Bel Air LAPD cruiser with “PUL OVRR” plates, which he spent 1,500 hours restoring with his son, Dan. “This thing cranks, let me tell you.”

Then there was the blue-and-white ‘61 Chevy Impala with the faux knockoff hubs and air suspension that Efron Banuelos bought when he was 15.

“Every red light, you get pulled over, `Nice car, howdy doody,”‘ said Banuelos, 34, of San Fernando. “Makes you go home with a smile.”

Or the plastic red wagon towed by Rick Gerrity with his twin grandsons, Ethan and Rollin Gibson, bracing for speed.

“Give them the trophy,” joked Gerrity, 73, of Burbank. “It’s a ‘39 Ford convertible with a full race-car engine.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sphere: Related Content

Post a Comment