Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080812.LCAR12/TPStory/Environment

WENCY LEUNG
August 12, 2008

VANCOUVER -- Chris McClelland, 16, had been saving up for months to buy his first car: a sporty Volkswagen Jetta or maybe a Toyota Camry with a zippy four-cylinder engine.

But with local gas prices hovering at about $1.50 a litre, the Burnaby, B.C., teen is abandoning the dream of cruising around in his own vehicle this summer.

"It's not worth it to own a car any more," he said.

Instead, Mr. McClelland is borrowing his parents' car and slyly returning it just as the tank runs low, to avoid paying for gas. Even so, he said he drives it only when he has a destination in mind.

Recreational driving, or cruising, has been a rite of passage for generations of teenagers, representing freedom and independence to anyone old enough to obtain a licence, but record-high gas prices are putting the brakes on the classic summertime activity. The carefree days of driving for the sake of driving are over.

Teens say they're now spending as little time behind the wheel as possible, hanging out instead at friends' houses, at parks and beaches, and at movie theatres.

"I'm going out a lot less," said Tom Chao, 19, of Burnaby, who cut back on driving after he realized he was spending more than $20 on gas a day.

Cruising around was something he and his friends did often when they earned driver's licences a few years ago.

Then, the price of gasoline was cheaper by about 40 cents a litre.

But now, Mr. Chao said, "It's a waste of gas and a waste of time."

To many teens, the financial impact of soaring gas prices is a far greater deterrent than any environmental concerns.

Mr. McClelland said he had been eyeing only compact Volkswagens and Toyotas - cars with small engines - not because they're easier on the environment, but because they're more economical.

The biggest milestones in a young person's life are learning to walk, learning to ride a bike and then getting a car, Mr. McClelland said. "When you get a car, the possibilities are endless."

But since his fantasy of owning his own set of wheels has been dashed, he said, it's futile to mull over the hypothetical.

"There's no point any more," he said sadly.

The romance of cruising fades, teens say, when they have to scrutinize their gas consumption like minutes on their cellphones.

For Cassie Faris, 18, who lives in Maple Ridge, B.C., driving is unavoidable since shops and hangouts are beyond walking distance from her home. Public transit in her neighbourhood is infrequent, and there are no bus stops nearby.

Driving, to her, is a costly necessity rather than a pastime.

Ms. Faris estimates she spends about $200 a month on gas. Including the $150 a month she pays for insurance, her 2006 Pontiac Pursuit eats up the bulk of her earnings from her part-time job at a clothing store.

To stretch out her paycheques, she has taken to carpooling with friends, so everyone pitches in for gas and takes turns driving.

Driving aimlessly, she said, is out of the question.

"I don't drive to kill time. If we can't decide where we're going, I will pull over and turn my engine off," Ms. Faris said.

Her friend, Stephanie Craigon, 17, borrows her mother's Jeep on occasion.

Although it's her mother who picks up the gas tab, Ms. Craigon rarely takes it out for a spin. "It's expensive to fill up the Jeep, like over $100. It's pretty bad," she said.

Last year, Ms. Craigon said, she spent many summer nights cruising with her friends. This summer, with the price of gas rising by nearly 40 per cent, she and her boyfriend have been spending more evenings at their nearest movie theatre.

Even those who aren't yet old enough to drive are anticipating less time on the roads.

"Driving is fun, I've heard," said Lucy G.F., 15, of Vancouver, who declined to give her full name.

Like most teens approaching driving age, she intends to apply for her learner's licence on the day she turns 16. "I'm so excited, but I know I won't be able to [drive] much," she said. "Now gas prices are insane and you can't drive around randomly. And hybrid [cars] are expensive."

Lucy said she had been looking forward to cruising, as she's seen teens do on television and in movies. But now, she said, she'll miss out.

"It's not really fair," she said.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/08/05/calgary-motorcycle-saddlecrest-crash.html?ref=rss

A woman who was teaching her younger sister how to drive in northeast Calgary was killed when her sibling lost control of the car and ran her over, neighbours told CBC News.

The woman was standing on the sidewalk in the 100 block of Saddlecrest Close N.E. on Monday night, instructing her sister who was backing out of a residential driveway, said neighbours.

The 24-year-old woman, who reversed "at a rapid rate of speed," did not have a driver's licence or learner's permit, said Staff Sgt. Brett Marklund on Tuesday.

The car sped backward across the street and hit a house, where its bumper was dislodged, then accelerated forward, striking the older sister, 29, standing on the sidewalk.

"I heard the screeching and then a bang, and when I came up to my window, I looked across the street and the car was stuck in that house across the street, the back end of it, and it started speeding away," Shawn St. Amand said on Tuesday.

'It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen. It was almost like she was just a rag doll.'
—Shawn St. Amand, witness"My attention focused to the side of the road and there was a woman standing ... and the car struck her and completely ran her over, all four tires, and then dragged her up on the driveway.

"It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen. It was almost like she was just a rag doll."

The older sister suffered fatal head, chest and abdominal injuries and died on her way to Foothills Hospital, said paramedics.

The car then continued back toward the garage it had originally exited and struck a four-year-old girl before smashing into the concrete steps of the house next door.

The child, reported to be the driver's niece, was taken to the Alberta Children's Hospital with minor injuries.

Part of the car's rear bumper was dislodged after the vehicle hit a house across the street. (CBC)
St. Amand and other neighbours reported that the victim and the driver were sisters, but police would only say they were relatives.

The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was also taken to hospital, said paramedics.

"She was absolutely panicked when it started moving and it didn't get any better when she hit the first house," said Marklund.

He said police have ruled out drugs or alcohol as well as criminal intent in the case. The file will be forwarded to the Crown to determine if charges, which could include driving without a licence, should be laid.

Neighbour Lili Mekuria said the family moved to Calgary from India about a year ago, and that the two sisters seemed very close.

"See them always together. They work together and they work really so hard," Mekuria said. "It's just a tragedy."